It's been a long time since Manjaro announced it was developing a handheld PC. Its name, OrangePi NeoAnd the operating system it would use would be Manjaro Gaming. Already in 2025 We wondered if he would be lateIt would offer similar performance to the Steam Deck, but arrive several years later. The latest news isn't any more encouraging, and we have those videos of working kittens and dogs hiding to avoid getting caught browsing the internet at night to thank for that.
The original thread about the Orange Pi Neo was started in February 2024, over two years ago. That post has been updated with new informationsaying that «Due to the high prices of DDR5 RAM and SSDs, the project is currently on hold."The rest, such as certifications for the European Community and FCC, are complete. Many improvements have been made in Manjaro Gaming Edition, but They are waiting for the right moment to launch the product..
When will the OrangePi Neo arrive?
What I was saying earlier about dogs and cats was related to the use of Artificial Intelligence. To power it, you need a lot of GPUs to generate content, SSDs to store information, and RAM for the servers—at the very least. They're snapping up all the available stock, and the law of supply and demand is driving up the prices of these essential components.
The Orange Pi Neo was intended to be affordable, priced around €500, which was one of its strongest selling points. However, if the cost increases and the hardware isn't updated, the device loses some or all of its appeal.
The Orange Pi Neo was slated to launch with an AMD 7840u or 8840u, which, as we mentioned, might be cutting it by 2026. It's possible they'll make new decisions when the project is revived. For example, they could upgrade the hardware, or even cancel it altogether. We'll have to wait and see.