China's GMKTec has announced the EVO-X2, which it claims is "the world's first AI mini PC equipped with the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 processor." The device was shown off at the AMD Greater China Channel Summit today, with top red-team execs like CEO Lisa Su and SVP & GM Jack Huynh in attendance. GMKTec was lucky enough to get Dr. Su to sign one or more of the new EVO-X2 mini PCs, and the source blog hints there is a batch of Signature Editions.
Back to pixel peeping to unearth more details about the GMKTec EVO-X2, and one of the first comments we can make is that it is pretty sizable for a mini PC. In the image featuring Jack Huynh, you can see the AMD SVP & GM holding a Geekom machine, which appears to be a traditional '4 x 4' NUC-a-like. With the EVO-X2 in close proximity, we Photoshop-estimate that the EVO-X2 is a '5 x 4.5' and larger in the remaining dimension.
Images shared by GMKTec on social media provide further ideas about the shape and form of the EVO-X2. Also, we can clearly see a power button to the front, alongside an SD card reader, a Thunderbolt (Type C) port, twin USB (Type A ports), and a headset jack. Around the back are three more USB (Type-A) ports, another Thunderbolt, HDMI, DP, an RJ45 network port, another headset jack, and a barrel power jack.
Enthusiasts are excited about the new generation Strix Halo APUs from AMD. So if GMKTec can get its product on shelves ahead of the likes of the HP Z2 Mini G1a and Framework Desktop - at an attractive price - it will have won a minor coup. We don't know how many 'Lisa Su' signed models there are, but the source blog hints there is a batch.
As for who will be first with an AMD Strix Halo, Asus originally slated its ROG Flow Z13 for release in February, but it still seems to be in pre-order purgatory, and it's not a mini PC. The Framework Desktop machines with Ryzen AI Max chips aren't expected until Q3 this year. The other machine we have heard about, the HP Z2 Mini G1a, is set to be released in 'spring.'
