RH’s Scottish hero, TheGammaSqueeze, has announced further expansion of GammaOS, his highly customized (and improved) version of Android for retro handhelds. Three new devices can now look forward to receiving installations: the KT-R1, ZPG Unicorn A1, and GameMT E6 MAX.

A Brief History of GammaOS

GammaOS Welcome Screen

GammaOS first showed itself in 2023 as a custom build of Android (or of LineageOS, to be precise), which Gamma built after Anbernic shipping a terrible implementation of Android on its T618 devices (the RG505, the RG405M, and the RG405V). These devices significantly underperformed when compared to other devices with the same chip.

Even more criminally, the displayed image was over-sharpened, making it look like it was displaying at a lower resolution than that of the 480p screens each device had. GammaOS not only fixed these issues, but it also gave each device incredible battery life to the point that they could go over a day’s game time without needing to be charged.

GammaOS Core and Next

After the success of the initial version of GammaOS, future development was split into “GammaOS Core” and “GammaOS Next.”

GammaOS Core is designed to be put on an SD card like a Linux OS and is designed to improve the performance of low-end devices capable of running Android, but which ship with Linux. These are usually devices using an RK3566, like the Anbernic RG353 series, Powkiddy RGB30, or even the GKD Bubble. However, compatibility later expanded and now includes the devices using the Allwinner A133P, like the TrimUI Smart Pro and MagicX Mini Zero 28.

Gamma Core is designed to get every ounce of performance available out of these devices, and it is this author’s personal choice of OS for his RG-Arc.

GammaOS Next, on the other hand, has been designed for more powerful Android handhelds. In these, GammaOS is flashed to the device itself and replaces the included Android build, but requires that the bootloader is unlocked. Prior to this release, only the Anbernic T820 devices (the RG556, RG406V, RG406H & RG-Cube) were supported by GammaOS Next.

The New Devices

The KT-R1 from KT: This device promised much but delivered little, and was beset by delay upon delay, ultimately failing to bring excitement to the retro handheld hobby.

The ZPG Unicorn A1: The Unicorn was due to be one of the first devices to release with the 1:1 screen used in the RGB30; however, ZPG found themselves overtaken by Anbernic, who got the near-identical RG Cube to market slightly earlier, cursing the Unicorn into obscurity.

GameMT E6 MAX: This handheld was considered a “budget king” by many and an oddity by others; there was even a rumor that it didn’t exist, and the AliExpress listings were all bogus. Thankfully, these turned out not to be true.

Installing GammaOS

Downloads and instructions on how to install can be found on the GammaOS Next page on GitHub.

Each version of GammaOS is initially available only to members of Gamma’s Patreon for the first 90 days of release. While I would encourage anyone who uses his work to support him, for anyone who doesn’t want to, the build will be made available to the general public in late September.

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