Since it went on sale Steam deck, there have been many manufacturers that have tried to create their version of the laptop. One of the brands that is putting the most effort into this console with computer hardware is Ayaneo. This company already has some models for sale that rival the valve console. In a recent presentation, the company has announced the next generation pricing. And we have bad news, because they are not going to be exactly cheap machines.
Ayaneo beats the Steam Deck for a high price
Ayaneo wants to reduce the prominence of the Steam Deck, and that is why it has already prepared its two new consoles: the Ayaneo 2 and the Ayaneo Geek. These two machines start from significantly more powerful hardware than the one that equips the Valve console, since they mount AMD Zen 3 APUs.
However, opting for better performance has a big impact on the price. The Ayaneo 2 part of the 949 dollars, while the most basic model of the Ayaneo Geek it goes to the U.S. dollar 1.099. We are talking about two machines that practically double the price of their main competitor.
Ayaneo 2 and Ayaneo Geek will reach the general public in December. The idea of the Chinese brand is to continue attacking a premium segment to distance itself from Valve a bit, despite the fact that its true intention is to eat part of that cake.
Things are sweetened a bit with the launch offer
Despite the fact that this pair of consoles starts at a fairly high price, the Ayaneo brand has provided an offer for the first enthusiasts who are encouraged to get the Geek version. They will be able to acquire the 512GB model for about $799. It's still a much higher price than the Steam Deck, but you have to admit that the equipment also has better specifications.
All this happens in a very favorable scenario for Valve. AMD Zen 2 APUs are still cheaper to make. In addition, in recent weeks the delivery of equipment has accelerated quite a bit, and everything looks very good for the Steam Deck for the Christmas period.
Not good news in front of a Steam Deck 2
If you are up to date with everything that is going on in the hardware world, you may have decided to wait before buying a Steam Deck. After all, Valve does not have the latest APU that AMD has released on its console, so it is logical that the future version of the laptop is going to be significantly more powerful than current version.
However, it is possible that Valve will drag out the first generation of the Steam Deck as long as possible. And the reason would be none other than the price of the most modern components. The Steam Deck is a great machine as long as it stays competitively priced. At nearly a thousand dollars, not many people are going to want to jump through hoops, regardless of how much power the machine pulls.