AYANEO Offers Free Pocket Air Mini to Pocket S Mini Customers After Battery Mixup

AYANEO is making an unusual attempt to compensate customers after shipping its premium Pocket S Mini handheld with a smaller battery than originally advertised. The company is offering free AYANEO Pocket Air Mini devices to customers who purchased the more expensive Pocket S Mini, following a manufacturing mixup that resulted in the wrong battery being used in mass production.

The Battery Mixup

When AYANEO first introduced the Pocket S Mini, it was marketed as featuring a 6,000 mAh battery. However, the units that will actually ship to customers have a 4,700 mAh battery instead. According to AYANEO, early samples used for testing featured the smaller battery, but the company planned to switch to the 6,000 mAh battery for mass production. "However, due to a breakdown in supply chain communication, mass production was ultimately carried out using the 4700 mAh battery," the company explained.

At this point, AYANEO has a significant quantity of handhelds in stock with the incorrect battery and no plans to do another production run with the correct battery. This leaves the company with two options: cancel orders with refunds and $20 store credit, or offer a free AYANEO Pocket Air Mini as compensation.

The Compensation Offer

AYANEO is offering Pocket S Mini customers a choice between:

• Canceling their order for a full refund plus $20 store credit
• Receiving a free AYANEO Pocket Air Mini with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, or paying $10 for a 3GB/64GB model

The compensation is particularly interesting because the AYANEO Pocket Air Mini is roughly the same size as the Pocket S Mini but has significantly less powerful hardware. The Pocket Air Mini is a budget device that currently sells for $90 and up, while the Pocket S Mini is a premium handheld that starts at $319.

Hardware Comparison

The two devices have similar form factors but different internal specifications:

AYANEO Pocket S Mini:

• Display: 4.2 inches, 1280 x 960 pixels, 60 Hz LCD
• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon G3x Gen 2 with 8 x Kryo CPU cores
• Graphics: Adreno A32
• RAM + Storage: LPDDR5x-8533 + UFS 4.0 (8GB/128GB, 12GB/256GB, or 16GB/512GB)
• Battery: 4,700 mAh
• Charging: USB-PD 18W
• Ports: USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, microSD 3.0 card reader
• OS: Android 14
• Dimensions: 167.1 x 77.9 x 18.5mm
• Weight: 305 grams
• Starting price: $319

AYANEO Pocket Air Mini:

• Display: 4.2 inches, 1280 x 960 pixels
• Processor: MediaTek Helio G90T with 2 x Arm Cortex-A76 and 6 x Arm Cortex-A55 CPU cores
• Graphics: Mali-G76 3EEMC4
• RAM + Storage: 2GB + 32GB or 3GB + 64GB
• Battery: 4,500 mAh
• Ports: USB Type-C, 3.5mm audio, microSD card reader
• OS: Android 11
• Dimensions: 165.9 x 82.5 x 18.7mm
• Weight: 269 grams
• Starting price: $90

Customer Perspective

The compensation strategy raises questions about its practical value. If you were in the market for the more expensive model, it's unclear how much use you'd get out of the cheaper version. The Pocket Air Mini's less powerful hardware means it won't deliver the same gaming performance as the Pocket S Mini.

However, there might be some logic to the offer. The lower-cost handheld should be powerful enough to handle classic console emulation, and at $90, it's cheap enough that you wouldn't worry too much about losing it or breaking it. This could make it a handheld you might be more likely to carry with you when you leave the house as a secondary device.

AYANEO's decision to offer a free device rather than simply providing a discount or upgrade option is unusual but demonstrates a commitment to customer satisfaction despite the manufacturing error. The company is essentially giving away $90 devices to make up for a battery capacity shortfall that represents about a 22% reduction from the advertised specification.

The situation highlights the challenges of managing complex supply chains in the handheld gaming market, where component availability and communication breakdowns can lead to significant product discrepancies. For customers who have already purchased the Pocket S Mini, the choice between a refund with store credit or a free budget handheld will depend on their specific needs and whether they value the premium features of the more expensive device enough to keep it despite the battery difference.