Never have there been so many handheld PCs than in the past year or so, but unlike their larger laptop cousins, these are all designed for gaming. Yes, there are some that have one form of keyboard or another, but these are often added for the sake of chatting in games more than for productivity. Of course, computers can do more than just play games, especially ones that run full operating systems like Windows or Linux. GPD, one of the most prolific manufacturers of these gaming handheld computers, also has a product line designed for more serious applications, and the upcoming GPD Pocket 4 promises an AI-powered productivity and content creation experience thanks to the newest AMD Ryzen AI processor. And yes, it can play PC games, too!
Designer: GPD
GPD was actually one of the first few brands to launch pocketable handheld computers even before handheld gaming PCs were a thing. The first two GPD WIN devices were nearly the same size and form as the Nintendo DS, but now it has branched out to other form factors and sizes, like the 10-inch GPD WIN MAX. It also has a specific product line for what are basically handheld laptops, and the GPD Pocket 4 brings that design to the world of AI.
Unlike any gaming handheld, including the laptop-like GPD WIN MINI, this one has no gaming controls whatsoever. That leaves plenty of room for a larger keyboard, but not enough for a normal touchpad. Instead, the Pocket 4 shoves this small rectangle to the upper right corner, where one can use their right thumb to move the cursor when holding the device in both hands. Opposite this are the mouse buttons, which probably give the feeling of using a game controller as well.
Powering this new handheld PC is an equally new AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, the chipmaker’s latest and greatest AI-powered processor for laptops, paired with an onboard Radeon 890M graphics chip. It has 64GB of RAM inside and a whopping 4TB of NVMe SSD storage, upgradable to 8TB. It is pretty much a normal laptop, except for the tinier size and the equally small 44.8Wh battery. But that means it is quite capable as a laptop replacement for content creation, entertainment, productivity, and anything else under the sun, including some gaming within certain limits.
The GPD Pocket 4 is more than just a mini laptop, however. It’s also a mini tablet, thanks to the swiveling 8.8-inch 2560×1600 144Hz display. It even has stylus support, so you can scribble notes or even sketch a few drawings on the go. Its key feature, like its predecessor, is a modular component on the back where you can switch between a classic EIA RS-232 Port port, a KVM switch, a microSD card reader, or a SIM card module. Availability details are still under wraps but going by previous iterations, it will cost as much as a full-sized laptop anyway, raising the question of whether that kind of portability is worth the price.
