AYN Announces Price Increase and Spec Changes for "Thor" and "Odin 3" Due to Rising Component Costs
Leading the Android gaming device market, AYN Technologies has announced price revisions and specification changes for the dual-screen device "AYN Thor" and flagship model "AYN Odin 3" due to rising component costs. The surge in DRAM and storage prices, driven by increased demand from AI-related companies, has directly impacted the manufacturer's profitability.
The most notable change in this announcement is the alteration of the built-in storage standard. Starting with the newly available reservations for "Thor Batch 6" and "Odin 3 Batch 7" models, the storage specification will be downgraded from UFS 4.0 to UFS 3.1. The official store listings have already been updated accordingly, reflecting a difficult decision to maintain supply and continue shipments.
This change theoretically halves the sequential read speed from a maximum of 4,200MB/s to about 2,100MB/s. For the flagship model originally designed around the latest standard, lowering storage performance to a "previous generation" level is a significant change that performance-focused users cannot overlook.
Impact and Concerns of the Spec Downgrade on Practical Use
In practical terms, the difference will be especially noticeable when handling large assets. This includes longer load times—ranging from a few seconds to over ten seconds—for launching titles in emulators like PS2, Switch, or PC games, and for large area transfers (loading screens). Additionally, UFS 4.0 offered significantly better power efficiency compared to 3.1, so there are concerns about reduced battery life during high-load operations.
Moreover, for developers and power users who operate local LLMs or load massive model data from storage to memory, the increased load times will likely cause more frequent stress points.
Thor Max Sees Significant Price Increase; Lineup Restructuring Passes on Cost Hikes
On the pricing front, the impact is most pronounced on higher-end models. The top-tier dual-screen model, "Thor Max (16GB + 1TB)," has seen a substantial price increase from $489 to $549. Converted to Japanese yen, this places it around the 75,000 yen mark.
Meanwhile, AYN is also expanding its lineup as a measure to maintain pricing. As an alternative to the now more expensive 1TB model, a new 16GB + 512GB model has been added at $469. The company states it will strive to maintain prices for the Base and Pro models as much as possible, though further revisions cannot be ruled out depending on component cost trends.
Realistic Response Prioritizing Supply Continuity; Shipping Expected Around Mid-June 2026
Currently, AYN is prioritizing shipments of existing batches, but the new batches with the spec changes (Thor Batch 6 / Odin 3 Batch 7) are expected to ship around mid-June 2026.
Within the community, the downgrade of the UFS standard is seen by some as a "practical compromise," but given the severe component shortages affecting portable gaming devices overall, AYN's decision to prioritize supply over halting sales is regarded as a realistic approach. In an era of unpredictable price surges, with the deadline for acquiring current specs and prices approaching, users are urged to make quicker purchasing decisions than ever before.