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Anbernic RG35XX Plus Review with video – Best new alternative to the Miyoo Mini Plus?

Anbernic RG35XX Plus Review
Anbernic RG35XX Plus Review
Anbernic RG35XX Plus review
  • Design
    (4.5)
  • Build Quality
    (4.5)
  • Display
    (4.5)
  • Performance
    (4.5)
  • Features
    (4.5)
  • Software
    (4.5)

Summary

The Anbernic RG35XX Plus improves upon the RG35XX with a faster H700 quad-core CPU, superior dual-core G31 MP2 GPU, and increased 1GB LPDDR4 RAM. Enhanced connectivity with Bluetooth 4.2, better Wi-Fi, and a larger 3300mAh battery offering up to 8 hours of play, make it a more robust and versatile gaming console.

Overall
4.5
Sending
User Review
4 (1 vote)

Pros

  • Enhanced Performance with H700 CPU and GPU
  • 1GB LPDDR4 RAM, plenty for emulation
  • WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 4.2
  • Longer Battery Life up to 8 hours

Cons

  • No fully working custom firmware, yet!
  • Slightly thicker and heavier than the original model

The popular alternative to the Miyoo Mini Plus, the RG35XX has received an update with the Anbernic RG35XX Plus. In our Anbernic RG35XX Plus review we unbox, compare the three models and test a bunch of emulators to find out if it’s worth buying or upgrading to.

Anbernic RG35XX Plus review video

Unboxing the Anbernic RG35XX Plus

Kicking off our Anbernic RG35XX Plus review we have a brief unboxing. First we have the Anbernic RG35XX Plus itself which we will take a closer look at shortly.

Anbernic RG353XX Plus Unboxing
Anbernic RG35XX Plus Unboxed

Next we have a user guide which is in English and Chinese languages. There is a screen protector and wipes for when applying it. And in the box is a USB Type-C charge cable.

Anbernic RG35XX Plus Review
Anbernic RG35XX Plus Unboxing

Anbernic RG35XX Plus overview

Next in our Anbernic RG35XX Plus review we take a closer look at the vintage gaming handheld. The Anbernic RG35XX Plus measures around 4.61 x 3.19 x 0.87 inches and weighs 186 grams. The retro gaming handhelds are available in three colours White, Grey and Transparent Black.

Anbernic RG35XX Plus Dimensions
Anbernic RG35XX Plus Dimensions

The 3.5 “ IPS display has a 640×480 resolution which is ideal for retro gaming. It has the same control layout as the original model, with D-Pad and the usual gaming buttons and a menu button.

Anbernic RG35XX Plus Review Right View
Anbernic RG35XX Plus Right View

On the left side is a volume rocker.And on the right side of the retro gaming handheld from top to bottom are the power button, reset button and two micro SD card slots. In the first you will find either a 64GB or 128GB card for the OS and storage. The second slot is empty and can be used with another micro SD card for additional storage.

Anbernic RG35XX Plus Review Bottom View
Anbernic RG35XX Plus Bottom View

The bottom has a USB Type-C port which is used for charging, and a 3.5mm headphone port.

Anbernic RG35XX Plus Review Top View
Anbernic RG35XX Plus Top View

The top has a mini HDMI port which you can connect to your TV or monitor for big screen gaming.

Anbernic RG35XX Plus Back View
Anbernic RG35XX Plus Back View

The back has four buttons which can be used like triggers and shoulders in games. You will also notice there is now a battery compartment if you wish to change the rechargeable battery.

Anbernic RG35XX Plus Technical Specifications

As part of our Anbernic RG35XX Plus review we are comparing the technical specifications with the Anbernic RG35XX v2 vs RG35XX Plus vs Miyoo Mini Plus.

ANBERNIC RG35XX v2ANBERNIC RG35XX PLUSMIYOO MINI PLUS
CPUQuad-core ARM Cortex-A9H700 quad-core ARM Cortex-A53, 1.5GHz frequencyARM Cortex-A7 dual core, 1.2GHz
GPUQuad-core PowerVR SGX544MP GPUDual- core G31 MP2
RAM256MB LPDDR31GB LPDDR4128MB
STORAGE64GB (dual boot – official and Garlic OS)64GB or 128GB card64GB Card
DISPLAY3.5-inch IPS full viewing angle, OCA full lamination/ 640*4803.5-inch IPS full viewing angle, OCA full lamination/ 640*4803.5″ IPS, 640*480
COMMSNO2.4/5G WIFI 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth 4.2
2.4/5G WIFI 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
BATTERYLi-polymer battery 2600 mAh, lasting up to 6 hours.Li-polymer battery 3300mAh, lasting up to 8 hours.Li-polymer battery 3000mAh, lasting up to 8 hours.
HDMI OutputYESYESNO
BUYBUY HEREBUY HEREBUY HERE
Comparing the Anbernic RG35XX Plus with RG35XX v2 and Miyoo Mini Plus

Anbernic RG35XX vs RG35XX Plus vs Miyoo Mini Plus

And now as part of the Anbernic RG35XX Plus review, lets compare the original RG35XX vs RG35XX Plus vs Miyoo Mini Plus+ models to see any differences.

Anbernic RG35XX vs Anbernic RG35XX Plus

Physically the Anbernic RG35XX Plus model is ever so slightly thicker at 2.0 vs 2.2 cm. The buttons on the back have a different design which are more ergonomic for your fingers to rest on.

Anbernic RG35XX Plus vs RG35XX
Anbernic RG35XX Plus vs RG35XX

The main changes are the internals. We have the H700 processor on the plus and ARM Cortex-A9 on the original. You can read our Anbernic RG35XX review here. There’s now 1GB of LPDDR4, instead of 256MB DDR3 RAM. There is now WiFi 2.4 and 5G supported. 

The Anbernic RG35XX Plus also has a larger capacity 3300mAh battery compared to the 2600mAh on the original, it should get you up to two hours more battery depending on the software you are running.

Anbernic RG35XX Plus vs Miyoo Mini Plus

And now with the Anbernic RG35XX Plus vs Miyoo Mini Plus, read our full Miyoo Mini Plus review here. We see the RG35XX Plus is a little larger overall, with that you get a bit more space for your hands. The H700 processor with GPU runs faster than the Miyoo processor. 

Anbernic RG35XX Plus vs Miyoo Mini Plus
Anbernic RG35XX Plus vs Miyoo Mini Plus

The Miyoo Mini Plus only has 128MB RAM, but in most cases this is all you need. The Anbernic RG35XX compared with Miyoo Mini Plus has a slightly lower battery at 3000mAh, you are going to get around the same life as the 35XX Plus. One thing lacking on the Miyoo is a HDMI port, something both RG35XX models have.

There are some decent hardware improvements compared with the original RG35XX and Miyoo Mini Plus. We will find out later if these translate to performance increases.

OS and software overview

We continue our Anbernic RG35XX Plus review with a look at the OS and software. The Anbernic RG35XX Plus uses the same frontend found in the original model. There is one new native emulator to the supported systems which is a PSP emulator, we will check out the performance later in the review.

Anbernic RG35XX Plus OS Overview
Anbernic RG35XX Plus OS Overview

You have a good list of systems to choose from including various arcade emulators, 8 and 16 bit systems including Master System and Mega Drive, and handhelds such as the NeoGeo Pocket and WonderSwan. All the usual systems you would expect to find.

The RetroArch section has cores for a multitude of systems and ports including OpenBOR, Dreamcast, Pico8, Atari 2600, PC Engine and more. There’s plenty to choose from, however some emulators work better than the native emulators so you may have to experiment a bit what is best for the game.

There is a favourites and history menu where you can find saved and previously played games. And the settings menu has a bunch of settings you can change such as the screen brightness, date and time, language, RetroArch settings and more.

RetroArch cores on Anbernic RG35XX Plus
RetroArch cores on Anbernic RG35XX Plus

HDMI output is supported via Mini HDMI and works just fine across all of the emulators we tested.

While the Anbernic RG35XX Plus is a basic looking OS and frontend, but it does the job perfectly, it’s fast and easy to use. 

Emulator Overview

Next in our Anbernic RG35XX Plus review we test the emulators performance. As you would expect all the 8 and 16 bit systems are going to run absolutely fine. So we will cover the newer systems in more detail, and later show some footage from older systems.

PlayStation 1

Anbernic RG35XX Plus PlayStation 1
Anbernic RG35XX Plus PlayStation 1

PlayStation 1 games out of the box are very playable on the Plus model. We tried our usual test games and found no issues with the performance. Amongst the games tested are Crash Bandicoot 3 which works perfectly and Gran Turismo 2 which was smooth as silk.

Dreamcast

Anbernic RG35XX Plus Dreamcast
Anbernic RG35XX Plus Dreamcast

We tried a few different games and overall the performance is very good. We saw, or should say heard no lags on Crazy Taxi, and all the usual games were running fine. You will see some frame drops now and again but RetroArch adjusts the frame skipping and in most cases the games play fine. The same applies for the Namoi and Atomiswave emulators.

NDS

Anbernic RG35XX Plus NDS emulator
Anbernic RG35XX Plus NDS emulator

We tried a few different games and they were all quite playable. One important factor is the screen is not touchscreen, so for some games they will be very tricky to actually play if it requires touchsceen input. Overall it’s pretty good, don’t expect every game to be perfect.

PSP 

Anbernic RG35XX Plus PSP emulator
Anbernic RG35XX Plus PSP emulator

On Tekken 6 with no frame skipping enabled at 1x rendering resolution, we are getting around 70% speed for full frames per second. You can use frame skipping to speed things up. On God of War we got around 20 FPS to give a comparison with other handhelds performance that we have reviewed. Low demanding games generally are playable with some frame skipping.

Final Thoughts

We sum up our Anbernic RG35XX Plus review with our final thoughts. The Anbernic RG35XX Plus is a good upgrade from the original version. The new H700 processor provides a decent performance increase over the original with faster performance on PlayStation 1 and Dreamcast. Games on the original RG35XX that were running just a bit too slow, are now working great. You will also find more playable games with the PSP, though many are still not running at full speed and require frame skipping.

Atari 2600 emulator on Anbernic RG35XX Plus
Atari 2600 emulator on Anbernic RG35XX Plus

Garlic OS 2 is currently in development for the Plus model. It is not ready for a full release yet so we did not try it. Once it is fully released it should be up to the same standard as the original version, and just as good a Onion OS on the Miyoo Mini handhelds. 

After comparing the RG35XX, RG35XX Plus and Miyoo Mini, if you already have an Anbernic RG35XX then it is perhaps not worth the upgrade unless you want faster PS1 and Dreamcast emulation. The same could be said if you already have a Miyoo Mini or Miyoo Mini Plus handheld. 

Street Fighter II on Anbernic RG35XX Plus
Street Fighter II on Anbernic RG35XX Plus

If you are looking to buy your first handheld then the Anbernic RG35XX Plus is one to go for. It out performs the RG35XX and Miyoo Mini Plus and apart from the lack of custom firmware right now, it is overall the better handheld. Until then you can still play the same games and more, but without a fancy frontend.

You can learn more about and order the Anbernic RG35XX here. We have a sale running throughout December, so grab yours now at a great price!

Thanks for reading or watching our Anbernic RG35XX Plus review, what do you think of it, let us know in the comments!

And if you do buy an Anbernic RG35XX Plus, check out our getting started guide here for setting up, usage and troubleshooting.

Bringer of videos, text and images! AKA the social media guy at DroiX. Massive retro gaming fan and collector, with a far too large collection of consoles and computers from 1970's to modern.