Ayn Loki is fascinating, amazing desing, perfect ergonomics: I would actually prefer this device against any other with similar form factor... At the end of the live review of Loki Max, Stubbs said "late, but not obsolete", and I think this is the pefect description 😊 Personally, I would be more interested in other chipset, like the Loki 256. I think with Loki Mini Pro, Ayn could have put on the market a budget pc handheld with great performance and premium form factor, especially for the starting price for the AMD model of 299$; but after the cancellation of the Intel option and the increasing of the AMD one to 349$, unfortunally there's still this lack of good and affordable pc handhelds... I hoped in Ayn Loki, but they disappointed me😢
The AMD6800U is still a very good chip. Give it a couple years it would be super-efficient value for budget friendly and retro handhelds running on Linux.
The relatively smaller size of the device and what seems like very comfortable ergonomics (compared to other handhelds) is what sold me on the Loki. If not for that, I wouldn't buy one. I'd just go with a Steam Deck or AyaNeo Air. But, I don't know how many people are going to care or notice that about the Loki.
Great review Aish! My Loki Max also has the left-stick + trigger issue. I know what's causing it and it's not a one-off- it's a very bad design problem that I can't believe they didn't catch!
Very nice. Like many others, I have a steam deck already so I won’t buy this at this price. Unfortunately for other devs, the ST really hit it out of the park with price/performance of the deck
If only the battery lasted twice as long, this would be a nice offer. Less than an hour is absurd, and if i wanted to play less demanding or 2D games, I'd use my Switch.
Great review, Aish! I’m still waiting for my Loki Mini Pro with the AMD Mendocino chip, planning to use it mostly for emulation. Have you tried Batocera or Emudeck for Windows on the Loki Max?
@@retrohandhelds ya know, in a way, it was. In another way, answering the door with a ROG ally in my hand, it felt like a total letdown. I do enjoy the performance, and the form factor of the Loki, but geez. I was so early in the preorder process and it still took enough time for me to forget about. Now I really feel I wasted my money as it just kinda sits in a corner.
That's thought because the deck is just such a tempting proposition for the money, it really depends how much you value size, ergonomics and your budget.
yes, after you hit 100% it will stop charging. I have it, and I use it in my car with my solar, and after I hit 💯 I notice the watts drop to whatever I'm using. if I'm playing at 35w total watt usage is 40w when the batter is charging, I get 65w.
My goodness, the audio levels. It's an extremely simple fix during editing to just increase the volume of Aish's whispering voice, but this video just sounds like a Sonic Adventure 2 cutscene where the music just drowns out the dialogue entirely. Very very basic stuff.
@7:25 is a great example. The music fade in/out between sections is at a perfect volume. But people need to increase their device's volume so damn high just to hear Aish talking before and afterward that when something like the transition music plays it comes out blaringly loud. Just increase the volume level of Aish.
🤔 I'm not sure why that's happening I made sure to check sound levels when editing because it's been a problem in the past, maybe I should try different headphones in the future.
@@retrohandhelds Different headphones will have different trebel and bass levels. Some songs sound awful with how bassy my Bob Marley headphones are, for example.
So I have one. Mine was an early pre-order purchase. What's it been, 9-10 months? Here's what I found: The screen is smaller than my smallish cell phone and that's a problem with windows. Yeah you can boot into Steam Big screen... So there's that. But Windows just isn't made for a phone sized screen without a mouse or keyboard. What's worse is the controller isn't recognized half the time, and the on-screen keyboard won't come up, and when it does your games don't accept the input. Sometimes the hotkey combo's work, sometimes they don't. Gog Galaxy only runs with a mouse. That's another problem. Honestly the best use for this is to dock it with a mouse, keyboard and monitor. It's actually quite a capable computer in that case. And you can setup some games to play when you grab it and take it with you. Construction is fantastic. But when ever I pick it up, I long for my desktop PC. It's ok, but mine sits on the end table 99.99% of the time. You can put a game on it and if it works well enough, it's nice to take on a trip. Or it's nice to use docked. For me it's pretty rare to go look for it and play it by choice. It's more by necessity. Like I need something to play multiplayer in the living room, or I am on travel or something. My $0.02. Also I think the price dropped to about $500. My suggestion: Get a ROG Ally or a Lenovo Go. There aren't going to be any updates to the Loki Max, so it's not going to get better and you can't fix the screen size anyways.
Just too expensive for what it is. ... if it was £400 I would buy it. I have a Steam Deck and its Ace.. and Not sure why windows is a good option for a pc handheld other than to play anti cheat software games.
Let us know what you think of the Loki, and what handheld you might want us to cover next! 🎮
Going through video's I haven't seen from you so far, great review! Sadly the Loki has been taken off Ayn's site. :( Short lived.
I love how compact it looks and it's just a nice looking device. Great video, Aish!
Thanks Dad!
Thanks Aish! It's good that these devices are finally getting out to people who have been waiting all this time...
Just got a max. Excellent fan curve! I used it yesterday. Perfect 👌
Glad I could help 😁
Ayn Loki is fascinating, amazing desing, perfect ergonomics: I would actually prefer this device against any other with similar form factor... At the end of the live review of Loki Max, Stubbs said "late, but not obsolete", and I think this is the pefect description 😊 Personally, I would be more interested in other chipset, like the Loki 256. I think with Loki Mini Pro, Ayn could have put on the market a budget pc handheld with great performance and premium form factor, especially for the starting price for the AMD model of 299$; but after the cancellation of the Intel option and the increasing of the AMD one to 349$, unfortunally there's still this lack of good and affordable pc handhelds... I hoped in Ayn Loki, but they disappointed me😢
The AMD6800U is still a very good chip.
Give it a couple years it would be super-efficient value for budget friendly and retro handhelds running on Linux.
The relatively smaller size of the device and what seems like very comfortable ergonomics (compared to other handhelds) is what sold me on the Loki. If not for that, I wouldn't buy one. I'd just go with a Steam Deck or AyaNeo Air. But, I don't know how many people are going to care or notice that about the Loki.
The size and ergonomics is a big highlight for the Loki
Honesty I applaud them for trying even with the massive delays
Great review Aish! My Loki Max also has the left-stick + trigger issue. I know what's causing it and it's not a one-off- it's a very bad design problem that I can't believe they didn't catch!
Thank you! And same I was very surprised they didn't, luckily it's an easy fix but it shouldn't have happened.
Awesome video Aish!
Thank you! Really enjoyed making it 😁
Skate 3 in handheld form is a dream. These things are too expensive for me though.
Very nice. Like many others, I have a steam deck already so I won’t buy this at this price. Unfortunately for other devs, the ST really hit it out of the park with price/performance of the deck
I got mine a couple days ago, it is the best handheld i could have possibly chosen. Waiting a year was extremely tough but i couldnt be happier!
Beautiful looking device but the price is too high. I'll stick with my Steam Deck for the moment!
$550 is cheaper than Steam Deck 512gb model and it's twice as powerful.
I'm going to order my Ayn Loki Max in black 🖤
I have a black Loki zero and it looks great.
-Aish
@@retrohandhelds I love the compact design of the Ayn Loki Max and not too big and bulky handheld devices
@@MrMartellSincere Did you end up ordering one? They're no longer available on their website, like it doesn't exist.
If only the battery lasted twice as long, this would be a nice offer. Less than an hour is absurd, and if i wanted to play less demanding or 2D games, I'd use my Switch.
Yeah battery life continues to be an issue on x86 devices
Hi, it has been few months since video published. Is the white color get dirty or yellowish?
Would appreciate it if you could do the joystick circularity test on the Loki!
Great review man! 😉
Really appreciate it
Great review, Aish! I’m still waiting for my Loki Mini Pro with the AMD Mendocino chip, planning to use it mostly for emulation. Have you tried Batocera or Emudeck for Windows on the Loki Max?
Thank you I really enjoyed making it. No I haven't tested any other OS options I need to check out EmuDeck for windows but isn't that still in beta ?
@@retrohandhelds From Russ' video it seems that it's working fine, but you have to pay to get early access
Mine just showed up at the door a couple hours ago, I honestly had forgotten I pre-ordered it.
Sounds like it was a nice surprise
@@retrohandhelds ya know, in a way, it was. In another way, answering the door with a ROG ally in my hand, it felt like a total letdown. I do enjoy the performance, and the form factor of the Loki, but geez. I was so early in the preorder process and it still took enough time for me to forget about. Now I really feel I wasted my money as it just kinda sits in a corner.
The minimum TDP is 8W? some other consoles you could get down until 4W and some games works great
This Handheld the ROG Ally, AYA NEO 2S, AYA NEO 1S, or the Steam Deck, which would you buy?
That's thought because the deck is just such a tempting proposition for the money, it really depends how much you value size, ergonomics and your budget.
this is quite price competitive with sd if all other devices are too expensive this could be a answer
Hey, are you guys going to review the 6600 as well?
Very likely
Any docks to recommend for this device?
What is the battery life for emulation? Is it better than the Odin 2?
It's not, the Odin 2 has substantially better battery life but keep in mind the Loki runs games the Odin 2 cant.
-Aish
Absolutely love it! I hope someone can answer this : Does the Loki have pass through charging similar to the Steamdeck?
yes, after you hit 100% it will stop charging. I have it, and I use it in my car with my solar, and after I hit 💯 I notice the watts drop to whatever I'm using. if I'm playing at 35w total watt usage is 40w when the batter is charging, I get 65w.
No. It only has one USB port.
My goodness, the audio levels. It's an extremely simple fix during editing to just increase the volume of Aish's whispering voice, but this video just sounds like a Sonic Adventure 2 cutscene where the music just drowns out the dialogue entirely. Very very basic stuff.
@7:25 is a great example. The music fade in/out between sections is at a perfect volume. But people need to increase their device's volume so damn high just to hear Aish talking before and afterward that when something like the transition music plays it comes out blaringly loud. Just increase the volume level of Aish.
🤔 I'm not sure why that's happening I made sure to check sound levels when editing because it's been a problem in the past, maybe I should try different headphones in the future.
@@retrohandhelds Different headphones will have different trebel and bass levels. Some songs sound awful with how bassy my Bob Marley headphones are, for example.
Is it possible to open this Handheld up and replace the M2 SSD storage?
It is!
When they will start to ship?? So tired of waiting
Battery life?
It really depends on what you want to play, for new AAA games around 1:30hrs but for lighter games around 5ish
I have a question on Steam for the games that have partial control, does mouse mode work for that?
Sorry but I didn't try that, I would imagine the mouse works since it's just registered as a regular mouse.
@@retrohandhelds well if you do try it let me know curious because I'd like to play my steam library on there
So I have one. Mine was an early pre-order purchase. What's it been, 9-10 months? Here's what I found: The screen is smaller than my smallish cell phone and that's a problem with windows. Yeah you can boot into Steam Big screen... So there's that. But Windows just isn't made for a phone sized screen without a mouse or keyboard. What's worse is the controller isn't recognized half the time, and the on-screen keyboard won't come up, and when it does your games don't accept the input. Sometimes the hotkey combo's work, sometimes they don't. Gog Galaxy only runs with a mouse. That's another problem.
Honestly the best use for this is to dock it with a mouse, keyboard and monitor. It's actually quite a capable computer in that case. And you can setup some games to play when you grab it and take it with you. Construction is fantastic. But when ever I pick it up, I long for my desktop PC. It's ok, but mine sits on the end table 99.99% of the time. You can put a game on it and if it works well enough, it's nice to take on a trip. Or it's nice to use docked. For me it's pretty rare to go look for it and play it by choice. It's more by necessity. Like I need something to play multiplayer in the living room, or I am on travel or something.
My $0.02. Also I think the price dropped to about $500. My suggestion: Get a ROG Ally or a Lenovo Go. There aren't going to be any updates to the Loki Max, so it's not going to get better and you can't fix the screen size anyways.
>Add buttons on the back of the device
>But only two of them, not four
wwwwhhhhhhyyyyYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
The steam deck has spoiled us 😂
Can the ayn loki max display on a tv??????
Yes it does
@@retrohandhelds Only if you buy a dock with a HDMI port.
Did anyone ever find a fix for the trigger deadzone?
They would have to update it since it's a software issue.
-Aish
@@retrohandhelds oh it hasn't been updated yet?
Just too expensive for what it is. ... if it was £400 I would buy it. I have a Steam Deck and its Ace.. and Not sure why windows is a good option for a pc handheld other than to play anti cheat software games.
it's at 550 right now
@@AlexRubioyes just too expensive for what you get. Steam deck oled is out or even the LCD model is at bargain price right now.
@@jobearesto9746 yeah, but Loki max has size and the screen is nice too. But for the majority just get deck
@@jobearesto9746it’s fine for the price the deck is an underselling console not a windows pc.
@jobearesto9746 it's not too expensive the Steam Deck is more expensive for the same storage configuration, twice the size, and half the power.
Gcloud is fantastic.
If you use it, you get it.
Agree 100% It's great.
1:54
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_design_power