The dream of the Xperia Play lives on with this new slider phone

Retro gaming is pretty popular these days, with fans everywhere buying handheld consoles or gaming phones. But what if someone combined the two? After months of teasers, the popular gaming handheld manufacturer AYANEO just unveiled the all-new Pocket Play. A sliding Android phone with physical controls reminiscent of the Sony Xperia Play.

Meet the upcoming AYANEO Pocket Play, a mobile phone and gaming handheld all-in-one. Who remembers the original T-Mobile G1 (HTC Dream), the first Android phone, the Motorola DROID, or the Sony Xperia Play? That's what we're getting here: a slider phone, only with a modern refresh.

Unfortunately, AYANEO isn't ready to share too many specifics, but it looks awesome. The new Pocket Play appears to offer a large screen in the higher 6-inch range, but we can't say for sure. The company didn't reveal key specs about the screen size, processor, storage, or other hardware, but the images and video give us a pretty good idea.

While we don't know those specifics, what we do know is that the AYANEO Pocket Play features a large touchscreen display along with slide-out physical controls, all in a sleek and minimalist frame.

When you slide the device open, it goes from a phone to a full gaming handheld. You'll find a standard gamepad experience with a D-Pad, ABXY buttons, dual-mode smart touchpads, and there are even two index finger trigger buttons on each corner for LT/L2 and RT/R2 controls. It has it all!

The dual-mode smart touchpads will reportedly allow you to switch between virtual joysticks and full touch controls, delivering endless customization possibilities for mobile gaming. Physical analog sticks would be great, but there isn't much room for that.

The AYANEO Pocket Play will apparently be available in White or Black color options, according to the Kickstarter page. Looking at the images, buyers can still enjoy a typical phone experience, complete with dual rear cameras, USB-C fast charging, stereo speakers, and more. We're hopeful for a MicroSD card slot, but that's unconfirmed.

Gaming handhelds are pretty popular these days. From the Steam Deck, Lenovo Legion GO S, and a bunch of others. This is an exciting new entry we can't wait to see. Again, we don't have any other information regarding specs, game support, or even a price tag. We'll learn more soon enough, so stay tuned.

Source: Kickstarter via The Verge