In fact, since I started playing PC games, I have always had a whimsical idea, that is, is it possible to play AAA masterpieces anytime, anywhere? In the past, the closest approach was to use laptops, because laptops have a certain degree of portability, but also have a certain degree of performance, and in recent years, some notebooks have even reached the level of high-end desktops.
However, although the notebook can be taken away, its size is still too large. It is far from the standard of taking it with you at any time. This is the time! It's Windows handheld's turn. Windows handheld this thing can be said that many people do not know what it is, in fact, it is a computer, but the Windows system is installed on a host of the size of a Switch.
Such a combination would have been largely unworkable a few years ago, because it would have been impossible to cram a CPU and GPU that could hit a 3A masterpiece with a relatively smooth frame rate in such a small volume. However, with the introduction of more advanced, more powerful and lower power processors in the past one or two years, Intel and AMD have introduced, and the concept of Windows handheld can finally be realized.
After two years of exploration and continuous experimentation, there are more and more handheld machines on the market, and the workmanship and design are becoming more and more mature. Among many handheld manufacturers, AYA can be said to be a more unique one, because when most of the handhelds are still using Intel's processors, AYA has made a handheld that uses AMD processors, that is, AYA NEO 2021 Pro.
AYA NEO 2021 Pro specifications
If a handheld wants to play a 3A masterpiece with an acceptable number of frames, it must need a relatively powerful processor. The AYA NEO 2021 Pro uses the Ryzen™ 7 4800U from AMD, an 8-core, 16-thread processor with a maximum acceleration frequency of 4.2GHz. At the same time, as a processor with a U suffix, this Ryzen™ 7 4800U is also equipped with a GPU with 8 graphics units using the VEGA architecture. The combination of the two can give the AYA NEO 2021 Pro a good AAA masterpiece performance.
Another important point of the handheld is, of course, its screen. At present, some handhelds on the market will use smaller screens for the ultimate portability. The AYA NEO 2021 Pro takes a different route, that is, to install a 7-inch screen without ensuring that the overall size will not be too large. The IPS screen resolution is 1280 * 800, the refresh rate is 60Hz, and the maximum brightness can reach 500 nits. For the handheld, such a resolution and refresh rate is also a relatively common combination, although the 800P resolution may be somewhat low, but the size of 7 inches is not large, so the screen ppi is not low, the actual game in the play basically will not feel any blur.
In terms of memory, AYA NEO 2021 Pro has 16GB LPDDR4X 4266MHz memory, even for the general AAA masterpiece, it is basically no problem at 800P resolution, and it is more enough to use the handheld to handle paperwork in daily life.
Storage capacity is also another concern for more handheld players. The AYA NEO 2021 Pro received by the author this time comes with 1TB of SSD storage space, but AYA officially said that it will be available in the 2TB version after that. To be honest, 1TB SSD is not much for the current AAA masterpiece, after all, some games are already more than 100GB, and there is only about 500GB of space left for 4 or 5 games.
Handheld appearance
If you are holding the AYA NEO 2021 Pro and asking the friends around you who don't know anything about handhelds, they will probably subconsciously say "Isn't this just a Switch?" In fact, this can not blame them, because most of the current handhelds have a little similarity in appearance to the Switch, after all, this layout is also the best for the handheld.
However, most handhelds will have some different designs, such as some will increase the size to accommodate a larger screen, and some will add new elements or designs to the grip part of the handle, and the AYA NEO 2021 Pro is no exception.
The AYA NEO 2021 Pro feels very simple at first glance. The one in my hand is an off-white version, and the black and white color scheme is very much in line with the author's taste. However, the author observed that it seems that the front of the fuselage and the shell behind are painted differently, so the white color of the two seems to be a little different, but this subtle difference is basically invisible in daily use.
The fuselage is coated with a skin-like coating, and it feels very, very comfortable to the touch. However, the type of coating has a problem, that is, although the feel is very good, but if the hand is a little sweat or oil, then it is easy to stick to it, and some smudges on the skin-like coating are more difficult to erase. When I play AYA NEO 2021 Pro, I will wipe my hands clean before playing (laughs).
The grip part feels better, and the slightly protruding part of the upper part is just right to hold it completely, which can have a better sense of grasp when using the handle, and it is also convenient to hold the entire handheld.
The controller is often a very important part of the handheld, after all, all operations are determined by these two sets of control joysticks and buttons. AYA NEO 2021 Pro's gamepad layout can be said to be similar to xbox, is the left is the joystick in the upper button under, and the right is the joystick in the lower button on the top, so Xbox players should be able to quickly adapt to this mode of operation, the distance between the keys is also very reasonable.
As a handheld without a built-in physical keyboard, AYA NEO 2021 Pro also fully takes into account the situation that players may need to use some shortcut keys, such as the game crashing black screen, or the need to type and communicate with others in the game. In order to cope with these situations, AYA NEO 2021 Pro has set up a KB key that evokes the virtual keyboard, esc key, TM key to open the task manager, and WIN key to open the start task bar under the right handle section, while on the left side there are menu keys, window keys, H keys to open xbox game bar, and keys for accessibility functions. Basically, the keys that will be used in the game are basically covered by the AYA NEO 2021 Pro. In addition to the buttons used in these games, there is a power button and a volume up and down adjustment key on the top of the fuselage.
Speaking of buttons, of course, we have to mention the shoulder button of AYA NEO 2021 Pro. Its LT/RT shoulder buttons are linear, and can make different feedback according to the player's different strengths, such as in a racing game, you can use this to reduce the throttle, but it is not completely loose the effect of the throttle, simply put, those who have used the handlepad understand (laughs).
The feel of the keys has a very important impact on the handheld experience. After playing with the AYA NEO 2021 Pro, I found that its various buttons feel unexpectedly good. Take the shoulder button LT/RT just mentioned as an example, these two keys are very smooth when pressed, because there is appropriate resistance, so there is no feeling of pulling down. The remaining buttons on the fuselage are also soft and soft, the feedback is moderate, and it is not too stiff like some other handhelds.
In terms of interfaces, AYA NEO 2021 Pro has a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C interface for 60W fast charging or docking station connection at the bottom of the fuselage, while there are also 2 additional USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C interfaces on the top of the fuselage. In addition to being used to power the handheld, these interfaces also support DP substitution mode, which outputs video signals to an external display. Coupled with the docking station for the AYA NEO 2021 Pro, this handheld can be transformed into a mini console. With an external monitor and keyboard and mouse, players can use the AYA NEO 2021 Pro to directly handle a variety of paperwork.
Hands-on experience
As a person who has recently been addicted to windows handhelds, the author of course also took (grabbed) the AYA NEO 2021 Pro for the first time to experience the experience.
As soon as I got my hands on it, I felt that this handheld machine had a certain amount, 651.5 grams of weight, heavier than 4 iPhone 8 or 3 Mate 20 Pro, so even if it is held in both hands, it will feel a little sour over time. But if you play with your elbows on the table, the problem is basically gone.
The whole body is coated with skin-like skin, so it feels very smooth and comfortable to hold on the hand. However, it should be noted that if there is sweat on the hands, it is best to wash your hands and dry deeply before playing, otherwise it will be difficult to wipe off the sticking to the fuselage.
Handling is an important part of a handheld, and I feel that the AYA NEO 2021 Pro is doing a good job in this regard. The handle feels good, both the joystick and the shoulder buttons are easy to use, and there is not much lag in the actual game. Of course, if the frame rate of the game is too low, it will still exist, but this is a problem caused by too low frame count, and it has nothing to do with the machine itself.
Since there is no physical keyboard, the AYA NEO 2021 Pro features a KB key that evokes the virtual keyboard. However, in the author's eyes, this key is mainly for players to use in the game, because the virtual keyboard that comes out of this way is relatively small, and the key position is relatively small, so it is easy to mistakenly touch the letter next to it. If it is on the desktop, you can click on the keyboard icon at the bottom right of the taskbar, which can call up a much wider keyboard, and it will be much easier to enter text than the keyboard of the KB key.
Speaking of touch, if the player's fingers are as thick as the author's, then it will be easier to mistakenly touch the touch screen on the AYA NEO 2021 Pro, which is also a common problem of the handheld. However, there is also a solution, that is, to enable windows' own tablet mode, so that the gap between different keys or options will become larger, and it is more convenient to press to the desired place.
The number of game frames
I believe that the results of this part should be more people want to know, after all, the selling point of Windows handheld is that it can play AAA masterpieces. This time, the author has selected several popular AAA masterpieces to see what kind of frame rate performance AYA NEO 2021 Pro can give. This test was conducted at 1280*800, the default resolution of AYA NEO 2021 Pro, and the image quality will be tested in terms of low and medium/, and the performance of Horizon: Dawn of Zero and the initial corresponding low and medium quality respectively.
It can be seen that in the 4 games tested this time, AYA NEO 2021 Pro can get at least 30 frames in low quality, and in a game with good optimization such as "Forza Motorsport: Horizon 5", it can exceed 45 frames. Even in medium quality, it can be maintained at at least 28 or 29 frames except for a fan-optimized game like Horizon: Dawn of Zero.
If the CPU's TDP is increased from 15W to 20W, then the frame rate of the game can be more significantly improved, such as under medium quality, all games can reach the level of at least 30 frames, and under low quality, "Forza Motorsport: Horizon 5" has reached an average of 53 frames, which is very satisfactory.
Judging from the above results, AYA NEO 2021 Pro wants to play the AAA masterpiece, and there is no problem at all under the low quality, at least it can give everyone a host-like 30-frame mode experience. As long as you don't play shooting games that require more reaction or frame rate, other games AYA NEO 2021 Pro can handle it well. What the? You say you want 60 frames? Then change the configuration file yourself233.
Noise and temperature levels
Noise and temperature for the handheld, is certainly not the most important part, after all, the first task of the handheld is to be able to play more smoothly to the AAA masterpiece, and it is already remarkable to be able to do this. But if the noise and temperature can be properly controlled, it is the icing on the cake and a plus. And if the noise is relatively small, it will not cause violent beatings when used in a quieter environment (laughs).
AYA NEO 2021 Pro fuselage air outlet
As far as the author is concerned when using AYA NEO 2021 Pro to play games, the noise level of this handheld is really well controlled, and if you play games at normal distance, in a relatively quiet office environment, the fan noise is almost inaudible, and the wind noise is not much. This is still the case without turning on the handheld's own speakers, if the volume is turned on, then the noise is completely negligible, let alone after putting on the headphones. To say that noise control is a strength of the AYA NEO 2021 Pro is completely fine.
And what is closely related to noise is temperature. AYA NEO 2021 Pro's fuselage is not small in size, so it already has certain advantages in the scale of heat dissipation, so when playing, with the fan running at full speed, the average temperature of the CPU is about 60 degrees, and the GPU is also near 60 degrees, but when the game is loaded, or when the CPU demand is relatively high, the CPU can also directly reach 70 degrees.
This is a completely acceptable temperature for a handheld CPU. More importantly, at full load, the left and right handles will be a little warm, but that level of heat is completely within the acceptable range. The author also used an infrared thermometer to measure the temperature on the back of the fuselage, and the highest part of the handle is only 34 to 35 degrees, even if it is held for a long time, it will not feel hot.
Battery life
Of course, for a handheld machine, in addition to the lack of sex, the battery is not enough is also very important. Although it is said that many people buy a handheld machine and go back to playing in the same position, when everyone is playing in bed with a handheld machine, playing outside for morning tea, and playing on the subway, the battery is very important.
The AYA NEO 2021 Pro comes with a battery of 47Wh. If it is standby on the desktop, the battery will drop from 100% to about 60% after 3 hours of default brightness; if it is a game, the author will play 50% brightness without turning on the speaker, after playing for an hour of "Forza Motorsport: Horizon 5", the power will drop from 100% to about 53%, the power is still relatively durable, and playing for 2 hours continuously should not be much of a problem.
summary
The handheld machine is born to meet the needs of players for playing AAA masterpieces anytime, anywhere. After several days of experience, the author feels that the AYA NEO 2021 Pro can be said to be a good completion of this mission. In terms of game performance, temperature, noise, and handling, it has achieved the same level of Windows handhelds in the same type.
Admittedly, the AYA NEO 2021 Pro can't do 60 frames in most games, but who cares? As long as the handheld can do 30 frames, it is already quite good, and in some well-optimized games, AYA NEO 2021 Pro can even achieve more than 40 frames of 50 frames. Therefore, if you want to play AAA masterpieces anytime, anywhere, then AYA NEO 2021 Pro will be a good choice, and you can also have a good mobile gaming experience.
However, although AYA NEO 2021 Pro is a good handheld, its price of 6999 yuan basically makes it the same as other handhelds, and the player audience will not be very large. You should know that the same price can already be combined into a good computer, so the author feels that most players should consider buying a handheld after buying the main computer and xbox, PS5 or Switch host. But if someone is thinking about starting a handheld to play with, then AYA NEO 2021 Pro will be a very good choice.