Ayaneo Pulls Next 2 Handheld From Sale as Production Costs Soar

Ayaneo suspended sales of its Next 2 handheld through Indiegogo just over a month after the campaign went live on February 10. The reason is blunt and brutal: after the Chinese New Year, updated supplier quotes revealed that storage costs had surged to several times their previous levels, pushing the overall production cost of the Next 2 far beyond its current retail price, in some cases nearing double the original estimate.

The Next 2 features a 9.06-inch OLED display, a large 115Wh battery, and up to the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 processor with Radeon 8060S graphics and up to 128GB of unified memory, making it one of the most powerful Windows gaming handhelds ever announced. When the Next 2 was first announced, it was already an expensive device: the base model started at around $1,999, while higher-end variants climbed up to $4,299. Even at those prices, Ayaneo says it was making little to no profit.

Ayaneo did not go into this blind. Even before the launch of the Next 2, storage prices had already been rising for several months. The company believed prices might be approaching their peak and decided to move forward with the launch even if it meant little to no profit, or even a slight loss. What it did not expect was that storage prices would not only continue to rise but would increase even more rapidly. In the company's own words from its Indiegogo update: "At present, the total cost of the product has far exceeded our selling price, even approaching twice the price we originally set. Under such circumstances, continuing to sell this product is no longer sustainable."

Rather than adjusting the retail price repeatedly, Ayaneo opted to pause sales altogether, stating that frequent price changes could negatively impact consumers and the brand's long-term position. The broader market context is worth noting: the tech industry is battling a major memory crisis, with RAM and storage prices hitting record highs, forcing companies to make tough decisions including price hikes and even discontinuing products, with handhelds hit particularly hard.

With the price for the top Strix Halo model already crossing $4,000, it is striking that even that SKU proved economically unsustainable. If Ayaneo's account is accurate, the base 32GB/1TB Ryzen AI Max 385 configuration would now cost more than $3,000 to produce. The flagship configuration with Ryzen AI Max+ 395, 128GB RAM, and 2TB storage was announced at $3,499 as early bird pricing, with a regular price of $4,299.

The one piece of good news for existing backers: users who have already placed orders on Indiegogo will receive their handhelds. Ayaneo has confirmed it will still honor existing orders, but from now on, users will not be able to place new pre-orders. Ayaneo also says after-sales support will remain in place and that spare parts will be prepared for long-term service. Devices were originally scheduled to begin shipping in June.

The suspension is temporary, and Ayaneo says it will consider resuming sales if storage prices return to a "more reasonable level." The company added it cannot predict when storage prices will decline, but will continue to monitor market changes. Some analysts predict the memory crisis will continue throughout 2026, with potential improvements not arriving until toward the end of 2027. For a smaller handheld manufacturer without the inventory leverage of a larger player, that timeline is a long time to wait.