The Ayaneo Next Lite handheld console will ship with Windows 11 for $299

The announcement of the Ayaneo Next Lite handheld console earlier this month has seen a lot of twists and turns since then. First, the company claimed the device would ship with Valve's SteamOS like the one found in the Steam Deck portable PC.

Then, the company quickly changed its tune, stating that the device would ship with an unofficial third-party fork of SteamOS called HoloISO. That admission took off guard many people who wanted to get the device for the SteamOS.

Today, Ayaneo is making yet another OS change for the Next Lite. In a post on its X (formerly Twitter) account, the company now says the console will ship pre-installed with Windows 11 Home Edition.

Ayaneo said it has made this new change because customers have said they would prefer to have the Next Lite come with a Windows operating system.

It added that buyers can still download and install the HoloISO system images from Ayaneo if they wish. It stated:

The streamlined and efficient HololSO system aims to offer players a more convenient game management, smooth and stable gaming performance, lower overall power consumption, and native compatibility with both controllers and touchscreen operations. This approach aligns with the gaming habits of handheld device users, providing players with a richer selection of operating systems.

The Ayaneo Next Lite will still come with the same hardware specs, including both an AMD Ryzen 5 4500U chip and a Ryzen 7 4800U processor. It will also have a 7-inch 800p IPS screen and a 47Wh battery. It supports an M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 internal SSD, with up to 8TB of storage, along with Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 wireless hardware.

You can go to its official website for more info and to sign up to receive updates for pre-ordering the Next Lite. The price for the product is supposed to be $299.