AYN Goes to Brazil: The Curious Case of Zeenix
AYN Goes to Brazil: The Curious Case of Zeenix
It was a complete disaster when AYN joined the x86 scene in 2022. It is understandable why everyone, including AYN, seems to want to forget the Loki after six distinct overlapping models, a protracted and complicated development cycle that left backers waiting a year or longer for their devices, and numerous cancellations that moved people's orders from cancelled SKU to cancelled SKU.
Apparently, excluding Brazil.
Enter Tectoy has unveiled the Zeenix, a recognizable, square-shaped PC portable with a 6-inch screen in two entirely different versions. An Athlon 3050e processor, 256GB of NVMe storage, and 8GB of dual-channel DDR4 RAM are the less expensive Zeenix Lite features. The more potent Zeenix Pro has 512GB of storage, 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and a Ryzen 6800U, a popular chipset in the portable PC market. It was a complete disaster when AYN joined the x86 scene in 2022. It is understandable why everyone, including AYN, seems to want to forget the Loki after six distinct overlapping models, a protracted and complicated development cycle that left backers waiting a year or longer for their devices, and numerous cancellations that moved people's orders from cancelled SKU to cancelled SKU.
However, those familiar with AYN's portfolio will notice these specs look similar to the Loki Zero and Loki Max. What's going on? Has this Brazilian company copied AYN's old design to sell independently? Did they find an abandoned warehouse full of unsold Lokis? Some speculated that these were cheap knockoffs of the AYANEO Air lineup.
Who is Tectoy?
Since Tectoy is the firm that infamously still sells the Sega Master System today, some readers will already be familiar with it. Their business strategy mainly consists of repackaging and licensing tech items from non-Brazilian companies like Sega and 8BitDo. Brazil has extremely high import taxes on electronic goods that are not "Brazilian-made," which is why this business model exists.
Some readers will already be familiar with the Sega Master System because the notoriously still-selling company, Tectoy, sells it. Repackaging and licensing tech products from non-Brazilian companies like Sega and 8BitDo is the mainstay of their business approach. Because of Brazil's exorbitant import taxes on electrical products that aren't "Brazilian-made," this business model is in place.
Tectoy and AYN appear to have reached a similar agreement. Pedro Caxa, the new head of marketing at Zeenix, shared a tweet that shows three AYN employees and a few Tectoy colleagues having supper together:
An employee of Tectoy posted a tweet with a picture of a group of individuals seated at a restaurant table. Three persons in well-groomed casual attire are on the right, while five people with Tectoy shirts are on the left.
Thus, it is said that Tectoy had some involvement in the creation of the Loki. Could this be the cause of AYN's severe developmental difficulties? Most likely not, but it's still fascinating.
The Zeenix website only offers a form for interested parties to join their email "VIP List"; we do not have any pricing information. Since there aren't many Lokis outside of Brazil, you should search the used market if interested. We will be watching this one.