AYANEO has suggested it could soon discontinue another of its handhelds due to the recent "increase in storage component prices."
In an IndieGoGo update for the Android-based KONKR Pocket Fit, published last Friday (h/t: GSM Arena), AYANEO revealed that the Pocket Fit Elite is now shipping to customers who pre-ordered the device, after several delays, and that a restock is also on the way. However, it then followed up with unfortunate news that it could soon be calling time on the device due to "rising" production costs, caused by the ongoing RAM crisis, driving up the cost of memory across consumer electronics.
As you may remember, the KONKR Pocket Fit was originally announced back in August of last year during a livestream on AYANEO's YouTube channel and was initially pitched as a "budget-friendly" high-end handheld. Following that, it was then made available for pre-order on IndieGoGo one month later, in two separate variants: one featuring the G3 Gen 3 chipset (which started at $239) and another with the "Elite" moniker containing the Snapdragon 8 Elite (beginning at $269).
According to the statement, the discontinuation only seems to apply to this pricier Pocket Fit Elite version of the handheld, with the G3 Gen 3-powered Pocket Fit appearing to be excluded from these plans.
Here's the relevant section from the update post (for reference):
"Regarding whether Pocket FIT Elite will be available for purchase again: The answer is yes. We have reserved additional materials for further production. Once most of the current pre-orders have been fulfilled, we will relist Pocket FIT Elite on the AYANEO official website. We will keep you updated with the exact timing.
Please also note that due to the recent increase in storage component prices, future production costs will rise significantly. As a result, after this upcoming restock, Pocket FIT 8Elite will very likely be the final production batch, and it will be available while supplies last, with no current plans for further restocking."
Notably, this isn't the only emulation-based handheld to fall victim to what some are calling the "RAMpocalypse", with several of AYANEO's competitors, including AYN and Retroid, announcing changes to their product lines due to rising costs.
Meanwhile, AYANEO itself announced earlier this month that it was discontinuing pre-orders for its Steam Deck rival, the AYANEO NEXT 2, after it realised that continuing to sell the product was "no longer sustainable," due to "the overall cost of the product [becoming] far higher than our current selling price."