Nick Fernandez / Android Authority
TL;DR
- After intense criticism from fans, AYANEO has outlined a “Service Improvement Plan” for 2026.
- It addresses shipping delays, poor customer service, quality control, and more.
- The company has also delayed the Pocket Play campaign while it works to implement the changes.
AYANEO has been a trailblazer in retro gaming handheld designs, but when it comes to customer service, it lags far behind the competition. Crowdfunded products are frequently delayed for months with little to no communication, and after-market support is both slow and often ineffective.
The comprehensive plan covers everything from crowdfunding and shipping to customer service and repairs. The image below provides an overview, touching on every criticism levied against the company in recent years.
The company is revamping its customer service pipeline, introducing tiered support to escalate issues to technical teams as needed. It appears that the current team has been overwhelmed following the success of three campaigns last year (the Pocket DS, Pocket FIT, and Pocket AIR Mini). However, the current backlog of enquiries is expected to be cleared within 10 business days. The customer service team will also receive additional training, and a public knowledge base with self-service resources will launch soon.
After-sales service is also being overhauled, as the current system hasn’t kept pace with the company’s growth. This should result in faster replacements for faulty units and overall speedier repairs. The company will also gradually establish overseas warehouses, which can offer replacement units and parts without shipping devices back to China.
AYANEO plans to open overseas warehouses later this year.
AYANEO stopped short of abandoning crowdfunding for future projects, as it remains the most efficient way to release new products. However, it has committed to providing more transparency and updates for shipping timelines, as well as shifting more sales to the official website when appropriate.
Until now, most AYANEO products launch (and ship) in China before global markets, but that’s also changing. The company will conduct a trial run of simultaneous global/Chinese shipping for a future product, aiming to allocate inventory more fairly to overseas customers. This was a major complaint for the Pocket AIR Mini, which saw some resellers offering units on marketplaces like AliExpress before crowdfunding backers received their devices.
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As a result of this major change in policy, the highly anticipated Pocket Play sliding phone campaign will be postponed. AYANEO’s first smartphone was also set to be its first Kickstarter campaign (instead of Indiegogo), but it has now been pushed back until after the company has verified that the new service improvement plan has been adequately implemented.
However, the current Pocket VERT campaign remains in full swing, with just over three weeks remaining. That device is slated to begin shipping in February, although the comments are filled with users warning potential buyers about the ongoing controversy. This may have been what finally prompted AYANEO to draft an official response.
In any case, a plan is only a plan, and actions will speak louder than words. Time will tell whether or not AYANEO is able to get its act together and win back the goodwill of the retro gaming community.
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