Happy Weekend! What have you been playing lately and on what? Everything except Bio Evil 4 was played on an RP Nova, Bio Evil 4 was played through my browser.

Anbernic RG SP (Pearl Pink) playing LOTR: The Third Age (GBA) with color correction and LCD3x shader

Preface this be saying it’s only been a week, new car smell, etc. but like many of you here I like having handhelds dedicated for certain consoles and use cases. Before last month, my EDC that I would throw in my jeans any time I left the house was a Miyoo Mini Flip, then I got a Pixel 2 for that purpose and really enjoyed it for a few weeks until I fell asleep with it in my pocket and cracked the screen. That event gave me the excuse to try out the RG SP as a replacement and boy am I happy I did.

Build quality is great, the hinge is DELUXE and with Slot OS it’s a joy to pick up and play. Battery was my main complaint with the mini flip and this thing blows it out of the water there, I find myself using it all throughout the day in spurts and at night playing even longer because it still has juice and is just so easy to use.

For $65 out the door I can’t believe how much I’m loving this thing and while I miss the size of the mini flip this is still small enough where I can bring it pretty much anywhere with me. Buttons are clicky but after 10 minutes with it I tuned them out.

How’s everyone else liking their RG SP’s?

This is a survey of my handheld collection, past and present.
No AI was used in the creation of this post!
I happened to have all three devices with me yesterday at work, so I took a quick snapshot.

The Best

Miyoo Mini Plus (March 2023): The Default Budget Handheld

Just a smidge too large for my pocket, and weakly powered, and it has that fragile Miyoo screen — but I love the ergonomics and some of the best CFW options in the industry, especially at this price point. This is a forever fave. I keep coming back to it.
Verdict: A great starter for almost anyone. But don’t drop it!

Retroid Pocket Classic (April 2025): The Beautiful, Portable Powerhouse

Small enough for any sling, with great ergonomics, a wonderful 4” OLED screen, and a CPU powerful enough for PS2. No joysticks! But that makes it more compact, so it’s not a drawback for me.
Verdict: Highly recommended for anyone who can get past the absence of joysticks. 

Miyoo Mini Flip (October 2025): King of the Mini Hill

Yes, it has that weak Mini/ Mini Plus CPU, but the Mini Flip is small enough for almost any pocket; in addition, it has a protected screen, good ergonomics for the size, and the same elite CFW options as the Mini and the Mini Plus.
Verdict: If you’re looking for a Mini/ Micro handheld, start here first.

Honorable Mention

TrimUI Brick (November 2024): The EDC Hotrod

This one *almost* made the “Best” shortlist. It’s in my shirt pocket right now! It has good pocketability, nice customisable buttons, and a much sharper screen than its nearby competition, and good CFW options. BUT, it gets just a bit hotter than I’d prefer, even when playing lower-end systems. And the trigger button caps keep coming off. Still, this an awesome EDC-optimised handheld. I may still buy the metal version, to see if I prefer it.
Verdict: If you can forgive its quirks, this is a highly portable EDC handheld with a much better display than the Miyoo devices.

The Rest

Anbernic RG350M (March 2020): Old Faithful, In Metal
This excessively heavy, underpowered device was my first retro handheld. I loved it until I eventually traded it away. I think I traded it for a large SD card. It’s too old to recommend now unless you’re basically getting it for free.

Powkiddy V90 (June 2020): The Cheapest Flip?
It felt cheap, because it was cheap. The buttons weren’t as nice as on Miyoo devices, but it was still a good buy at the price. The stock firmware was terrible, and available CFW options were only slightly better. I gave it to a child in my family, who played it until the battery burst. 

RIP.

Anbernic RG280V (November 2020): It's Cool to be Square
This was my first pocketable device. I really disliked the stock interface, but I loved the 280V  with Adam Image custom firmware. Unfortunately, it developed an electrical fault and stopped charging. 

RIP.

TrimUI Model S (November 2020): Credit Card Retro Gaming
An enduring fave. It was probably the most pocketable device I have ever owned, and its ergonomics were better than I would have expected from a device almost as small as a credit card.
Drawbacks: anaemic CPU, tiny postage-stamp screen.
I eventually gave the device to a 4’8” family friend who loves tiny things.
I still miss the Model S, and I hover on the edge of rebuying it. If they release an updated one with a larger screen, I will buy it IMMEDIATELY. I actually wrote Trimui saying as much. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Miyoo Mini (December 2021): The Pocket Champ with a Glass Jaw
This was love at first sight. Perfect pocketability and great buttons! Unfortunately, the ergonomics were always just a step below my expectation, and I kept breaking the screen. I eventually dismissed it as a fragile design and moved on.

Steam Deck (February 2022): The Handheld Gaming PC that Changed the Game
I traded away a nice pocket knife for this device! It remains a pillar of my collection, but I keep neglecting it in favour of smaller devices.

Logitech G Cloud (October 2022): The Overpriced, Underappreciated Streaming King
I didn't pay full price for this; it was given to me by a friend, who snapped it up at a heavy discount.
I loved that massive screen and splendid ergonomics in a relatively compact package.
Drawbacks: High price, weak CPU. 
I’ve played it less and less, but there’s still nothing else quite like it on the market.

GKD Pixel (January 2024): Flawed Mini Metal Luxury
This mini handheld is perfectly sized for a pocket device, and that metal body has great hand-feel. But it has its share of drawbacks: sharp corners, poor ergonomics, slow bootup, and an OS that is a hassle to reinstall. The firmware eventually corrupted, and I have not gotten around to repairing it.

Anbernic RG35XX SP (May 2024): For Thee, But Not For Me?
This is one of the segment's most popular entry-level devices, but it never clicked for me.
Drawbacks: just a little thicker than I’d have preferred. The hinge got rattly soon after purchase. And it also had terribly slow bootup times on all firmwares that were initially available. My interest was revitalised by the recent release of new custom firmware (BaseOS) that combined a sleek minimalist interface with lightning-fast bootup times. But in the end, the new awesome OS options don’t outweigh the negatives for me personally. I ended up giving it to a child in my family. Who absolutely loves it.

Thanks for sharing this journey. I love retro handhelds — I love playing them, of course, but I also love setting them up, and trying out new, interesting CFW's. The next devices I'm looking at trying, are the Block and the RG SP, so I'm saving up!

I bought this game at launch and it took me this long to finally get around to playing it, but man, what a fuckin banger. Growing up, Super Metroid was my favorite game but I think it's safe to say that Dread tops it because of how smooth and stylish it is. Even Samus herself so fuckin badass in this.

And the Odin 3 itself is fuckin awesome, as I'm sure everyone knows

Retroid Pocket 6

Castlevania: Belmont's Curse

Droiddeck

Proton 11 ARM64

Extreme + TSO

1152 x 648

Have really been looking forward to the new Castlevania, and boy does it not disappoint. Fast, fluid combat, incredible art direction, really intuitive map flow, it's exactly how to modernize a series. Has immediately shot up to my top 3 in the series with AOS and SOTN.

The game is very playable, hovering between 40 and 60 fps, and I really appreciate the accessibility options like giving Rose and enemies outlines for better visibility

I just cleaned out the Drawer of Forgotten Handhelds, and I've got some devices and accessories to give away. If you want one, post a reply listing the name of ONE (1) of the following devices or accessories in bold text. Any reply that lists more than one device or accessory in bold text will be ignored. Of course you're welcome to discuss the other devices, ask questions, etc., just make sure that you list ONLY THE ONE (1) THAT YOU ACTUALLY WANT IN BOLD TEXT.

All devices and accessories are as-is; I will do my best to describe their current condition, but this does not constitute a guarantee. I will pay all shipping fees, and will prioritize sub users within the continental US to keep costs down and reduce chances of customs issues delaying or preventing delivery. Apologies to our international users, but I've got a lot of stuff I want to get into good homes. Devices may or may not include original packaging, accessories, SD cards, etc., and the ones I've used may come with non-standard and/or out-of-date CFW installed.

Picture 1: Accessories (top-to-bottom, left-to-right)

• Official case for the Ayn Odin 2 Portal - Good condition, barely used. Getting rid of it because it doesn't fit the TPU grip. CLAIMED! CONGRATS ImmortalBlade1!
• BeefyGrips 3D-printed grip for the Ayn Odin 2 (non-Portal) - Good condition, works fine, but I no longer have an Odin 2.
• Game Boy Advance branded soft case - Good condition, barely used. Got it for my Thor, but it's just a little too tight.
• 3D-printed grip w/ stylus for the Ayn Thor from ProtoPrintLab on Etsy - Good condition, barely used. Didn't like the added bulk, prefer to rawdog my Thor.
• generic Switch-Lite-sized soft case - Just a little too tight for an Odin 2, anything similar that's even a little smaller (RP5 or 6, etc) should be a good fit.

Picture 2: budget Linux devices (top left -> bottom left -> right)

• TrimUI Smart Pro (non-S) - Good condition, barely used. Tested and working, currently loaded with Crossmix ver 1.2.1. Still a good device for what it is, but I don't use it any more. CLAIMED! CONGRATS surrealmirror!
• Powkiddy RGB30 - Not working. Did not boot after I pulled it out of the drawer and charged it up. Might be a simple fix, I honestly don't know. LED light turns on when charging and turns green when I attempt to boot it up, but screen remains black. It'll bum me out if it's dead, this was my very favorite device for like a year. Hopefully it'll go to someone who's able to give it some love and get it working again. Caveat emptor! CLAIMED! CONGRATS kazpandabear!
• Anbernic RG34XXSP - Good condition, barely used. Tested and working, currently running MuOS ver. 2508.3. Ordered it on a whim and a good sale, good device for what it is, but never actually had much use for it.

Picture 3: Miyoo (left to right)

• Miyoo Mini v4 (transparent black) - Brand new, untested. Picked up a bunch of these during an Aliexpress sale a couple years back in order to get my order above a certain price threshold to quality for a coupon, been giving them away as stocking stuffers ever since. These are my last two. CLAIMED! CONGRATS SpartanChild22 !
• Miyoo Mini Plus - Good condition, barely used. Running OnionOS version 4.3.0. There was probably a reason I bought this? Lent it to my fiancee to play Keith Courage for the TG-16, I think that's the most use it's gotten.
• Miyoo Mini v4 (yellow) - same deal as the black one.

Picture 4: Android devices (left -> top right -> bottom right)

• Razer Edge 5G (tablet only, no controllers) - Another one that I bought because I found it for a great price, only to find that I had no particular use for it. Do as I say not as I do and remember that it doesn't matter how cheap it is, it's not a good deal to spend any amount of money on something you'll never use. It boots, that's the most I can say about it. CLAIMED! CONGRATS zehamburglar!
• Anbernic RG476H - Good condition, barely used. A case study in how one flaw can really mess up your experience: I love everything about this device except the Start and Select placement. Every time I pick it up I marvel at the perfect size, hand feel, build quality, and screen, and wonder why I don't use it more often... until I get into a game, try to pause, and find nothing where my thumb expects the Start button to be. If that sort of thing doesn't bother you, it's fantastic. Running GammaOS Lite version 1.2 with ES-DE as the frontend. CLAIMED! CONGRATS pariah164!
• MagicX One 35 - Good condition, barely used. Great little device, it just doesn't have much of a place in my rotation. When I want something pocketable I reach for my RG Rotate these days. Running stock Android, factory reset before shipping.

I see that Retroid have no estimated taxes but in my experience I’ve never paid taxes when buying from Retroid before.. DDS is over $100 more than the Duo. What do you think about these prices?

FYI: I forgot the $20 discount for the Duo. Check my comment for correct prices.

I’m EU based by the way.

Another day another email with delays. Nothing new to see here but you really gotta ask yourself... how do they still have customers? I can't see this kind of business model being sustainable. They STILL have it listed for shipping at the end of October.. smdh

First is the one of the Pocket Duo and second is the Switch 2

Still love the big boy, and it’s probably down to recency bias, but the RG SP is doing the job for me right now. The slot. CFW is the main draw for me here. I’m a big believer in having dedicated devices, and this streamlined effort is great.

I’ve got a Miyoo Mini Plus with all the games and emulators, but it’s just been gathering dust (and has now been commandeered by my eldest spawn).

I’m probably going to pick up a dedicated device for 4:3 games now. Any suggestions for slot. like CFW for that use case?

Full showcase and tutorial here:
https://youtu.be/yxONuFux098

Project Github here: https://github.com/whovian64/pocket-native

Chilling with a coffee and some Master levels of doom before a long shift, lately my tsp is getting a lot of use before its retirement, cant wait for my upgrade to arrive!.

I hope everyone have a good weekend playing something.

Reposting with device info: Trimui smart pro

No Game is showcased

How many hours of actual gameplay do you have on your devices?!

This is my Miyoo mini plus, which I got to replace my RG40XXH after my screen gave out. I feel like I’m in the minority, only having the 2 devices with 100+ hours on them each

Not too long ago I got my Brick Hammer. It's great but playing on my MM+ today I realized how the controls feel better. It just misses the additional power and high res screen which makes the games look so much better, aswell as amazing speakers. The Block seems to be aimed to be just that in a way. The fact it plays some PS2 and GC is also quite appealing. I wonder if it's about PAM level of performance.

Having just watched TechDweebs review of it, I am wondering if I should give it a try, compare both and keep the Block. Anyone else in the same boat?

Btw I don't think the purple looks too nice. I'd maybe go for the white one.

(Photo is not mine, and I don't own the Block yet)

Morning!

I got a RP5 yesterday and I wanted to play some Steam games from my account.

Specifically thinking about Hades 2 but might also try KH2.

I found a lot of info for the RP6 but no recent answers for the RP5, most of topics are 10-12 months old and I know things change really rapidly for these platforms.

Figured I'd ask and see if anyone has recent experiences with them.

Thanks

OnionOS on the Anbernic RG405M

Hello,

I have previous handheld experience with a SteamDeck and Odin 2 Portal, never had an issue. I saw the Magic x U10 for under $25 on their website and gave it a go. I bought it without a TF card and bought a 64gb PNY microsd to put inside it. Was just looking forward to playing some atari and gameboy. Nothing intensive.

First, I tried flashing the recommended version of Rocknix from Magic's firmware page: https://github.com/ROCKNIX/distribution/releases/tag/20250517

I did this successfully with Rufus and later tried again with Balena Etcher. Both times the cyan blue LED light would turn on, but no dice. Screen black. Nothing happening. I tried turning it off and on a few times, letting it sit for up to 5 minutes while charging. Screen never turned on.

Then I tried the latest version of Rocknix here: https://github.com/ROCKNIX/distribution/releases

Same problem. Just black screen.

Then I tried the latest version of Amberelec prerelease: https://github.com/AmberELEC/AmberELEC-prerelease/releases

This actually booted up successfully. I got to the tools/games page, but the button configurations are completely wrong. The XBYA buttons change the volume. The Volume buttons don't work. I tried hitting every button and couldn't navigate to the system input. Nothing was selectable. Even hitting start/select didn't do anything. This happened with the recommended RG351MP version that is supposed to cover XU10.

After this failed, I tried again using the RG351V thinking maybe it would work with a vertical button configuration. Black screen.

I then proceeded to try the Amberelec 351mp version from here: https://amberelec.org/download.html Black screen again.

I'm really at a loss. Does anyone have any experiencing getting an XU10 to work? I'm fine with using the Amberelec prelease but I can't figure out how to fix any of the buttons/inputs to map to the device properly.

Thank you for your help!

Hey y'all. I have an RP5 that I got to be a steamdeck lite. Been enjoying it, (when I have the time to actually play) but I'll admit, the Nova hype is kinda getting to me. How much better is the Nova for gamenative? I'd probably try to get the 12gb ram version, but its expensive enough I can't really impulse buy it. Should I just stick with my RP5? Thanks in advance!

I've owned a GPD Win 2 a couple years back, and the weight was the main reason I barely ever played with it, it just wasn't as nice to play with, so I sold it.

I honestly think, anything much more than the AynThor in terms of weight will get more and more uncomfortable. Of course weight is not the only attribute that matters when it comes to comfort but it's important. As for instance, the New Nintendo 3DS XL doesn't have the nicest shape to hold, but it's still okay because it's relativley light.

So overall im a bit worried about the weight of the DDS. it's "only" 50g more. But there is a certain point at which you'll start feeling every 10 gram more. I'd argue that starts somewhere after the 380g of tha aynthor.

But yea, lets wait and see, would be interesting to know from people who're going to own both.

He was even kind enough to even accept my offer for €420 under the published €450 as I told him I couldn't afford it. I genuinely couldn't, but I really wanted this handheld but could not afford the likely €600-700 a new MAX model would cost with shipping and import fees.

I still feel bad for haggling for a lower price... since when I made the offer, I didn't know its condition and assumed the worst (it ended up being in mint condition). Nor did I know it was a launch unit which apparently goes for an even higher used price due to its UFS 4.0 storage being much faster than the current UFS 3.1 Max model selling for $579.00.

You the MVP. I will do my best to pay this back by also selling future handhelds for reasonable prices.