Latest news with #handhelds
Android Authority
3 days ago
- Android Authority
I'd give everything for a pre-configured Android gaming handheld
Nick Fernandez / Android Authority Retro gaming handhelds have come a long way in the past few years, but there's still one big sticking point: the setup. Every time a new handheld comes in for review, I have to spend hours installing emulators, fixing folder structures, and configuring a frontend. Once that's done, I still have to configure settings and shaders for each console individually, which requires arcane knowledge in popular emulators like RetroArch. Compared to Linux-based handhelds, it's a terrible experience. My TrimUI Smart Pro came ready to play out of the box: emulators, controls, and sketchy ROM files included. To get an even better experience, I just popped out the SD card and loaded CrossmixOS, which has everything pre-configured (including shaders). At this point, I've gotten pretty good at running through the emulator gauntlet for every new handheld. It's the long, unskippable cutscene before the game actually starts. Some firmware fetishists enjoy the process even more than the actual gaming, but I can't help but think there's a better way. With great power comes great headaches Nick Fernandez / Android Authority To be clear, Android gaming handhelds are generally better and more powerful than their Linux counterparts. I have yet to find a Linux handheld that can reliably handle PS2 emulation, with most capping off at Dreamcast and PSP. And yes, I know the Steam Deck is technically a Linux handheld, but I'd put that in a separate category. Although I will say that nearly all of my complaints about Android also apply to the main SteamOS competitor, Windows. But getting back to the point, Android gaming handhelds are more powerful because they're tied to Android. As Qualcomm and others develop new chips, they naturally make their way to gaming handhelds after a few years. We're even getting chipsets designed specifically for gaming handhelds in the Snapdragon G-series chips. Android gaming handhelds are more powerful than their Linux-based peers. While the chipsets have leapfrogged ahead, the software is still stuck in phone land. The multi-headed behemoth that is Android has barely figured out tablets, so it's not surprising that the gaming handheld experience hasn't evolved to suit the form factor. And that's really the rub: setting up an Android gaming handheld is the same process as setting up a phone. You'll probably only do this once every few years for your smartphone, but if you're as addicted to gaming handhelds as I am, you'll be repeating this side quest every few months. To make matters worse, many emulators are not available on the Google Play Store. You'll need to sideload them from various websites and GitHub pages, all while avoiding dodgy websites trying to fill your device with malware. Not quite ready, player one Nick Fernandez / Android Authority I want to call out some companies that are making some efforts to make the process smoother. The first is Retroid, which gives you a simple list of emulators to install during the setup process. You just need to tick the boxes, and the device does the rest. The problem is that the list is out of date. It recommends a few emulators that are no longer in active development, and excludes some of the best emulators on Android. This is confusing at best for new users, and at worst, it can have a serious impact on how well games run. It's a nice effort, but ultimately, I ignored it and installed everything manually. Android devices from Anbernic also frequently come with emulators installed, but the list can be hit or miss. For example, it might have AetherSX2 rather than the newer NetherSX2. It might use DraStic, a DS emulator which hasn't been updated in years, instead of MelonDS, which is now generally a better choice. I could launch games out of the box, but they always required a little extra tweaking. Other handheld makers, like the lesser-known KinHank, ship devices with the Android installation process complete and a few pre-installed emulators. The recently released KinHank K56, for example, solves many of the problems I listed above, and it's probably the closest you can come to a plug-and-play Android handheld. It has RetroArch and a few other emulators installed and (mostly) configured. It also has two frontends, including my personal favorite, ES-DE. The problem is that the hardware itself isn't particularly great. It's budget through-and-through, and not a device I would recommend. There are plenty of Linux devices that offer the same thing or more for less money. Most good Android handhelds ship with little to no emulation software installed or configured. The sad truth is that the best Android handhelds don't include anything. The AYN Odin 2 Portal and top-spec AYANEO devices like the Pocket EVO, DMG, and ACE have nothing pre-installed besides performance tools and maybe a middling frontend. The rest is up to you. ANBERNIC is another interesting case, since it makes both Linux and Android handhelds. Its Linux devices come largely pre-configured, but Android devices are much more bare-bones. There's a controversial (and probably illegal) pre-installed app to download ROMs, but nothing to help install or configure emulators. It's time to level up Nick Fernandez / Android Authority Having gone through the setup process countless times now, I understand why it's hard for OEMs to solve this problem. Things like legacy Android jank, fragmented emulator development, and potential legal pitfalls of emulation are outside of their control, but I do have a few suggestions. I don't expect OEMs to pre-install and configure every emulator (although they do on Linux handhelds), but if they only configured one it would save a ton of time during setup. And that emulator is RetroArch. RetroArch is the be-all-end-all emulator for most platforms, with cores for just about every system under the sun. Typically you have to install it (from the website, not the Play Store), download the cores, set up controls and hotkeys, find your ROM and BIOS folders, tweak settings for your display, and more before hopping into a game. The list of things RetroArch can do is virtually endless, which is a big part of the problem. Everything is hidden behind tiers of menus that require a full walkthrough to set up. What's more, RetroArch is extremely stable. Updates are few and far between, and they mostly tweak small settings or add new cores. There's no reason why a fully configured RetroArch won't work as well in three years as it does today. If every Android-based handheld had RetroArch pre-installed and configured, they'd nearly be plug-and-play. KinHank is the only company that's figured this out. Pre-configured RetroArch settings would make devices nearly plug-and-play. There is one asterisk here, and that's the BIOS. Most older systems don't need BIOS to play, but some emulators will require you to rip and upload BIOS from your own system. Like ROMs, you can download them online and some sketchier handheld makers will include them, but it's a legal minefield that most legit OEMs avoid. For emulators other than RetroArch, a simple guide would go a long way. There are tons of community-made guides to help, but none of them have been embraced by OEMs. Even Retroid's setup wizard feels like it hasn't been updated in years, while emulation development for newer consoles has been advancing at blazing pace. A New Game+ for Android handhelds Oliver Cragg / Android Authority Ultimately, it's still pretty early in the game for these types of emulation-focused handhelds. Sure, they've been around for a long time, but the industry really took off in the last four or five years. There are now handhelds to suit any budget, size, or design preference, which would make ten-year-old me shocked that I'm complaining at all. But with all the advances in chipsets, designs, and even emulation software, it's past time we entered a new era of Android-based handhelds. A New Game+, if you will. Most players pick up a handheld to play, not set up emulators. This time around, the grind shouldn't be part of the gameplay. We've got the power, the tools, and the user demand, but we're missing a little more care in crafting the experience. The next generation of devices could launch not just with better specs, but with better defaults: thoughtful software, plug-and-play emulators, and intuitive frontends that make setup optional, not essential. Because at the end of the day, most players didn't pick up a handheld to configure aspect ratios or fix file structures — they just wanted to play.
Android Authority
4 days ago
- Android Authority
The ANBERNIC RG Slide is the Xperia Play I wish I had 15 years ago
ANBERNIC RG Slide The RG Slide is one of the most unique devices ANBERNIC has ever made, and it offers the right mix of nostalgic fun and solid performance to be a compelling choice for retro emulation. While many people are nostalgic for flip phones, sliders are the way to go for me. Sure, I had a basic flip phone in the early 2000s, but I didn't really get excited about phones until I got my first sliding phone with a full QWERTY keyboard in 2006. That satisfying THWOMP made me feel like I was a secret agent every time I texted my mom to pick up some more Mountain Dew and Cheetos. But when the PSP Go and Xperia Play brought that form factor to gaming, I just didn't get it. At that time, I didn't want to overlap my gaming devices with my phone. I still don't, but that's the unfortunate world we now live in. So when the ANBERNIC RG Slide was announced, I was skeptical. Clamshells like the Retroid Flip 2 had me hungry for more unique form factors in the retro gaming handheld world, but can this slider overcome my past prejudices? After unboxing the device and sliding it open, that familiar THWOMP immediately had me hooked. The RG Slide might not be perfect, but it's excited me about the future of handhelds in a way that few devices have in the past year. Big slide energy Nick Fernandez / Android Authority Apart from the slick sliding mechanism, the first thing that stands out about the RG Slide is its size. It is incredibly chunky. The 4:3 aspect ratio, 4.7-inch screen, and rounded design make it look like a phone from two decades ago, but the thickness reminds me of even older handhelds from the 90s — the kind that ate through AA batteries like I went through Mountain Dew. Once I got over the initial shock, I found that the size actually worked in its favor. Once I got used to the bulk, it was surprisingly comfortable to hold, and the thickness allows for inset capacitive sticks with a nice range of motion. The controls in general are fantastic, with a soft D-pad and quiet buttons. The triggers are very clicky, and the small power and volume buttons are discreetly tucked away on the side. Nick Fernandez / Android Authority There are two extra buttons, and they're found on either side of the screen. These are great for emulation hotkeys, and they make it so that I never really needed to touch the screen. That alone made it feel more like a gaming console and less like an Android phone. The screen itself is beautiful. The 120Hz refresh rate is certainly overkill for a device like this, but the colors and brightness are perfect. It's not an OLED panel, but I would have no complaints if Anbernic and other companies continued to use this screen on more devices in the future. However, it's pretty exposed on the outside of the device, so I'd definitely recommend using the included screen protector. The bright and speedy screen is a highlight of the ANBERNIC RG Slide. Taking another page from the book of older smartphones, it also has stereo speakers on either side of the screen. They sound great, and the placement means you'll never cover them with your palms. They actually make the RG Slide a solid media viewing device, especially for older, non-16:9 content. If I have one complaint about the design, it's that the screen is ever so slightly off center. It's not noticeable when the slider is open and you're playing games, but it is noticeable when playing touchscreen games. More on that in a moment. Sliding into high gear Nick Fernandez / Android Authority I was initially disappointed by the Unisoc T820 chipset on the RG Slide, since it felt like a device this unique should have something more powerful. The T820 has been used on many Anbernic devices in the past, though, and it's a solid performer for everything up to and including some PS2. Just don't expect to enjoy frontier Switch or PS3 emulation. I ran the device through our standard suite of benchmarks to get a general idea of what we're talking about. There's only one configuration available, with 128GB of storage and 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM. You can increase that storage with a microSD card, and ANBERNIC sells the device with the option to include a 128GB or 256GB card, loaded with games of questionable legality. Check out the results of our tests above, pitted against two Retroid devices on either side of the RG Slide in terms of price. The Pocket Flip 2 has an aging, but capable Snapdragon 865 SoC, and the Pocket Classic has the new handheld-focused Snapdragon G1 Gen 2. Results are mixed, with the RG Slide falling somewhere in between the two Retroid devices in most tests. The newer G1 Gen 2 shows impressive performance for how cheap it is, but the Unisoc T820 still blows it away in GPU performance. Personally, I would love to see a follow-up to the RG Slide incorporate the mid-range Snapdragon G2 Gen 2 chip that's set to power the next Retroid flagship. ANBERNIC has never used a Snapdragon chipset in any handheld, though, so that may never come to fruition. The T820 chipset is reliable, but it's starting to show its limitations. In terms of actual emulation, the RG Slide handled everything I wanted it to. Retro systems obviously ran great, and the 4:3 screen is perfect for PS1, N64, and more. Unfortunately, 16:9 systems like the PSP feature pretty heavy letterboxing. Ironically, I wouldn't recommend snagging this PSP Go-shaped device to play PSP games. GameCube and PS2 are also playable, but you'll have to make some compromises. I couldn't get all games to play at full framerates, let alone upscaled. Without upscaling, PS2 games play at 640 x 480, which is half of the native resolution of the RG Slide's 1280 x 960 IPS panel, and it looks pretty muddy on the 4.7-inch display. It's playable, but it's far from ideal. Nick Fernandez / Android Authority As a sidenote, I abandoned my beloved ES DE frontend for the sake of this review, sticking to ANBERNIC's homegrown RG launcher. It took a little work to get it to recognize the games in my microSD card, but once it was set up, it was surprisingly great. The console comes with many emulators pre-installed (although I ended up swapping some for more updated versions), and you can select which emulator to launch right in the launcher settings. There's a toggle in the notification shade to change the default launcher, so you can play your games without ever seeing an app icon. With everything configured properly, the RG Slide becomes a bonafide gaming console rather than an Android phone pretender. There's even an option to lock and unlock the device with the sliding mechanism, which is indescribably cool. Mobile-first games in portrait also play well on the RG Slide. Native Android games don't show up in this menu, but they're also great on this device. I typically only play controller-compatible Android games on these gaming handhelds, but on this device, I also enjoyed portrait touchscreen games. It looks and works just like a chunky phone when the slider is closed, so it didn't feel awkward to play mobile-first games like Monument Valley, Clash Royale, or Subway Surfers. As mentioned above, the off-center screen is glaringly noticeable when holding the device vertically. The last note here is battery life, and for the most part, the 5,000mAh cell goes the distance. Depending on the settings and systems I was emulating, I got anywhere from five to 12 hours of battery life. The downside is the charging speeds, which top off at 10W. In my testing, it took roughly two hours to fully charge, so don't expect a quick top-off between matches. ANBERNIC RG Slide review verdict: Is it worth it? Nick Fernandez / Android Authority While the RG Slide is a fascinating device, it's also fairly expensive. It starts at $189.99 for just the console, which puts it in a strange place in terms of value. The middling chipset and mixed PS2 emulation make it a hard sell at that price, but it makes up for it with a design that's a cut above the competition. That's a relatively new position for ANBERNIC. The brand isn't exactly known for innovation, but rather for incremental improvements on existing designs and ideas. The RG Slide might be the device to turn that reputation on its head. The RG Slide is completely unique, which is unusual for ANBERNIC. If you are looking for more performance, you'll have to look at a different form factor. The Retroid Flip 2 ($229 at Manufacturer site) is one option, and it offers quite a bit more performance for PS2 emulation, but it also costs quite a bit more, starting at $229 before shipping and taxes. Otherwise, you're looking at more standard vertical or horizontal handhelds, which frankly don't hit the same as the RG Slide. If you have any nostalgia for sliding devices like the Xperia Play or PSP Go, this device might scratch that itch. Of course, you would also wait for ANBERNIC to do its thing and iterate on this device. If it were just a smidge smaller and a hair more powerful, it would be an absolute slam dunk. ANBERNIC RG Slide Unique sliding design • Beautiful screen • Solid retro performance MSRP: $189.99 A worthy spiritual successor to the Xperia Play. A sliding gaming handheld like we haven't seen in decades. See price at Manufacturer site Positives Unique sliding design Unique sliding design Beautiful screen Beautiful screen Solid retro performance Solid retro performance Good for touchscreen games Cons Middling PS2 performance Middling PS2 performance Chunky Chunky Off-center screen
CNET
18-06-2025
- CNET
The Xbox Ally's Biggest Specs Upgrade Could Just Be Better Windows 11 for Handhelds
The same thing that makes Windows gaming handhelds desirable also holds them back. It's never been the hardware. The designs aren't perfect in a lot of the devices -- even the best of the lot, the Asus ROG Ally and ROG Ally X, which are the basis of the forthcoming ROG Xbox Ally -- but they're generally playable. The culprit has always been Windows. It simply isn't an operating system designed for a dedicated gaming handheld, and that needs to change. Of course, we'd all love the Xbox Ally to be cheap, somewhere in the range of the Nintendo Switch 2's $450. But while we don't yet know the real pricing, $600-plus seems more likely given the specs. With the exception of the processor, which is designed with handhelds in mind, the specs are the same as what you may find in a full Windows laptop. Specifications ROG Xbox Ally ROG Xbox Ally X Operating system Windows 11 Home Windows 11 Home Processor AMD Ryzen Z2A AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme Memory 16GB LPDDR5X-6400 24GB LPDDR5X-8000 Storage 512GB M.2 2280 SSD for easier upgrade 1TB M.2 2280 SSD Display 7 in. FHD (1080p) IPS, 500 nits, 16:9; 120Hz FreeSync Premium 7 in. FHD (1080p) IPS, 500 nits, 16:9; 120Hz FreeSync Premium I/O Ports 2x USB-C (2 x DP 2.1, PD 3.0), 1 x microSD, 1 x analog audio 2x USB-C (1 x USB4, 1 x USB 3.2 both w/ DP 2.1, PD 3.0), 1 x microSD, 1 x analog audio Network and communication Wi-Fi 6E (2 x 2) + Bluetooth 5.4 Wi-Fi 6E (2 x 2) + Bluetooth 5.4 Dimensions 29.1x12.2x5.1 cm 29.1x12.2x5.1 cm Weight 670g 715g Battery 60Wh 80Wh I can't vouch for the lower-end model of the Ally -- I've only tested the higher-end one -- but on the last-gen hardware, many games run well, at least at 1080p, and people have been known to output as high as 4K with an optional docking station. But Windows has a lot more to overcome. Windows annoyances, writ small There are a lot of chunks of the operating system that serve as a useful base -- many of which it shares with the Xbox -- and which make it possible to run games from any game store on Windows, one of the big reasons we want the handheld. Those parts also make connections to peripherals and communications possible, as well as supply an architecture for incorporating AI (where it makes sense) for games. But layered atop that scaffolding are the millions of lines of code (if not more) necessary for an OS that tries to be all things to all people, along with an interface intended to serve a multiplicity of uses. It can make just getting to play a game a misery. Microsoft has the opportunity -- really the necessity -- to strip Windows down to its gaming essentials in order to make the Xbox Ally the gaming handheld people want to love. Things need to change for gaming handhelds, and many of those things would make Windows an operating system we could hate a little less. Windows Update: Frequent updates have become a fact of life, and gaming devices are no exception. And if an update brings gaming-related bug fixes or feature enhancements, that's fine. But when I'm ready to game and have to sit through 10 minutes (or more) of updates for parts of the OS that have nothing to do with gaming, I get pissed. You can postpone for a while, but at a certain point, it gets angry and things begin to stop working. Then there are times when updates insist on happening even though you've postponed it. As I write this, I've gotten a pop-up notification on the Ally X that it needs to restart, and the update is estimated to take 30 minutes. "NO. THANK. YOU." Frequent updates have become a fact of life, and gaming devices are no exception. And if an update brings gaming-related bug fixes or feature enhancements, that's fine. But when I'm ready to game and have to sit through 10 minutes (or more) of updates for parts of the OS that have nothing to do with gaming, I get pissed. You can postpone for a while, but at a certain point, it gets angry and things begin to stop working. Then there are times when updates insist on happening even though you've postponed it. As I write this, I've gotten a pop-up notification on the Ally X that it needs to restart, and the update is estimated to take 30 minutes. "NO. THANK. YOU." Windows sign-on: By default, Windows 11 forces you to sign in to a Microsoft account; that's an annoying but common practice on a lot of devices, including consoles. But it should be much easier to do on a handheld, such as with a barcode scanned by a phone, the way you can log in to Steam, as well as an easy way to tell it to bypass authentication if you don't need it. The on-screen keyboard isn't bad, and a PIN code can be short, but it's still a pain and not accessibility friendly. Face ID doesn't work for these, and adding an IR camera on the long edge for Windows Hello would elevate what's already a high price. I could go on, but I'll spare you the rant I reexperience for every system I test. By default, Windows 11 forces you to sign in to a Microsoft account; that's an annoying but common practice on a lot of devices, including consoles. But it should be much easier to do on a handheld, such as with a barcode scanned by a phone, the way you can log in to Steam, as well as an easy way to tell it to bypass authentication if you don't need it. The on-screen keyboard isn't bad, and a PIN code can be short, but it's still a pain and not accessibility friendly. Face ID doesn't work for these, and adding an IR camera on the long edge for Windows Hello would elevate what's already a high price. I could go on, but I'll spare you the rant I reexperience for every system I test. Windows desktop: On a gaming-only device, you should never, ever have to see the Windows desktop unless you choose to, the same way you can use a Steam Deck (or SteamOS handheld like the Lenovo Legion Go S On a gaming-only device, you should never, ever have to see the Windows desktop unless you choose to, the same way you can use a Steam Deck (or SteamOS handheld like the Crapware: I have a fairly broad definition of crapware: Anything installed that I didn't ask for and that's not essential to a device's operation. Seriously, Microsoft -- the standard trial versions of Microsoft Office, Teams, LinkedIn, and more are an even bigger waste of space on a gaming handheld than on a laptop. Games are huge, storage tends to be too small for cost reasons, and every byte of storage should be dedicated to things required to play them. I have a fairly broad definition of crapware: Anything installed that I didn't ask for and that's not essential to a device's operation. Seriously, Microsoft -- the standard trial versions of Microsoft Office, Teams, LinkedIn, and more are an even bigger waste of space on a gaming handheld than on a laptop. Games are huge, storage tends to be too small for cost reasons, and every byte of storage should be dedicated to things required to play them. Controller navigation throughout: On a screen so small, touch alone doesn't cut it for an operating system and applications designed for use with a mouse, and it can throw you out of the gaming experience. On a screen so small, touch alone doesn't cut it for an operating system and applications designed for use with a mouse, and it can throw you out of the gaming experience. HDR: You shouldn't have to remember to go to the display settings and turn HDR on; it should be able to autodetect it when you turn it on within a game. You generally can't leave HDR enabled on screens this dim -- usually only as high as 500 nits -- without messing up the display of the non-HDR elements. But as far as I can tell, the only Windows handheld with HDR is the OLED Zotac Zone. And those are just the things that stand out in my memory. There are a lot of places that could use some interface streamlining as well, like Wi-Fi (have you ever tried to find your own network listed when you live in an apartment building with at least 50 different SSIDs within range?). And most of these would significantly improve the experience for PC Windows users as well.
Android Authority
12-05-2025
- Business
- Android Authority
US lowers tariffs, making retro gaming handhelds affordable again (for now)
Nick Fernandez / Android Authority TL;DR The US has lowered tariffs on China, with retro gaming handhelds down to 30%. Previous rates were 145%, making virtually all handhelds unaffordable in the US. This is a 90-day pause, meaning the tariffs may rise again soon. It's been a roller coaster of a year for retro gamers. Exciting new devices like the Retroid Flip 2 and Classic were announced right before a massive tariff hike made them unaffordable in the US. Thankfully, the US and China just announced a new agreement to pause the tariffs (via CNBC), bringing the rate down to 30% for Chinese-made goods, including retro gaming handhelds. Prior to the announcement, handhelds were taxed at the maximum rate of 145% under the Trump administration's tariffs. This was a dramatic turn after decades of tax-free imports under the de minimis exemption, which eliminated all duties on goods under $800. The new rates are set at 30%, down from 145% earlier this month. However, the de minimis exemption is not currently set to return, so buyers will still be hit with import fees on shipments from China. It's not yet clear what the exact terms of the agreement are, but it appears that the 10% reciprocal tariffs are still in effect, with an additional 20% tariff on Chinese goods coming into the US relating to fentanyl. That brings the total to 30%, at least until China and the US can come to an agreement to curbing fentanyl-related imports. In any case, this is merely a 90-day pause on the full tariffs while negotiations continue. It's impossible to predict what will happen next, so this might be your best chance if you've been holding off on buying a retro gaming handheld. The full tariffs took effect on May 1, with several retro gaming handheld makers stopping shipments to the US in the aftermath. Retroid rushed to ship Pocket Flip 2 and Pocket Classic pre-orders to US customers before the deadline hit. Expect shipments to resume later this week as tensions cool between the two countries. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
