Anbernic RG 40XXV Review
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Design
(4.5)
-
Build Quality
(4.5)
-
Display
(5)
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Performance
(4.5)
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Features
(4.5)
-
Software
(4.5)
Summary
Overall
4.6User Review
( votes)Pros
- Excellent 4″ IPS display
- Customisable RGB lighting
- Over 30 emulators supported
- Dual SD card slots
Cons
- Analogue stick feels a little pointless
- Requires custom firmware for to get the best out of it
Anbernic are back with another retro gaming handheld, anyone kept count how many so far this year? 🙂 In our Anbernic RG 40XXV review we will see if it deserves a place in your hands.
Anbernic RG 40XXV Review Video
Anbernic RG 40XXV Overview
Let’s get the Anbernic RG 40XXV review underway with an overview. The Anbernic RG 40XXV classic gaming handheld is available in three colours; White, Transparent Black and Indigo Blue.
It measures around 5.47 x 3.6 x 0.86 inches (13.9 x 9..2 x 2.2 cm) and weighs 216g (0.47 lbs).
There’s a great looking small bezel 4” IPS screen with a 640×480 resolution. The picture quality is very impressive as you will see when we get some games up and running.
On the front of the Anbernic RG 40XXV we have a D-Pad and gaming buttons along with a menu button. There’s a single analogue stick surrounded by RGB lighting. You can customise this in the settings to change the lighting mode, brightness and speed, or switch it off if it’s not your thing.
On the left side are volume buttons and the first of two micro SD card slots. On the right are the power button, reset button and the second micro SD card slot. On the top is a mini HDMI port for outputting to a TV or monitor. The bottom of the portable retro gaming console has a USB-C port for charging and a 3.5mm audio jack.
And last but not least the back has four buttons to act as shoulder and trigger buttons. They are comfortable to rest your fingers on acting as a grips of sorts while they are not in use.
Anbernic RG 40XXV Technical Specifications
We continue the Anbernic RG 40XXV review with a brief look at its technical specifications.
| CPU | H700 quad-core ARM Cortex-A53, 1.5GHz frequency |
| GPU | Dual- core Mali G31 MP2 |
| RAM | 1GB LPDDR4 |
| STORAGE | 64GB for OS, 128GB for Games |
| DISPLAY | 4.0-inch IPS screen, OCA full lamination, resolution: 640*480 |
| OS | Linux 64-bit |
| COMMUNICATIONS | 2.4/5G WIFI 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.2 |
| BATTERY | Li-polymer battery 3200mAh, up to 6 hours depending on usage. |
OS Overview
Next in our Anbernic RG 40XXV review we cover the operating system and frontend features. We see the now familiar Linux based frontend that Anbernic have been using in their portable gaming handhelds this year. There have been improvements over time which is great to see. You have two menus for native Linux based emulators and the other for RetroArch.
Supported on the Anbernic RG 40XXV are systems ranging from Atari 2600 up to PS1 and PSP. Performance and compatibility can vary so one emulator may be better than the other. Generally the RetroArch emulator cores work great and have easier to use features such as save states, fast forward, screenshots etc.
Emulation Performance
All the 8 and 16 bit systems should run fine without any issues at all, everything up to the PS1 era works great on this mobile gaming handheld.
You will notice with N64 and Dreamcast that performance is hit and miss depending on the game. You will need to use frame skipping to get more demanding games playable.
PSP is also supported, but again performance is mixed. The low demanding games will be playable, medium maybe with frame skipping, but you can forget about higher demanding games like God of War, even with frame skipping.
Custom Firmware
Worth mentioning in our Anbernic RG 40XXV review are custom firmwares. There are the excellent MinUI and Knulli custom firmwares available if you want to squeeze some extra performance out of the Anbernic RG 40XXV. As well as improving performance you also get nicer looking frontends and a wealth of options and features. Knulli should be back available soon once some bugs are fixed.
Final Thoughts
Time to sum up our thoughts in this Anbernic RG 40XXV review. The Anbernic RG 40XXV is overall a decent handheld. The 4” display really does look great and for me is just the right size for a vintage gaming handheld. Personally I think it could do without the analogue stick, it’s really only required for the later supported systems which have mixed success in terms of performance.
While the stock firmware has improved over the past months, we do need to look again at custom firmwares to get the best out of these handhelds. But for the price versus a good quality handheld with larger 4” display, it is great value for money. If you are in the market for a vertical handheld, then look no further!
You can learn more and order the Anbernic RG 40XXV here.
We hope you have found our Anbernic RG 40XXV review useful. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments.
