Skip to main content

I fell in love with this adorable mini gaming PC

Tech Of The Week
This story is part of our Tech of the Week series

Tech of the Week LogoA new mini gaming PC designed to look like a classic Mac is launching soon, and it could be seriously impressive. Ayaneo revealed the AM01 mini PC and it’s among the first mini PCs the company has ever released.

Recommended Videos

Ayaneo is mostly known for making handheld gaming PCs like the Ayaneo 2S, but it’s introducing two mini PCs as part of its new Remake concept. The series is meant to “interpret retro, reshape classic,” according to the company, which furnished its portable gaming devices with the powdery whites and grays of classic electronics.

AYANEO Retro Mini PC AM01 - Interpret Retro, Reshape Classic

The AM01 looks like it takes design inspiration specifically from a classic Mac like the Apple II. It’s off-white with a rainbow badge on top that sits alongside a gray power button. Ayaneo hasn’t shared many details yet, but it looks as if the mini PC includes five USB ports, with four on the back and one on the front, along with an HDMI port, DisplayPort connection, and Ethernet.

Get your weekly teardown of the tech behind PC gaming
Check your inbox!

We don’t have any details about the specs for now, but the IndieGoGo page for the AM01 promises “top-notch gaming experiences” and “multiple processor version option.” The page also highlights that the mini PC will be available with Windows 11 or as a bare-bones PC, both of which offer user-expandable storage.

Badges for the Ayaneo AM01.
Ayaneo

Ayaneo is no stranger to powerful APUs like the Ryzen 7 7840U, so it’s possible we’ll see an APU in the AM01. It’s possible that Ayaneo could pack a discrete GPU into the mini PC, though an APU seems more likely given the size. Ayaneo says the AM01 is “so portable [it] can be carried in your bag.”

Ayaneo AM02 mini PC.
Ayaneo

The PC will launch in mid- to late November at an Ayaneo event, but it seems this is when the campaign on IndieGoGo will launch, not when the final product will ship.

Ayaneo announced several other products at its showcase, including the AM02, which is a mini PC like the AM01 that sports a design reminiscent of the classic NES. In addition, the company introduced the Ayaneo Slide, which is a 7840U handheld with a screen you can slide forward to reveal a keyboard, and the Ayaneo Flip, a clamshell handheld that reveals either a keyboard or a second screen depending on your model. The Slide will launch at the end of November, while the Flip is expected in the next two months.

Jacob Roach
Lead Reporter, PC Hardware
Jacob Roach is the lead reporter for PC hardware at Digital Trends. In addition to covering the latest PC components, from…
Your next gaming PC could be fully built by Nvidia
Nvidia's A100 data center GPU.

Nvidia might be at the heart of your next gaming PC, not just through a graphics card, but also through your processor. Team Green is working on an Arm-based PC platform that's built around a CPU and GPU designed by Nvidia and that is reportedly set to launch in September 2025, according to DigiTimes.

According to the report, Nvidia is planning on launching a high-end computing platform based on Arm instructions in September, with a commercial launch following in March 2026. This is the first we're hearing about a timeline for Arm-based chips designed by Nvidia, but it's not the first time we're hearing about it. About a year ago, Reuters reported that Nvidia began looking into Arm-based CPUs as "part of Microsoft's effort to help chip companies build Arm-based processors for Windows PCs."

Read more
No, generative AI isn’t taking over your PC games anytime soon
Cyberpunk 2077 running on the Samsung Odyssey OLED G8.

Surprise -- the internet is upset. This time, it's about a recent article from PC Gamer on the future of generative AI in video games. It's a topic I've written about previously, and something that game companies have been experimenting with for more than a year, but this particular story struck a nerve.

Redditors used strong language like "pro-AI puff piece," PC Gamer itself issued an apology, and the character designer for Bioshock Infinite's Elizabeth called the featured image showing the character reimagined with AI a "half-assed cosplay." The original intent of the article is to glimpse into the future at what games could look like with generative AI, but without the tact or clear realization of how this shift affects people's jobs and their creative works.

Read more
I’ve reviewed every AMD and Nvidia GPU this generation — here’s how the two companies stack up
Three graphics cards on a gray background.

Nvidia and AMD make the best graphics cards you can buy, but choosing between them isn't easy. Unlike previous generations, AMD and Nvidia trade blows point-for-point in 2024, and picking a brand to go with isn't as easy as counting the dollars in your wallet.

I've reviewed every graphics card AMD and Nvidia have released this generation, comparing not only raw performance, but also features like DLSS and FSR, ray tracing performance, and how VRAM works in modern games. After dozens of graphics card reviews, here's how AMD and Nvidia stack up against each other in 2024.
Nvidia vs. AMD in 2024

Read more