AYANEO Reveals the Pocket Play, a Gaming Phone with a Slide Out Controller

After teasing their first smartphone in November, AYANEO has finally unveiled the Pocket Play, a gaming-focused handset with a built-in slide out controller. It marks the company’s debut in the phone category and carries the same retro-inspired spirit seen across the REMAKE lineup.

The Pocket Play will arrive in black or white, featuring a clean rear panel with a vertically aligned triple camera system.

The front is all about the large, immersive display, while the full controller layout stays hidden until the lower deck slides out.

Once open, you get a full set of physical inputs including a D-pad, ABXY buttons, twin circular touchpads and shoulder buttons. The setup is designed to handle everything from retro favorites to cloud gaming and modern Android titles.

The sliding mechanism certainly brings to mind the Sony Xperia Play, but with a more minimal and refined execution that fits AYANEO’s design language.

While full specs haven’t been revealed yet, the Pocket Play is shaping up to be a fun little device that could easily double as a daily driver. We will keep an eye on updates including pricing and release timing, and share more details as they become available.