Ayaneo Flip DS and Flip KB aren't dead after all — Ayaneo claims a misunderstanding

Official renders of the Ayaneo Flip KB (left) and Ayaneo Flip DS (right).
(Image credit: Ayaneo)

Following a series of reports from various outlets in the past few days, Ayaneo has deleted an announcement post on its Ayaneo Flip Indiegogo project page, which most of us took to mean the handhelds were being discontinued entirely. A new post clarifies that the Ayaneo Flip KB and Flip DS are not being discontinued, despite how seriously the original phrasing seemed to precisely imply that.

Instead, Ayaneo has clarified several points. For one, while the production of the Ayaneo Flip series was indeed canceled, it was only after 98% of its crowdfunding orders had already been shipped, with just 18 orders remaining unshipped. Thus, the series qualified for the refunding or trade-in options highlighted in our prior coverage.

Secondly, the Ayaneo Flip series has not been discontinued. Ayaneo has pledged to produce an additional batch of "several hundred Ayaneo Flip units within the next three months" and even said that "the Flip series will continue", meaning a future Flip DS 2 and Flip KB 2 are both very real possibilities. Considering the presence of other foldable or slidable keyboard gaming handhelds already, this writer thinks it'd be best to focus on the Flip DS form factor, but that part's just my opinion.

This is a fortunate update for those interested in the Ayaneo Flip handheld but were planning to wait for an official retail run instead of backing a crowdfunding campaign. Fortunately, it still seems that a retail release is happening via the "limited restock plan," though we don't yet have a proper release date for the restocked Ayaneo Flip units. After the waves caused by this campaign, we wouldn't be surprised to see those units disappear quickly as soon as they go on sale.

Hopefully, there will be enough units for genuine enthusiasts, and that scalpers won't ruin the party for everyone. The unique form factor of the Ayaneo Flip KB and especially the Ayaneo Flip DS combined with their powerful internals make them a genuinely distinct choice compared to other gaming handhelds on the market, and seeing them get another chance before their eventual successors debut in the coming years is still nice to see.

Unfortunately, those 18 backers who have yet to receive their units will still need to choose between a refund or trading in toward another Ayaneo handheld before March 27, at least if the past posting still applies. Ayaneo claims to have already contacted the impacted backers.

Christopher Harper
Contributing Writer

Christopher Harper has been a successful freelance tech writer specializing in PC hardware and gaming since 2015, and ghostwrote for various B2B clients in High School before that. Outside of work, Christopher is best known to friends and rivals as an active competitive player in various eSports (particularly fighting games and arena shooters) and a purveyor of music ranging from Jimi Hendrix to Killer Mike to the Sonic Adventure 2 soundtrack.

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  • helper800
    Admin said:
    Hopefully, there will be enough for genuine enthusiasts, and scalpers won't ruin the whole party as they are often wont to do.
    Some grammar issues here.
    Reply
  • edzieba
    helper800 said:
    Some grammar issues here.
    Seems perfectly correct to me. "Wont to do" (note the lack of apostrophe) = "are commonly found to do" or "are likely to do".
    Reply
  • helper800
    edzieba said:
    Seems perfectly correct to me. "Wont to do" (note the lack of apostrophe) = "are commonly found to do" or "are likely to do".
    The last part, "are often wont to do," is completely nonsensical to me. I wonder if this is more of a UK English type of vernacular or written word usage. I have never heard or read that verbiage before.
    Reply
  • edzieba
    helper800 said:
    The last part, "are often wont to do," is completely nonsensical to me. I wonder if this is more of a UK English type of vernacular or written word usage. I have never heard or read that verbiage before.
    It's used in both British and American English.
    Reply
  • helper800
    edzieba said:
    It's used in both British and American English.
    It seems to be such a rare word that when written in a google prompt it is thought to be "won't" misspelled.
    Reply
  • TheyCallMeContra
    helper800 said:
    It seems to be such a rare word that when written in a google prompt it is thought to be "won't" misspelled.

    and that's why humans write these :)
    Reply
  • Kidd N
    edzieba said:
    It's used in both British and American English.
    I have never seen an American usage of are wont to do. Can't speak for the UK.
    Reply
  • helper800
    Kidd N said:
    I have never seen an American usage of are wont to do. Can't speak for the UK.
    The writer of the article is from the US it seems, but I still agree. I have never seen such usage. I guess I should read some more.
    Reply