ANBERNIC CONSOLES

ANBERNIC CONSOLES

Anbernic was founded in 2017 and they started producing handheld consoles in September of 2020, their first console was the RG351P with a Cortex A35 CPU running at 1.5GHZ, not very powerful when compared to today’s processors when you consider the latest CPUs being used in Android devices is the SnapDragon Elite, but you must take into account the emulators available at the time the 1.5GHZ processor was more than enough.


Anbernic have a very large range of handhelds with varying CPU processing power, varying GPU speeds, varying stick/D-pad layouts (stick above D-pad or stick below D-pad), no sticks, varying triggers (some in-line and some stacked), vertical handhelds and horizontal handhelds, slide open configuration, overall size of handheld, clam shell and now clam shell with dual screens.

Anbernic are probably the worst culprit when it comes to flooding the market, releasing a handheld and then a month or so later releasing their next and then a couple of months down the line releasing another that is just a slight upgrade of the first (a repeating pattern). There are a few shown in the links page “Handheld Consoles”. I would list all their consoles here, however from September 2020 to date they have released a total of 35 different consoles released over a 69 month period which equates to just short of 1 every 2 months. Shall we just say they have been prolific in their releases.

From the selection of Anbernic consoles I own most have been extremely easy to set-up, however the Anbernic Win600 is a little more time consuming when setting up as Windows doesn't lend itself well to handheld consoles. Over the years many modding opportunities have become available, more so with the introduction of 3D printers, such as stick replacements, 3D printed cases, 3D printed grips, official cases and the many official and unofficial pieces of merchandise.

It would be nice to think that every incarnation of an Anbernic console would produce ever more powerful consoles, however this has not been the case and Anbernic keep revisiting the same processors which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Anbernic might not have the most powerful handheld out there but I would say they have some of the most successful. Shall we just say they know their market and how to price their consoles accordingly.

RG557 - One of Anbernics More powerful Consoles

If you were to purchase an Anbernic console there are many things you could do in helping your selection, most would look at the specifications to determine which best suits your needs and the following are things to keep in mind for your purchase: Battery size, Screen refresh rate, CPU, GPU, RAM, Onboard Storage, External Storage, Screen Size, Screen Resolution, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, OS Android/Linux/Windows, also keep in mind that there are also third party GUIs Knulli, GammaOS etc.

Anbernic are in quite a competitive market, which may account for the quantity of consoles they release, and Anbernic compete with many other makers of handhelds, Powkiddy, AYANEO, AYN, GPD and Switch (I know not an emulation handheld but a handheld non the less), etc. all of which seem to aim at different markets that require an Android, Linux, Windows or  the Nintendo Switch own operating system.

At the moment there are no Anbernic handhelds that use SnapDragon processors which seem to have become a necessity to run such emulators as those for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and Switch, but Anbernic seems to know its market and the Snapdragon doesn't seem to be part of their roadmap at present. The latest iteration of an Anbernic handheld is the RG Rotate but they have also recently released a dual screen console which seem to be very popular among all handheld producers at the moment and this dual screen handheld is at a price of under £100.

There are emulators for most handheld consoles of the 80s through to present day such as PlayStation 3 and Switch which is where most of Anbernics high end consoles top out.

There is always talk of consoles that can be emulated on modern handheld consoles but there are also many computers that can be emulated: Commodore 64, Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, PC (streamed) and many others and these don't seem to get as much coverage as retro consoles do.

Would I recommend an Anbernic device?
Most definitely, the is an Anbernic for everyone, RG DS for dual screen play, RG557 for high end gaming, Win600 for Windows gaming (including Stream) and RG35XX if you want something that looks a little retro (got that Game Boy look going on) and there is a wide variety to cater for all.

Do I like my collection of Anbernic devices?
I certainly do, my most powerful handheld isn't an Anbernic but when it comes to playing it's not all about the power, there is no point in having a powerful handheld with a SnapDragon Elite under the hood with a 3.5” screen that is only able to emulate Game Boy. Sometimes you want a handheld that looks like a Game Boy that can play Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance only and that is enough for some.

Follow and comment below

Michael

ANBERNIC RG ROTATE

ANBERNIC RG ROTATE

I
have received Anbernics latest offering, the Anbernic RG Rotate which
appears to be quite the unique little console with its rotating
display and controls beneath, available in a couple of colours: Polar
Black and Aurora Silver, whichever you get there is something new in
the box I have never seen before and that is a spare set of trigger
buttons which give the L2 and R2 slightly higher triggers. The
chassis on the Polar Black model is comprised of Aluminium
Alloy + ABS Plastic and the chassis on the Aurora Silver model
is purely Aluminium, there are no other hardware differences between
the two.


So
where does my preference lay when it comes to the chassis
construction? Aluminium Alloy + ABS
Plastic or purely Aluminium, this was really an easy decision to make
and that was all aluminium, of the two of them the Aluminium model is
slightly heavier but not by much and I don't foresee the slightly
heavier weight causing any issues during gaming sessions. My thoughts
are also that the rotation mechanism may last longer in an all metal
construction.

I
have only seen the Unisoc Tiger T618 chipset in one other console I
own, the Anbernic RG505 which is quite the capable device, so I
expect similar from the RG Rotate. For the size of the console the
Unisoc
Tiger T618 is quite the powerful processor.

Before
turning it on I am going to do 1 thing I don't normally do, I know I
should, and that was to install the screen protector, it is not a
clamshell so no protection for the screen and I don't have a case.
Now to insert the included 128GB, turn on and go through the usual
setup an Android device asks for.

Having
a square aspect ratio means it lends itself to quite a few consoles
but only one with a true 1:1 aspect ratio which is the Pico-8, there
are others that are close to 1:1 and they are the Neo Geo Pocket
(160x152), Nintendo Entertainment System (256x240), Game Boy (160x144), Game Gear
(160x144) and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (256x224). There are hacks you an do
that make some of the other consoles, even though the ratio isn't
close, seem a little better such as oversale within RetroArch.

To
start with I chose to uninstall all the emulators already
pre-installed in order to be a bit more choosy over the installed
emulators and also to make sure they are the most recent versions,
also which if any front end will I be using? Daijisho has always been
a trusted front end coupled with RetroArch, using RetroArch means not
having to install individual emulators.

I
found the controls cumbersome, but then again I was brought up
playing games with a joystick and a D-pad has always seemed difficult
to come to terms with, if they had been able to include a low profile
thumbstick I would have been happier. That being said the controls
are accurate and reasonably quiet, not clicky.

You
may see the rear firing mono speaker as a flaw during gameplay as it
can easily be covered with your fingers, but in actuality it does
quite a competent job.

I
thought I'd give some of the other functions a go such as music
playback, something I don't normally check on Android devices as I
see them as purely games machines, but this is different, it's more
than a games machine. So I added some music, “Steps” don't judge
me, files to the internal storage and played them with the included
music player and I must admit I'm very impressed at the audio
clarity, it's loud, it's clear.

Now
let's try video playback, so I add the movie “Outrageous Fortune”
which is a .avi file to the internal storage and used the installed
video player to see the quality and as with the music player the
audio quality is impressive, however the video is a little jerky but
watchable, so I tried another file “Torch Song Trilogy” another
.avi file and again a little jerky but watchable so I thought it may
be the file format, I'll give a .mp4 file a go “Move Over Darling”
and the audio was spot on and this time not jerky.

Would
I recommend the RG Rotate?
This
is a difficult one, the chipset is powerful enough to be able to play
up to PSP, PlayStation 1 and Nintendo 64, however the screen size and aspect
ratio does not suit the higher end emulators and on the other hand
systems like Game Boy and Game Boy Color which suit the screen size
and aspect ratio don't take full advantage of the chipset. Take note
that while setting up the RG Rotate did get a little warm.

Do
I think it could be better, for me?
Yes,
I believe a larger screen like that of the Anbernic RG Cube which has a 3.95”
display would of made a great deal of a difference. I would have
preferred a low profile thumbstick similar to that of the Anbernic RG Slide
and a front firing speaker, also a larger battery. Maybe these can be implemented in RG Rotate v2.0.

In
conclusion, what it does it does well but may be too much of a
novelty for some but the novelty of it may be a selling point for
others including myself. Third party applications, such as ClassiPod
(an iPod inspired music player) I think might add to the Anbernic RG
Rotate experience.

Follow and comment below

Michael