Welcome to the latest edition of Retro Handhelds Weekly. This week, we saw a bunch of news in the world of hardware and software. Our writing team continues to be on an absolute tear, and there’s even a surprise or two sprinkled in! So sit back, grab a cup of coffee, and catch up on what’s happened this week in the world of Retro Handhelds.
Table of Contents
Hardware
If there’s one thing we know about retro handhelds, it’s that there is always something new around the corner. Seriously, it’s “worse” than smartphones, as some companies release new handhelds every other week. On the bright side, at least there’s no shortage of options.
KTR2 Could Shake Up the $100 to $200 Handheld Market
It’s been awhile since we’ve seen a handheld released from a company other than Anbernic, AYANEO, or one of the Game console producers. It appears as though that will soon change as pre-sales for the KTR2 are now live in China.
AYANEO Unveils Details on the Pocket Vert
AYANEO Pocket Vert Feature
As we covered back in early November, AYANEO has been dropping bits and pieces of information concerning their new vertical handheld, the AYANEO Pocket Vert. This week, AYANEO revealed the full specs on the handheld.
Retroid Pocket 6: Real Pics Arrive as First Batch Nears Shipping
Despite being announced back in October, we had not yet actually seen what the Retroid Pocket 6 looks like outside of renders. As an early post-Christmas gift, that’s no longer the case as Retroid is showing off a bunch of “real life” pictures of its upcoming flagship handheld.
MANGMI’s Pocket Max is Powered by a Rather Familiar Processor
MANGMI is letting the good times roll, at least that’s the way it seems from our vantage point. After teasing and introducing the MANGMI Pocket Max last week, the company is back to offer one key detail, as its next handheld is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865.
More Hardware News
- SN Operator for SNES and Super Famicom
- Minisforum DEG2 eGPU Dock Announced with OCuLink and Thunderbolt 5
Apps and Software
Don’t get me wrong, hardware is definitely fun and exciting to talk about. But what good is an awesome handheld if it doesn’t even work? That’s where software and custom firmware come into play, so here’s everything you might’ve missed this week.
Xbox FSE Comes to Lenovo Legion Go 2
We always knew it would arrive eventually, but it seems that Lenovo and Microsoft gave Legion Go 2 owners a surprise Christmas present. An update is now rolling out, bringing with it a slew of bug fixes, along with adding the Xbox Full Screen Experience as an option. Now, you won’t have to worry about running into issues when trying to force the FSE update via the Windows Insider Builds.
Dolphin on Android Updated to Improve Latency
It’s been a few months since we’ve seen a Dolphin Progress Report, but a new one was just published right before Christmas. It covers all of the recent updates to the emulator, such as the Android build now supporting RetroAchievements. However, the developers have also brought about ways to improve latency with the Android version of the emulator.
ePSXe 2.0.18 for Windows Released Almost 10 Years Since Last Update
Most of the time, when an emulator hasn’t been updated in ten years, you can probably assume that the project is gone for good. As it turns out, if you thought that ePSXe was gone forever, you would be mistaken as a new update was just released for the Windows build. There are obviously a bunch of changes, but arguably the most important one is that ePSXe now supports CHD ROM files.
iiSU DS Alpha 0.0.4
With the foundation in place, SapphireRhodonite can now turn their focus to implementing new features while improving existing ones. Version 0.0.4 of of the iiSU DS Alpha was released this week, introducing a ton of changes, mainly surrounding the metadata and scraping of your library.
More Software News
- Zelda BOTW VR Mod
- SaveState v2.1
- EmuSync v1.0.6
- NetherSX2 Classic v2.2n Net Dev Build Latest
- NetherSX2 v2.2n Net Dev Build Latest
- Citron Release 0.12.25
- Eden v0.0.4 Released
- Pocket8 • A native PICO-8 emulator for iOS.
From the Writers
While there’s always a lot of news to cover and talk about, we also try to take a step back and give everyone something a bit different to enjoy. These are the more editorial-styled articles and reviews that you might have missed over the course of this week.
ASUS ROG Xbox Ally Beginners Guide: Windows, Armoury Crate, and Emulation
Just get an ASUS ROG Xbox Ally or ROG Xbox Ally X For Christmas? Well you’ve come to the right place as we’re going to go over some quick setup and tips for the ROG Xbox Ally. This came out about two months ago, but they recently dropped the price down to $490 just in time for Christmas. I was assuming there would be a big influx of new users from this thing in general, but with the new price, I think even more people will be getting one of these on Christmas morning.
Odin 3 First Impressions: Alright, This Is What I’ve Been Wanting
I had a soft spot for the Odin 2; I thought it was well-made, extremely comfortable, and if there were any ghosting or image issues on my particular model, I never noticed them. I probably played more games on my Odin 2 than any other device I’ve owned (except maybe the RG CubeXX), and I somewhat regretted selling it to move on to the Odin 2 Portal.
AYANEO Pocket Ace Review: Not Quite One & Done
4:3 is the aspect ratio of choice for those looking into emulation handhelds. Genesis, SNES, PS1, Dreamcast, GameCube, PS2; all of which hold the option of using 4:3 natively. Following that, if you can’t get 4:3, you look to 16:9.
ASUS ROG Xbox Ally Review: The New Steam Deck?
x86 Handhelds have been getting expensive. The Legion Go 2 is over $1,000, the MSI Claw is pushing that price point too, and AYANEO is doing AYANEO things. Trying to see just how much money they can claw out of each of their 78 backers. Now, what I’m about to talk about isn’t inexpensive; rather, less expensive than the alternatives.
Fantech EOS Mini Review: A Mini Winner?
Controllers are getting pricey. At least for the full-sized options out there. I’ve covered everything from $20 to $250 and everything from bare bones to feature-packed. But the one thing I haven’t gotten into is tiny controllers. So while today, I’m taking a look at the Fantech EOS Mini, I’ve also got a selection of tiny controllers to compare it to.
Game Over: Tiger R-Zone
Tiger Electronics owned the disposable LCD handheld market in 1995, but apparently that wasn’t enough. They wanted in on the head-mounted gaming craze Nintendo had just fumbled with the Virtual Boy. Enter the R-Zone: Tiger’s attempt to convince kids that staring at a blurry red LCD an inch from their eyeballs counted as virtual reality.
Anbernic RG477V First Impressions
Anbernic has had a pretty hit-and-miss year up until this point. They’ve had some solid releases with the RG477M, RG34XXSP, and RG476H. They’ve also had some low points, with the RG DS and RG557. At least in my opinion. This time around, it’s choosing to end the year with a performant handheld with the RG477V. Its biggest and best vertical to date.
On the YouTubes
Don’t think that the writers are the only ones getting things done. The RH video team is constantly working on new videos, and now’s the best time to subscribe.
Looking for Deals?
Another week, another set of deals to be had. Hit the button below to check out our favorite deals of the week. We know how much everyone loves a good deal, so we’ve been cooking up something to help you get the best deal possible.
Retro Handhelds Deals of the WeekHandheld.Deals
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