Can you imagine spending over 2000 euros on a portable console?
Since the announcement and release of the Ryzen AI Max+ 395, it's been a bit of a race to see who can make the best use of it. It has to be said that this AMD processor has more than one trump card up its sleeve: designed around 16 Zen 5-generation CPU cores, the chip is one of the most powerful processors available today, and stands out even more for its graphics solution, its iGPU, a Radeon 8060S Graphics equipped with, excuse the pun, 40 RDNA 3.5-generation processing units. Suffice it to say that with arguments like these, a combined L2+L3 cache of 80 MB and RAM compatibility up to 128 GB LPDDR5x-8000, this component is a monster capable of lending itself to any scenario.
All NEXT 2 key features © AYANEO
The problem is that this is not a chip that's easy to accommodate: to achieve high performance, it needs a bit of "space". In fact, it's a processor that consumes more power than the usual components used on portable machines... and yet it's the path of portability that AYANEO has chosen to integrate this Ryzen AI Max+ 395: this is the processor that powers the future NEXT 2, the console of all excesses. The machine hasn't yet been launched, but AYANEO has already opened its participatory funding campaign, and almost all the key information is available there.
This is how we learn that the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 is paired with a 116 Wh battery to give it a semblance of autonomy. AYANEO doesn't say how much playing time is allowed on a single charge, but the brand does point out that the battery logically increases the console's weight: almost 1.5 kg! To make matters worse, this could pose problems for air travel: for many airlines, the battery limit is 100 Wh, with no pre-flight authorization required. This also significantly increases the dimensions of the console, which fortunately boasts an impressive screen diagonal: 9.06 inches and OLED technology!
A logical price tag, but one that makes you shudder! © AYANEO
Last but not least, the NEXT 2 is priced at $2,699 for the "basic" version, with a Ryzen AI Max+ 395 processor, 64 GB RAM and a 1 TB SSD. For the duration of its crowdfunding campaign, AYANEO adjusted the price to $2299, but that's still a lot for a "simple" console. It gets worse, however, as the most muscular version (Ryzen AI Max+ 395, 128 GB RAM, 2 TB SSD) is priced at $3499 or $4299, depending on whether we're talking about the campaign price or the recommended retail price. It's worth pointing out, however, that AYANEO has made provision for this to be "a bit much" for gamers: a Ryzem AI Max 385-based version with 32 GB RAM and 1 TB SSD is priced at $1799 / 1999. It does sting a little!
