At the beginning of 2024, if you were looking for a clamshell handheld with the same shape as the Game Boy Advance SP, you were looking at one of three options. Either the Powkiddy V90, a 2020 release that could barely hit Game Boy Advance. The Funkey S, a 2021 release that played up to PS1 at the expense of being tiny. Or option 3, an amalgamation build that put a Pi or similar into a GBA shell, but at least it worked.
Over the last year, we’ve seen four more options emerge in two main form factors. The Anbernic RG35XX SP and Powkiddy V90S, alongside the Anbernic RG34XX SP and Miyoo Flip. How well do they stack up? Is there one that’ll be more worth it to you in the end? And how will I rank them using my extremely scientific points rating system? Well, that’ll be the question to ask, won’t it?
Specs
Rather than just dump all of the specs here, I’d highly recommend going to the dedicated reviews and guides for the 34XX SP, 35XX SP, Miyoo Flip, and Powkiddy V90S. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to talk about them here. I just want to cover the differences to dole out my first few points.
The Anbernics are powered by the Allwinner H700, the Powkiddy by the V90S, and the Miyoo Flip by a Rockchip RK3566. And in terms of power, that means the SPs are the weakest, followed by the V90S and topped by the Miyoo Flip; though power isn’t everything.
The 34XX SP is the only one with a 3:2 display and 2GB of RAM, versus the 1GB in everything else. The 35XX SP is the only one with a true 3,300mAh battery as the rest report as or are listed as 3,000mAh. And the V90S is the only one lacking Bluetooth, Wifi, and a 3.5mm Headphone Jack. But it lacks a lid sensor with the Miyoo Flip in tow. And an additional late note for the Powkiddy V90S is that, despite being listed as a 3,000mAh battery, my battery tester listed it as only holding about 2,200mAh of capacity. Meaning this will be something I’ll have to keep an eye out for more in the future.
Taking all of these together, the 34XX SP is the most well-rounded specs-wise, thanks to its extra ram and features, followed by what I’d call a tie between the 35XX SP and Miyoo Flip, with the V90S easily in last due to the lack of most things.
If I’m awarding points for 1st through 3rd, I’d say they should all get one point, but if you’re really last, you shouldn’t get anything at all.
- Anbernic RG34XX SP: 1
- Anbernic RG35XX SP: 1
- Miyoo Flip: 1
- Powkiddy V90S: 0
The Hinge
Here’s a point of importance. When you’re getting a clamshell, it can have all the features in the world, but if it’s going to fall apart in 30 days or crack along the back, it’s not a clamshell worth having. The reason this is important is that 3 of the 4 clamshells here have the same hinge design on them. The only exception of which being the Miyoo Flip, which utilizes a center hinge design rather than an offset one.
I mean, alongside that, the Miyoo Flip also has a history of being a pretty bad hinge that either goes as flacid as a microwaved breadstick after just as long in your hands, or falls apart due to using metal in only one part of the hinge. Because of that, there’s no way it can be awarded anything but last in this category.
As for the remaining three, they share the same hinge design but differ in tensions. The 35XX SP and V90S actually match each other with a fairly medium-strength hinge that claps down solidly. Meanwhile, the 34XX SP has a more pronounced snap into its open position with a louder close. That sense of security definitely makes it feel like a stronger hinge, and while I would give it a win, it feels like it’ll be just as sturdy as the other two.
- Anbernic RG34XX SP: 2
- Anbernic RG35XX SP: 2
- Powkiddy V90S: 1
- Miyoo Flip: 1
Ergonomics
This is another subjective decision, but it’s one that can be easily separated into one of two categories. The Miyoo Flip and 34XX SP are both “Gameboy Advance Clones… With Sticks”. Meanwhile, the V90S and 35XX SP are what I’d call “GBA Clones but beefier” due to just being a bit larger overall.
Depending on what you’re looking for, either of these could be a slam dunk ergonomically, but there are two things that give it to your beefier options. We’ve got bigger hands as we get older, and generally, these larger clams fit my hands just a little bit better. And the second thing, the addition of sticks just makes things feel more uncomfortable if you ever want to use them and the shoulders at the same time.
So while that’s part of why they lose out now, it won’t be a loss for long. In this case, only two handhelds get the point.
- Anbernic RG35XX SP: 3
- Anbernic RG34XX SP: 2
- Powkiddy V90S: 2
- Miyoo Flip: 1
Screens
Let’s talk screens for just a moment. The 34XX SP is the only one with a 3.4”, 3:2 display. The rest land on that classic 4:3, 3.5” range. If you’re looking for GBA, this will obviously be the move; the rest will work just as well for almost anything else. But the point comes from how the screens actually look, and while the 34XX SP, 35XX SP, and Miyoo Flip all have nice displays, the V90S feels like it’s just a bit more dull by comparison and ends up taking a quick and easy loss here.
- Anbernic RG35XX SP: 4
- Anbernic RG34XX SP: 3
- Powkiddy V90S: 2
- Miyoo Flip: 2
Controls
Now, into more deep dives on the devices, the controls once again follow a similar pattern. It’s either “yes sticks” or “no sticks”. Just by having the additional inputs over the competition, I would say the 34XX SP and the Miyoo Flip should be the winners in this competition. However, the 35XX SP matches the 34XX SP everywhere else (shocker), and the Miyoo Flips quiet, shallow buttons just feel worse. Worse, to the point I prefer the membrane V90S over the Miyoo Flip, though both fall short of the light and clicky controls of the Anbernic SPs, in my opinion. Meaning the only loser here is Miyoo.
- Anbernic RG35XX SP: 5
- Anbernic RG34XX SP: 4
- Powkiddy V90S: 3
- Miyoo Flip: 2
Custom Firmware
This one’s pretty cut and dry. The V90S has PlumOS, a modded Stock firmware that brings extra features, but seemingly at the cost of excess battery drain. As in my testing, one hour of GBA drained the battery by 25% on PlumOS, but only 16% on the stock OS.
The Miyoo Flip fares a bit better, offering the Stock firmware, MinUI, as well as support for Knulli, Gamma Core, and SpruceOS. Though the last three were in Beta and Alphas, last checked. With that in mind, MinUI ended up being my go-to choice for the Miyoo Flip as it let me get back to basics and let me play exactly the games I wanted to on a smaller clamshell. And some Pico-8, of course.
And on top is the Anbernic duopoly. Having access to their StockOS, Knulli, Rocknix, MuOS, the H700 StockOS mod, and MinUI, for the 35XX SP only. The biggest benefit to having such longevity for one chip from one company is the absolutely smattering of choice for operating systems, to the point I’d say there is no wrong choice. These H700s, in general, have more firmware choices than I have places to eat nearby. Which makes the decision to award points that much easier.
- Anbernic RG35XX SP: 6
- Anbernic RG34XX SP: 5
- Powkiddy V90S: 3
- Miyoo Flip: 3
Performance
This is probably the one category that truly might not be worth the discussion on what should get a point, but I’m going to do it anyway. You’re looking at 3 different chips across 4 handhelds with quite different power levels. The RK3566 and Allwinner A133P both outdo the H700 in the Anbernics, however, not to a degree where I’d say it makes an enormous difference.
All of these are what I’d describe as “Runs up to PS1 Smoothly, can add Dreamcast, N64, and PSP to varying degrees of success”. With that being said, the difference in usability comes down to less performance and more compatibility.
In Portmaster, the Anbernics and Miyoo Flip are technically compatible with most games in the library, though the 34XX SP edges things out with that extra RAM. Meanwhile, the V90S and its A133P land closer to around 80% compatibility, and that’s before fully checking through each game to ensure full compatibility. And the reason is just simple. Like the TrimUI Brick and Smart Pro, the Allwinner A133P lacks the compatibility layers that let the H700 and RK3566 just work. Which I think will land your points more like this.
- Anbernic RG35XX SP: 7
- Anbernic RG34XX SP: 6
- Miyoo Flip: 4
- Powkiddy V90S: 3
Clams vs Verticals
Before I get to my final thoughts on this entire topic, I had to stop and ask myself, “Why get a clamshell over a vertical handheld?” And the reason for me ended up being pretty simple. Portability.
All four of these handhelds have verticals with the same chips. The TrimUI Brick has an A133P, the Anbernic RG353V has an RK3566, and the RG35XX Pro has an H700. But what they don’t offer is ease of transportation. Clamshells let you hide away the screen for protection, while verticals make you go out with it all hanging out, or you have to tuck it away in a larger, bulkier case.
Because of that, and my rose-tinted glasses for the GBA SP, I just think clamshells are a better option. Even if they introduce a new point of failure, the verticals don’t suffer from it.
Final Thoughts
In the end, Anbernic wins… to me at least. Despite the entire point system saying the 35XX SP is the best clamshell out there, it’s important to recognize that it was mostly due to my preference for its ergonomics. Both the 34 and 35XX SP are seriously good clamshell experiences and deserve to be recognized as such. If you have one of these, you should be happy.
The V90S is a solid, offline handheld, but at a slightly lower price than the Anbernic, you lose a lot of features, software, and compatibility. So, because of that, at least until it gets more firmware choices, it’s going to be a hard recommendation. The Miyoo Flip is going to be a hard recommendation long term for a few reasons. Shallow controls, minimal CFW options, but most importantly, a terrible, clicky hinge. I imagine this will be the first of my clamshells to break, and considering other issues with the SD card slot as well, it just doesn’t have the longevity of others.
We’re in a clamshell renaissance with options for anyone, just make sure you choose something that’ll actually last for you.
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