AYN’s Thor dual-screen handheld is getting noticeably more expensive again, just a little over a month after the last price bump. Alongside the increase, AYN has also introduced a fresh configuration, bringing the total number of Thor options to five as it opens its next wave of pre-orders.
Part of the frustration for prospective buyers is the storage situation. AYN previously indicated it will be moving to UFS 3.1 storage for its handhelds, including the Thor and Odin 3, even though these devices originally launched with faster UFS 4.0. Now, the pricing news makes that change harder to swallow.
The biggest shift affects the top-end model. The Thor Max with 16GB RAM and 1TB storage originally launched at $429 for the first batch of pre-orders. After that, it climbed to $449, then jumped to $489 last month, with AYN pointing to a steep rise in RAM costs. Now, AYN says the same 16GB/1TB Thor Max will cost $549, this time blaming the high cost of UFS storage.
What makes this price increase particularly controversial is that buyers are paying more even though the handheld is no longer expected to ship with UFS 4.0. In other words, the highest-end Thor Max is getting more expensive while also moving to slower UFS 3.1 storage.
Instead of discontinuing the top-tier option or holding pricing steady with adjusted specs, AYN is adding another “Max” tier to the lineup. There’s now a new Thor Max configuration with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage priced at $469. This version is available in all four colors and has already appeared on AYN’s store, set to ship with the next production run.
Here are the current AYN Thor models and prices:
Thor Lite (Snapdragon 865, 8GB RAM, 128GB storage): $249
Thor Base (Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, 8GB RAM, 128GB storage): $319
Thor Pro (Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, 12GB RAM, 256GB storage): $399
Thor Max (Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, 16GB RAM, 512GB storage): $469
Thor Max (Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, 16GB RAM, 1TB storage): $549
AYN is now taking Batch 6 pre-orders, and the company’s current estimate suggests shipping won’t begin until mid-June. For buyers tracking the best handheld gaming device deals, the Thor’s frequent price changes and the move from UFS 4.0 to UFS 3.1 are key details to weigh before locking in a pre-order.
