The mini PC is poorly understood. Easily dismissed as underpowered, overpriced, or just plain ugly; we have a hunch that a computer with a small footprint must mean a compromise. Ayaneo, best known for his game has In with retro-inspired designs. Fortunately, Ayaneo's AM01 and AM02 mini PCs have more to offer, but their initial appeal over their rivals, I won't lie, is nostalgic appeal.
Unfortunately, I'm old enough to remember using the original Macintosh that inspired what if Nintendo had already reinvented a real NES, I hope it looks like . Both PCs enter but to avoid typing the The AM01 starts at $200 and comes in low to modest specs, ideal for retro gaming and general office tasks. The AM02 costs between $440 and $630, and all variants come with an AMD 7840HS APU, better suited to PC gaming and heavier tasks like video editing or even music production.
As someone who plays a lot of retro games and doesn't mind playing PC games at low or medium settings, the AM02 is quickly becoming my primary gaming system. Partly because the AM02 strikes a good balance between retro and contemporary design and therefore fits well into my adult living room. It's also very well built. I'm not sure about the four-inch touchscreen (more on that later), but the overall design fits well into contemporary decor without drawing too much attention to itself.
The AM02 I tested comes fully loaded with 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, but there are enough ports here that even with a lower spec model you can add more storage or even an eGPU (thanks to a USB 4.0 port) later down the line. There are also two RJ45 ports, one of which is 2.5 Gbps, which ensures the AM02's durability and makes it well suited to extracting media from network storage. This model is also powered by USB-C, making it more “portable” than its Mac-inspired sibling which uses a laptop-style power brick. Theoretically, you could power a display from the AM02's USB 4 port and have an easy-to-move PC. Yes, they invented laptops for exactly that, but one of the advantages of mini PCs is that they are not difficult to move around.
I suggested the AM02 would work just fine in a living room, and it does, but the placement of the built-in screen suggests it was designed to live on a desk. When Ayaneo announced these mini PCs, marketing shots showed them in both horizontal and vertical configurations. Unfortunately, neither model makes sense in a vertical orientation. Not least because both have ports on the side that would face the desk. Worse still, the AM02 has a delightful NES-inspired front flap covering the USB and 3.5mm ports. Press the red button and it opens satisfyingly, but it would be side facing down in a vertical configuration. Not to mention that all the cables would then come out the top.
This is a bit disappointing because I was hoping the built-in screen might be visible from across the room, but you can only see it if you're close enough to look from above. Plus, at least for now, the display is more of a novelty. By default, it shows performance stats like FPS, CPU usage/temperature, and fan speed, which is useful for some people. You can even change the TDP/power consumption directly from the screen, but honestly, since this unit is plugged in, I just left it on the maximum setting of 45W.
Swipe left on the screen and the view changes to a date and time widget. Swipe your finger once more and you'll see a virtual volume control as well as the option to turn off the screen. Fun fact, it is currently not possible to re-enable it. I restarted the PC through Windows and it still didn't come back to life. I tried again via the physical power button and it worked, a neater solution is coming in the final software. Likewise, Ayaneo hopes that users will create their own widgets for this display, so there's definitely potential here. I'm sure it won't be long before Doom is fully working on Linux running this screen.
If you want to use it just for gaming, then you'll need to decide whether or not you want to use the company's own launcher. On Ayaneo handhelds, it is useful for changing power settings on the fly and other tasks that would otherwise be burdensome for a handheld. On a PC like this, the launcher is adequate, but you may want to find your own or just ditch it for the most part. I configured the AM02 to charge directly into which handles all my retro/Steam/Epic games very well and provides a much more console-like experience. But that's the joy of Windows for gaming, I guess, you can do whatever you want with it.
Despite their small size, mini PCs aren't always cheap. As with their full-size counterparts, prices vary wildly depending on their performance, storage, and components. Ayaneo's handhelds almost universally fell into the “premium” price category, with almost all of its Windows models costing more than the Steam Deck they are trying to compete with. The two mini PCs break this trend with both models offering, at worst, and, at best, beat the competition.
Most of the AM02's direct competitors either don't have a built-in screen (although some do) or have an equally good selection of inputs and outputs. That is to say, overall the AM01 and AM02 are reasonably priced for their specs and even more so if you can grab them during the pre-registration period, which at the time of publishing .
There is, however, a small elephant in the room. Simply put, if you're looking for a true gaming PC, there are probably better ways to spend your money. The lowest AM02 spec costs more than a PS5. Or about the same as a Steam Deck LCD with a dock. Then there's the Mac Mini which starts at $600 (with less memory and RAM but that M2 processor is no joke). So if gaming is your only focus, then there's a small niche that the AM02 best serves: those looking for a mix of retro and PC titles who also want the flexibility of other multimedia tasks (an easier way to watch Netflix with a VPN, for example). example) in packaging that attracts only the right kind of attention. Or maybe you just like it for its design and capabilities that suit you.
Most importantly, it's a promising new direction for a company that made its name trying to take the Steam Deck head on. It may not have been entirely successful in that specific mission, but it's gained plenty of fans along the way with its high-end handhelds that are helping to reestablish portable gaming as an exciting category. As Ayaneo moves into the broader PC market, it may well have found a space where it can excel against a very different type of competition.
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