AYANEO’s Konkr Pocket Advance Brings the Game Boy Advance Back to Life

AYANEO just put a fresh spin on one of the most loved handhelds of the early 2000s. The Konkr Pocket Advance copies the wide, comfortable shape of Nintendo’s Game Boy Advance and fills it with modern Android hardware. Pre-orders opened this week, and the first batch is already moving.

The device, which measures 151.3 mm in length, 82.4 mm in breadth, and 22 mm thick, fits comfortably in the palm of your hand, exactly like the original Gameboy Advance did. It weighs only 224 grams, making it light enough to go into a jacket pocket but still feeling robust enough to hold onto genuine hardware. The body slopes gently inward, and the edges are smooth and rounded, allowing your palms to rest comfortably on the sides of the handheld. The outside shell has a superb anti-slip feel that prevents it from slipping out of your grasp. Three colors are available: Navy Blue, which evokes the blue look of the original GBA, a dazzling Coral Orange, which pays respect to the classic Spice Orange model, and a gorgeous Heritage Gray, which is reminiscent of the original grey Gameboy color scheme with matching red buttons.

The screen is a 3.5-inch LCD with a resolution of 960 by 640 pixels and a 3:2 ratio. That’s a good fit for the original Game Boy Advance games, and the AYANEO guys have even included four times point-to-point zoom to keep the pixel image lovely and clear rather than blurry. The display is flush mounted in a typical horizontal configuration, with the D-pad on the left, ABXY buttons on the right, and controls that feel quite natural. Large L1 and R1 shoulder buttons lie on top of the item, with L2 and R2 triggers beneath them for games that require more input controls. A physical volume rocker and a 3.5 mm headphone jack complete the classic control arrangement. On the interior, a small vibration motor and gyroscope provide a more modern sensation that the original lacked.

Power comes from a MediaTek Helio G90T CPU, which initially appeared in 2019. That comes with either 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage or 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage, so you can choose what works best for you. There is a micro SD slot that allows you to increase your library as much as you desire. The 4,000 mAh battery is appropriate for such a thin tablet, and the mini internal fan keeps everything cool even when gaming for an extended period of time. Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.0 handle wireless communications, while a USB-C port allows you to transmit data and even charge the device.

Android 12 is the underlying operating system for the AYANEO, but the company has added its own software layer on top. AYASpace organizes your game library, AYAHome cleans up your desktop by replacing the normal launcher, and AYASetting consolidates all those finicky handheld settings into one location for the first time. Everything has been developed with emulation in mind, including AYANEO The hardware is a dream for playing Game Boy Advance titles, and will even manage some PS2 games at a very playable speed, and because it’s running Android, you can install all the normal frontend apps and emulators without any problem.

Pre-order prices begin at $89 for the 3GB/32GB variant and $109 for the 4GB/64GB version. However, delivery via 4PX will cost you an additional $20, and the first ones off the production line are scheduled to ship before the end of August. Don’t get too excited, though, because the first run will be limited, and the company will only sell to those who act quickly, on a first-come, first-serve basis.