AYANEO Retro Mini PC AM01 Review: More Than Case Deep?

As technology advances and we keep asking relatively less from computers for most tasks, the mini PC in general becomes a more and more viable option. AYANEO, a company that’s established itself with its handhelds, is expanding into the market with its Retro Mini PC AM01. Is it right for you? We’ll try to help you answer that.

Aesthetics

The packaging of the AYANEO AM01 makes tons of nods to Apple’s choices over the years, setting the stage for the product itself. It makes tons of nods to Apple’s choices, both in its early era and its modern-style box packing. Do these match with the era of the Macintosh Classic, the computer upon which the AM01’s design is based? Uh, not really, no. It’s a pastiche, much like other products in the Remake line. And maybe that makes sense for a product that looks like a Mac but runs Windows.

The materials and wallpaper use a pixelated version of the old Apple serif, which… is weird! It was used on print materials or large enough on the screen to not look like that. The interchangeable icon on the case where the Apple logo would be is a nice touch, if sort of unnecessary. It’s not like the AM02 model with its built-in screen, so we’re not sure how often you’ll be looking at the hardware itself.

Still, the AM01 sets the stage with its looks, fitting in well with a lifestyle that’s retro-friendly. We ended up doing most of our testing with our 8BitDo keyboard and controller, and in a weird way, pairing a new PC that looks like an old Mac with new peripherals that look like old NES or Game Boy models really worked for us.

Performance

While most coverage of the AM01 has focused on higher-end models, we were able to check out the 8GB 5700U model, which isn’t the lowest spec but could be a more affordable option for many people. AYANEO talks about these options as more friendly for office tasks, storage and multimedia, and that’s certainly true, but you don’t need us to tell you about those! We’re here to tell you about its use in games.

As a result, yeah, what it can do is a bit limited in terms of modern titles. Higher-spec models of the AM01 may be able to handle Baldur’s Gate III, but ours couldn’t manage a passable frame rate on lowest settings. Less demanding fare, though, runs fine! We tested Silent Hope and Star Ocean: The Second Story R, and each handled best when adjusting the settings to what we’d most accurately call “Nintendo Switch.”

The AM01 works best as a secondary, home-theater gaming option, though. It has zero trouble running Jackbox Party Pack titles or Monster Roadtrip, the sorts of titles you’d only want to play with a big group in front of the same TV. A mini PC like this one is nice for those, because you can slip it in a bag and take it elsewhere to play with friends and family. And if you’re doing that? Hey, maybe the AM01’s fun aesthetics could be a fun conversation starter. If this scheme is held back by anything, it’s probably that its low-power specs are most taxed by the increasingly-4K displays many use for home theater. It’s a thoroughly capable device at, say, 1080p.

That said, with the retro aesthetic, it’s certainly a good fit for running classics or as an emulation box too. A PC is still the best option for playing old games of all types, and though we’ll leave it to others to cover the ins and outs of setting that up, we had a lot of fun using the AM01 for older PC games like RollerCoaster Tycoon and Heroes of Might and Magic III.

We found the AYASpace app to have some use on other devices like the Slide, but our AM01 model really couldn’t handle it and it was clunky enough that we had to disable it to get things running smoothly. Which isn’t a huge deal, but important to know! It’s most useful as a power management app, so it makes more sense on the company’s handhelds anyway.

AYANEO AM01: The Verdict

Lots of mini PCs can do the things the AYANEO AM01 does, understandably, but it’s a solid entrant into the market. As a first model for the company, it doesn’t mess anything up (which is an accomplishment!), and it brings a fun form factor into a category that generally just gives you nondescript boxes to hide behind other things. It doesn’t set itself apart as much as AYANEO’s handhelds, but it’s a fun and useful one of these! And that’s totally reasonable.

The AYANEO Retro Mini PC AM01 is available now, with models ranging from roughly $200 to $420. For more about the Remake series, check out our review of the Slide and our interview with the company CEO.