TL;DR Specs for ANBERNIC’s upcoming RG DS have leaked via an AliExpress listing.
It will have two 4-inch 640×480 screens and a Rocknix RK3568 SoC.
Those screens won’t integer scale DS games, and the SoC is too weak for the MelonDS emulator.
The dual-screen gaming handheld race already has two premium champions in the AYANEO Pocket DS and AYN Thor, but ANBERNIC’s more budget-friendly RG DS made big waves when it was announced earlier this month. Coming in at under $100, it was always the case that some concessions would need to be made. but a recent spec leak has dampened some of the community’s excitement.
A listing from ANBERNIC’s AliExpress storefront was published online, and although it’s since been pulled, it revealed the full specs, size, and more. Starting with the screens, it will feature two 4-inch IPS screens with a resolution of 640×480. That’s a fairly limited resolution for screens this size, but the real issue is that it doesn’t support perfect integer scaling for DS games. Instead, it’s 2.5x, which can lead to some wonky visuals, especially in pixel art games.
Weak specs and a lack of integer scaling have dampened community excitement for the RG DS.
It will be powered by an RK3568 SoC from Rockchip, paired with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. That chipset will likely be the Achilles’ heel of the RG DS, and it’s unlikely to support more advanced DS emulators like MelonDS. Much like the MagicX Zero 40, it will be limited to playing DS games via the aging DraStic emulator, which doesn’t support modern niceties like RetroAchievements.
That also implies that despite ANBERNIC’s promotional videos showing off some 3DS support, it’s unlikely to play anything but the most basic of 3DS games. Granted, that’s not a dealbreaker on a device that’s clearly designed for DS games above anything else.
ANBERNIC
Don’t want to miss the best from Android Authority? Set us as a favorite source in Google Discover to never miss our latest exclusive reports, expert analysis, and much more.
... continue reading