TL;DR The MANGMI AIR X is a new entry-level Android gaming handheld.
It has hall effect sticks, a 5.5-inch HD display, and a Snapdragon 662 SoC.
Pricing starts at $79.99 during the early-bird period, with availability beginning mid-September.
The market for Android gaming handhelds has exploded in the past few years, but Linux-based devices still dominate the ultra-budget category. There haven’t been any compelling entry-level Android handhelds under $100 in years, but the upcoming MANGMI AIR X might flip that on its head. This budget handheld made waves when it was first announced a few months ago, but now it’s finally coming to the global market at a shockingly low price.
The AIR X is MANGMI’s first release, but it has a lot going for it. For starters, it has a 5.5-inch HD IPS display, plus Hall effect sticks with a symmetrical layout. It’s powered by a Snapdragon 662 processor paired with 4GB of RAM, which should outperform the Allwinner chips typically found on budget devices by a wide margin.
That level of performance should be ideal for PSP emulation, which is great for the 16:9 display. Older consoles should also perform well, although more demanding systems like GameCube and PS2 may be just out of reach. The chipset supports Wi-Fi 6, but the AIR X is limited to Wi-Fi 5, which may hamper streaming performance.
Powering that SoC is a 5,000mAh battery with 15W charging. Slow charging speeds are a major problem with a lot of budget Allwinner handhelds, so the use of a Qualcomm chip offers yet another advantage here.
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MANGMI
The design of the AIR X is sleek and minimalist, with ergonomic grips on the back. It comes in three two-tone colorways: Retro GB, White, and Black. The linear Hall effect triggers are large and stacked, with a pop of color to give the handheld a unique look in a sea of same-y budget handhelds.
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