Why are people Gushing over this Game Boy? AYANEO's Pocket DMG

👉Stubbs unboxes and reviews the Pocket DMG, sent over from AYANEO. Is it truly the ultimate vertical, or is it an overpriced niche luxury handheld? The DMG is compared with other verticals (Analogue Pocket, R36S & RGB20SX) and tested for how that almost 8:7 aspect ratio handles retro and modern games. What is its best intended use case? Stubbs is on the case!

The AYANEO Pocket DMG features a 3.92-inch OLED display with a resolution of 1240 x 1080 pixels, which is an *almost* 8:7 aspect ratio, powered by the Snapdragon G3x Gen 2 chipset. The device offers 8GB or 16GB of RAM and storage ranging from 128GB to 1TB, expandable via microSD. Running on Android 13, it supports a wide range of apps and games, and for emulation, it will take anything you toss at is, from PSP, GameCube, Wii, and PS2, all the way up to Switch, Vita, and more. The Pocket DMG also includes a hall-based analog stick, touchpad, customizable RGB lighting, and a fingerprint sensor, making it a very compelling vertical, if not the best we've ever tried!

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Pocket DMG discussion with TechDweeb on RH podcast:

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Please be aware that this description may contain affiliate links. By purchasing something, RH may earn a small commission of the sale at no extra cost to you. This video is for education and entertainment purposes only and is not intended for kids. All opinions are our own.

#ayaneo #pocketdmg #gameboy #emulation #retrohandheld #retrogamingloft

Edited by Sonywwdd30

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📖Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:12 specs (just shy of 8:7 aspect ratio)
02:14 Unboxing
05:44 Device overview
11:14 Comparisons (PowKiddy RGB20SX & R36S)
12:36 Traveling & Accessories
14:12 Software
14:25 Joystick test
15:35 Refresh rate test (60hz panel)
15:47 Settings
16:32 Fan testing
17:37 Weight
17:52 Speakers (Evoland for Android)
19:26 Console Launcher frontend
21:02 Dpad test
21:52 Gameplay Montage (1080 snowboarding is N64)
23:40 Final Thoughts & Summary
29:23 Thanks for watching!

[retrohandhelds]

What's *your* thoughts on the Pocket DMG? Is it the *ULTIMATE* vertical?

Notes: Aspect ratio is 8:7 (a few pixels shy of 8:7 in reality, it's using the 2nd screen from the LG Wing, which is 31 : 27).

*I tested video out with my Viture Pro XR glasses, and it mirrors the 8:7 display on those, and other external monitors by default. You can set it to 16 : 9 manually though with some adb commands (thanks TheGammaSqueeze!)

*The screen is 60hz, but my camera's shutter speed was set too low. I did a vsync test to confirm.

*1080 Snowboarding is for N64, not Dreamcast 😆

*I recommended the Black version, but it appears that one is prone to fingerprint smudging, so id actually spring for White if I'm buying one. Although then there's the grime consideration. In the end, I think DMG is ultimate version in more ways than one, although spendy.

[teebs]

I'm so bummed out that they priced a lot of people out of that really cool retro colour. $670 is INSANE for a device like this!

[mayx]

If they just make a Miyoo Mini plus with an OLED it will be the best selling vertical ever.

[TheJoshuaJames]

no headphone jack is criminal on a retro device

[adrian_veidt]

The chip doesn't match it's form factor for me. It feels like a waste imo. That power is more suited for android gaming, Winlator, and upscaled GC, PS2, Wii U and wii. With first 2 examples requiring a wider screen dimension.

Could've slashed down the price by putting a Unisoc or older SD chip. The screen is really beautiful tho. Techdweeb did a great job demonstrating upscaled older games on it.

[Briansawilddowner]

Everything I’d want to do with that much power I wouldn’t want to do on a screen that size or on that form factor. For that money I’d rather buy multiple lower powered devices. I do think it’s a really cool device and I’d love to have one, i just can’t imagine any plausible scenario where I spend that much money on one.

[jonathonearl]

The ANBERNIC RG406V is the ULTIMATE vertical!

[KyleRuggles]

It's too premium for the size, like.. I can't get over the amount of power for such a small screen. They really could have put a G99 or a T820 in it and it would have been fine, given the screen size lol. But it would be a killer system to have docked to a TV.

It IS the ultimate Gameboy, but with everything else that's newer.. I dunno... I wouldn't want to stream on it, play any 16x9 games on it, even 4:3 you get the black bars..

It's great, but too rich for my blood.

Great review!

Edit: Do you get to keep it!?

[turnbasedtoddy]

$675 is a slap in the face. It’s like there are calling us stupid almost. Don’t get me wrong I think it looks great but I hate how they gatekeep the color everyone wants behind that price. Just very Anti-consumer all around. Love your videos as always though!

[Oloko]

I would have loved to see how a point & click MS-DOS game plays on the trackpad and the screen ratio. Lucas Arts game like Day of the Tentacle

[skycloud]

So this has a 1240x1080 on a 3.92-inch OLED screen, resulting in a pixel density of 419 pixels per inch.

The Analogue Pocket however, has a 3.5-inch screen with a better resolution of 1600x1440, boasting a higher pixel density 615 ppi. This means the Analogue Pocket's screen is sharper and offers better clarity (a perfect 10x Gameboy resolution). Plus AP is FPGA instead of emulation, and can actually read carts.

So I'm not sure entirely where this new device stands? If I want a premium Gameboy, I'd probably go AP. If I want a premium device that plays everything, I'd go for a different form factor. It's like a square in a round hole. It's hard to think of why I'd want this.

[deka]

One of the best innovative products out there. Putting on a touch pad on such a small device is commendable. Justified pricing.

[weilkevin]

Thank you for that game play montage! Love seeing a variety of aspect ratios on that screen.

[cppctek]

“Real gamers know gamers” nah I game alone, I never met a gamer in my life …. I swear …
Those silly slogans crack me up every time lol 😂
The bag is sick though and tossing in the extra parts is a nice touch

[jeremy__hopkins]

29:00 - I do love that canteen hard case. Feels very TOS Star Trek Triquarter. The DMG is unique but some aspects seem like solutions in search of problems. My advice for Aya Neo is take what they have here, drop the touch pad and apply it to a NOMAD style design with sticks. That's unique, functional and would be worth it since Saturn isn't the easiest system to emulate and the ARC doesn't cover all games. Could end up being a very nice Sega and arcade multi-system portable.

[damiengrief]

I preordered a base white model after seeing Dweeb's review. I think this is an end game vertical handheld for me. And I think the base 8 GB is fine. I wouldn't want to do any Switch emulation on a 4:3 display anyway. Won't be tempted to buy another vertical handheld again. I have an Analogue Pocket for my old physical cart collection and this for emulation.

I just wish they offered the retro coloring in the base model.

[Sadtiric]

13:50 You callin' me crazy for stickerbombing my RP mini with Pokémon stickers on stream?! 😂 💚

[cptainmerc]

are there actual speakers at both the left and right cut-outs? or are they just cut-outs?

[conza]

It’s very nice - So is the Odin 2 Portal I preordered for less, less! Ayaneo, maybe make a version with most of the bells cut out, I think there’s room for a $150 device that feels premium but doesn’t need this chip or screen or all the little details, look at the market guts it doesn’t make sense for most people.

[ValionGaming]

Was very curios about this one. Looks awesome, but at that price... I think it's just a but too much. If it was closer to the 250 or 300 of an rp5 or a odin 2 maybe, but its form factor lends itself more as a secondary device (at least for me). I want a small pocketable device as a companion for my steamdeck, and at the right price this would be great. I think I'll wind up with an RP mini though.