So this retro handheld review might have been my favorite so far. I have such an obsession with design language (be it gaming or all the way to architecture), and seeing something as unique and different as this rotating touch screen on a retro handheld? It won me over without a second’s hesitation
This handheld is a nicely squished cube with rounded corners, has a touch screen, obviously flips up to be a gaming handheld you can (comfortably) play PlayStation/PSP and even some few GameCube/PS2 games. Although you’d have to be crazy to buy this for GCN/PS2. They’re just a happy bonus (really, this is NOT a PS2 machine)
Playing music or streaming music is a blast, as are audiobooks. I’ve had the most fun playing GBA and PS games on here, but if you’re interested in my review, you can check it out here:
https://gardinerbryant.com/hands-on-with-the-anbernic-rg-rotate/
Or, you can just ask me what you’d like to know if you’d prefer to not! I love this damn thing. If I could wear it on a belt loop, I promise you I would be doing that like it is the olden days of phones!
Oh, you can text on your sidekick?
Cute. :: pulls out rotate and starts furiously going through games, finally succumbing to option paralysis, and boots up Stardew::
looks amazing and decently prized: https://anbernic.com/products/rg-rotate
but that one line makes it a neverbuy item for me:
AI: One-click game guide retrieval, real-time translation, intelligent dialogue, text-to-image generation, image processing, and more features.
Fair enough!
(Or just delete that app)
Am I missing something, or did you not include a photo of it fully open? A gif of it opening/closing would also be neat to see the mechanism. What a weird device.
Edit: Ope, found photos of it open in the linked thingy. I’d still love a gif/video, it looks kinda like the LG Wing to me, and that thing is so satisfying to fiddle with.
You’re 100% right! I mean to some time today, record a lil video of me sweeping it open then convert it to a GIF. I’ve just got a few things to get through first! Someone else reminded me I forgot to do that, which is…concerning since it is the BIG point on this handheld!
For now, check Anbernic’s own video on YT, it was a short one which shows the rotation well:
The price is nice. I’d actually consider buying this since it is also just a straight up Android device so it can do more than just be an emulator.
Usually I am a little hesitant to recommend things to people, but not this one. It is really, really fun. I have so enjoyed using it, and the fact it has a nice presence on my desk for things like music, podcasts, old anime? As well as gaming? Truly enjoyable!
Is this an ad?
Its a review. My honest review. I’m not paid to write on my friend’s site, nor do we run a single ad on there. Anbernic don’t have any say in what I write, and if I gave up my reputation as a writer for a device this cheap, I’d be an idiot.
I love the device, but if I loathed it I’d still share it here. I post all of my articles here.
Check my post history, if you still think I’m some deep cover ad agent then you can have my account, I can’t even be bothered with these insinuation today.
One little edit:
I spent a solid 18 months covering Steam Deck news. I did so with a weekly news post (elsewhere, then actually here on Lemmy after I’d given it up for a long time), I’d cover what was happening, befriended devs to share their news and what was coming up, and built up a nice little community around that.
From there I started to interview these developers, because no one did so before I did. That sounds a bit tickets-on-myself-y, but it is just true. I wanted the developers of projects like Heroic, Lutris, EmuDeck, Decky Loader, Junk Store and RetroDECK to be able to share their side of things, since most of the time people tend to forget who is behind the project or program they know, use and love. Some of my articles and interviews were posted on big sites, some on smaller sites, a couple on Gaming on Linux and SDHQ and so on.
From there I made friends with Gardiner Bryant, who is now one of my closest friends. I share on his site exclusively now, because I LOVE gaming. I’m not paid for my articles (nor do I want to be), I just write because I love to. After picking up retro handhelds for awhile, some of those companies got in touch with me, asking if I’d like to review their devices. I said yes, but that I’d do so in accordance with our ethics standards we have on the site
If you think I’d risk all of that (literally years of writing content just on social media, then on sites, now with my friend Gardiner) for one little handheld? You’d be wrong. I just hate how this kind of shit gets thrown out as an offhand comment, it is so dirty and insulting.
No, this isn’t an ad.
Why a square screen? What games support that?
Wasn’t the Gameboy screen pretty square? OP also mentions PS games.
GB, GBC, GBA (different aspect but they look great regardless, PlayStation, WonderSwan, Genesis, SNES
I don’t know, there’s a ton of 3:2-ish consoles which just look beautiful on here, people can get pedantic and state that none are true dead square, but they all suit this so well!
In addition to the obvious Game Boy, NES and SNES look great in 8x7 which looks really good on a square screen.
Yeah, Retro Game Corps has a great, in-depth video on this if anyone is interested. Good quality, good controls, good screen, good gimmick.
The dealbreaker for me is the legendarily awful combination of shitty, delayed bluetooth, a back-facing speaker, and no headphone jack. The most reasonable way to actually hear your games is by adding an awkward and easily losable dongle, which is not acceptable imo, especially because then you have no way to charge while you play.
Other than the unforgivable audio choices here, it looks like a really great and sleek little device.
Who releases a product with busted AF bluetooth these days?! Hard pass until that, at least, is corrected. 🥹
It’s unfortunately still pretty common among discount handheld manufacturers trying to save a few cents. They can still advertise it with Bluetooth, so unless people actually watch a review that criticizes it, they are still likely to buy it none the wiser.
If the dongle you need is USB-C, I’ve got one for my phone that lets you charge at the same time, and it’s pretty low profile. Not ideal, but an option.
So Bluetooth headphones are a no-go?
You can use them, but there is a distracting delay in the audio.
Well that’s disappointing. Maybe I’ll wait for a rev A.
This looks neat. But I already have an Analogue Pocket which seems to do everything this does, and a little bit more, except for being the same size when closed.
I do love the Analogue Pocket’s philosophy and design, but:
Analogue Pocket which seems to do everything this does, and a little bit more
The Rotate runs Android. Which is a bonus to some, and a caveat to others. But it is infinitely more powerful as a retro handheld than the AP! The 'Pocket can’t run systems from the 32-bit era or later, while this can emulate a whole lot (with varying degrees of success)
I just think wanted to address “…everything this does, and a little bit more…” for anyone coming across this in the future!
Is the market getting saturated? I have an Odroid Ultra and feel like there isn’t a real good upgrade out there.
I like to think of it as there’s a device for every single person’s needs!
@PerfectDark Wow, this is… uhm… … … wow…
What a strange idea for a handheld. 😆
I think I’d still prefer a flip where the screen is on the inside though. If you stick this in a pocket the screen isn’t actually protected. To me that’s more important than that it be a small minimal thing for music/etc. Though, I suppose if you look at it more as a MP3 player, ebook player, etc etc where you might not care if the screen gets scratched, it comes out ahead for that.
Not protected? Take its name as a hint and turn it around to face your leg, instead. Boom. Solved.
@wyldrstallyns That actually is worse. Out is better. You want the portion with the screen to bend the least.
Um. “Bend”? Thafuq are you doing with your pocket— actually, don’t answer that. 🤫😅
The case is really nice, and there’s a screen protector to put on there, but I will be VERY interested in seeing everyone’s Rotate after 6 months or so!
I’m that weirdo who kinda loves wear and tear on metal devices though. It shows they’ve been well loved!
@PerfectDark I don’t mind wear and tear on the casing, just on the screen.
Thing is, I’ve had scratches happen even on tempered glass screens before. So I’m a little bit more paranoid than most. (I’ve also had a PDA come out of a pocket with the screen completely busted and broken beyond use before, but I’ll admit that’s less applicable to modern screens probably. Still, it’s a thing…)
I will always love the clamshell design of the NDS/DSi and 3DS the most personally. I wouldn’t mind seeing a PSP/Vita style design where something just flips over to protect the screen mind you. That can work with almost anything, but no one does it. Still, the clamshell offers extra thickness and flexibility so it really is the best design for a pocket.
A GameBoy Advance SP is still worthy of being a daily carry. Rock solid hardware with a huge library of timeless games.
That this thing is effectively the exact same dimensions using current tech makes it the first dedicated handheld I’ve considered getting since the DS Lite.
If you’re looking for something akin to the GBA-SP but modern, check out the Anbernic RG34XX-SP.
It looks almost the same as the GBA-SP, but with better everything and can emulate other systems. Same aspect ratio too which makes it perfect for GBA emulation, and it comes in fun colors.
still use mine almost daily. thing is built like a damn brick house too, rock solid. Metroid and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance are my go tos.
Oh, man. The hours I’ve poured into FFT back in the OG days… Not even Skyrim, BG3, and Starfield combined can top it. 🤓🤘🏼
Very strange this doesn’t have a 3.5mm jack. That’s one of the main reasons I daily carry a handheld (psp) these days. It’s as valuable to me as a mp3 player as it is a gaming device.
Aww. It’s cute.
It is!!!
I would love to have one as a Pico-8 playing device !
A bummer that it doesn’t have a jack, the speaker is on the back and there is a sharp thing over the shoulder button. Also, delayed bluetooth…
I saw one reviewer was annoyed by a shoulder button feel. But I have tried my hardest and I haven’t been able to feel that sharp point/edge. I do have smaller hands, so that could be a factor as I play (where it might be a issue with larger hands)
I checked in with other reviewers, and I didn’t find anyone else who found that an annoying issue! But as with everything on retro handhelds, YMMV!
Thanks for the heads up !
“Or, you can just ask me what you’d like to know if you’d prefer to not! I love this damn thing. If I could wear it on a belt loop, I promise you I would be doing that like it is the olden days of phones!”
…just a heads-up, it is night here in Aus and I’m off to sleep. But, if there are any questions, I’ll reply in the morning! Damn timezone differences -____-
(bonus Gunsmith Cats picture, for the other 4 people alive who know what this is!)
Whaaaat?! I haven’t run across anyone else who’s knows about Gunsmith Cats in decades! That’s a deeeep cut. 🤘🏼
One of my favs! Such a fun 3 episode run (aside from the manga)
I LOVE IT SO MUCH!
It’s such a cool and unique device but it’s hard to be interested in it with all its downsides.
- No headphone jack
- Terrible back-firing speaker (almost guaranteed to be muffled by your hand)
- 2000mAh battery only
Maybe if they ever make a version 2 I might pick it up, but for now I’ll probably stick with my RG35XX-H for a looooong time.
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The headphone jack is totally valid for some. I’d not used a 3.5mm plug-in pair for sooooo many years (actually I bought my first pair of IEMs a few weeks ago for my new music journey, so there’s that!), so bluetooth is just my default go-to these days. But for some who prefer wired this will 100% be a let down, or a deciding factor
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The back-firing speaker is fine when you hold and play it. Not once have I covered it with my hands or fingers! The only time it is a factor that drove me nuts was when I’d lay it down on a surface, face-up. That is when it gets muffled
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The battery is perfectly fine! 5-6 hours with pushing it on higher systems, and maybe 6-7 with basic GB? And it charges SO quick. I can’t see anyone going out during the day and spending more than 6 hours gaming. But maybe that is just my take on it
The best part is that you know exactly what you love, and what works for you. Lots of people make fun of how often devices get released, but the best part of that is that there really is a device for everyone!
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