ranzware
Mini PCs too small for a dedicated GPU are never going to be gaming powerhouses. But there’s still huge appeal in cramming full PC functionality into a tiny box. Add a flip-up touchscreen, CNC-alloy construction and a retro vibe into the mix and, well, you may as well just take my money.
Give it up, therefore, for the Retro Mini PC AM01S the latest condensed hunk of want from Ayaneo, all built into a very compact 1L case. It follows on from the Retro Mini PC AM01 sans ‘S’ suffix with an extreme familiar look, save for one critical detail. Where the original Retro Mini PC AM01 had a black panel, the new Retro Mini PC AM01S sports a flip-up screen.
Indeed, the original’s black panel was designed to mimic the presence of a screen and complete an overall vibe that screamed “original Apple Macintosh” circa 1984. I am probably giving away too much when I reveal that I am old enough to remember, as a small child, being wowed by a neighbour’s Macintosh and its ultra-modern all-in-one beige vibe. What a time it was to be alive.
Well, now you too can enjoy that same thrill, except courtesy of thoroughly modern internals. Along with the screen (more on which in a moment) Ayaneo has upgraded the APU from an AMD 5000-series chip to the very latest AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370.
As I said, that’s not exactly a gaming powerhouse, but it does rock 16 RDNA 3.5-style compute units and it is capable of some moderate 1080p-res gaming. It’s basically the same chip as you’ll find in the OneXPlayer OneXFly F1 Pro, and that’s pretty much the fastest handheld gaming PC we’ve reviewed to date. There may also be a cheaper version using the old AMD Ryzen 8000-series APU, but Ayaneo’s website is a little confused on that subject, to say the least.
Anywho, APU aside, the new AM01S has additional ports on the front, now hidden behind a magnetic cover for maximum sleekness when not in use. On the rear, there are two USB4 ports, a pair of ethernet sockets, two HMDI outputs, plus a pair of USB-A connectors.
But what of that dinky pop-up screen? Well, it’s a 4-inch touch panel built into a CNC-machined aluminium frame. Ayaneo doesn’t quote resolution or refresh rates, or even panel type.
So, it’s unclear if we’re talking LCD or OLED. But Ayaneo also describes it as, “a native Windows extended display, supporting system-level display modes. It can be used independently without an external monitor, greatly expanding its functionality and usability.” So, there’s that.
Whatever, this is a very neat and thoroughly nostalgic little PC. We’re I in the market for a little desktop box for daily driving duties, I’d find it very hard to say no. The fact that our own Al Bickham was so smitten by the Ayaneo Retro Mini AM02, itself a pint-sized homage to the original Nintendo Entertainment System, certainly gives me confidence this Mac-inspired model will be an equally solid effort, even if Ayaneo’s website is a bit of a mess.
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Kurt Indovina
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