Android handhelds are also facing the tightening grip of the RAM shortage fiasco in the market as a massive brand has recently confirmed that it is raising its console's prices.
Android Handhelds Face Price Increases Now
Well-known leaker Wario64 shared screenshots of an AYN representative announcing in the brand's Discord server that the next wave of pre-orders for the AYN Thor and Odin 3 are now available.
However, the announcement also comes with a significant price increase for the handhelds coming this month. The new pricing will take effect once the current inventory allocation is sold through.
The representative, identified as Nicole from AYN, added that, for anyone who had been thinking about picking one up, now would be a great time to place an order before the new pricing kicks in.
Current pricing for the AYN Thor sits between $249 and $549, depending on the configuration, while the Odin 3 ranges from $339 to $489.
Those figures are already reflective of a previous price hike as, back in April, AYN increased the price of the 1TB AYN Thor dual-screen handheld by $100, bumping it from $450 to $550, making this the second price increase for the Thor in less than three months.
The exact price increase has not been officially announced, but based on the April hike, a similar bump of $100 or more is reportedly expected. AYN has not revealed as of press time when the price hike will take place.
RAM Shortage Fiasco Affects Handhelds
According to Kotaku, the reason behind the AYN price increases is the same one driving price hikes across the broader gaming hardware industry.
A global shortage of RAM and memory chips has been squeezing manufacturers for months, driven largely by AI hyperscalers buying up available inventory in bulk, leaving less supply for consumer electronics companies trying to source components at manageable costs.
AYN is far from the only company feeling the pressure, particularly as Valve recently increased the price of the Steam Deck by over $200, while Nintendo announced a $50 price hike on the Switch 2 less than a year into its lifecycle.
The AYN announcements are just the latest confirmation that the shortage is broad enough to affect even smaller manufacturers that operate outside the mainstream console market.
The Lenovo Legion Go 2 also saw a price increase tied to the same RAM shortage, further demonstrating how widespread the problem has become across the handheld gaming PC category as a whole.
Will the Shortage, Price Hike Get Worse?
Based on what manufacturers and industry analysts have shared so far, the situation is not expected to improve quickly. Sony CEO Hiroki Totoki stated earlier this year that memory prices are expected to remain high through fiscal year 2027, citing continued supply shortages as the reason.
If that projection holds, the string of price increases affecting gaming hardware is likely to continue well into next year.
For consumers eyeing any of these devices, the window to buy at current pricing is narrowing with each passing week. While it may sound like a marketing tactic, it is good advice from AYN to buy now before the price increases again.
