AYN teases new portable handheld that looks like a modern Sony PlayStation Portable

The Sony PSP, or PlayStation Portable, is one of the most beloved gaming handhelds ever. Released in 2005, it received a backward-compatible follow-up in 2011, the PlayStation Vita. It sports a similar look and great PlayStation games from franchises like Final Fantasy, Uncharted, Metal Gear Solid, WipEout, and more.

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AYN Technologies teases a new PSP-like handheld, image credit: AYN.

With rumors pointing to Sony working with AMD to create a proper PSP follow-up with PS4-like performance, AYN Technologies, a creator of Android and Windows-based handhelds, is teasing a new lightweight 320-gram machine that looks exactly like a modern PSP.

The handheld has yet to be fully revealed, but it is rumored to be Android-based, so it can essentially play every PSP and PS Vita game via emulation. The most exciting thing about the new handheld, though, outside of the PSP shape, has to be the display.

AYN Technologies is teasing a MiniLED display with a brightness of 1,100 nits, 155% of the sRGB color space, and an impressive 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. MiniLED technology is not a display technology we see often, as it's pretty expensive to produce. It is excellent tech, though, as MiniLED blends the benefits of OLED color accuracy and contrasts with LCD brightness.

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Depending on the underlying hardware (the expectation is that it will sport a modern Snapdragon chip), this could be a powerful, portable, and lightweight little unit. If it ends up being similar to the AYANEO Pocket S, it could include the new Snapdragon G3x Gen 2 gaming platform. Either way, there should be enough power to emulate a range of classic hardware, including the PSP and PS Vita, that its look, well, emulates.

• Read more: Sony produced over 82 million PSPs across handheld's lifetime
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• Read more: AYANEO Pocket S is here, a new flagship Android gaming handheld with Snapdragon G3x Gen 2 chip
• Read more: Google engineers hacked PS Portal to play PSP games, then handed the secrets to Sony