GameMT has apparently decided subtlety is dead, because its next Android handheld is called the Pocket Super Knob 5000 (either separate from the previously announced EX5, or a rebrand with a better chip) and it’s launching this April.
Underneath the cursed branding, this is basically a super‑thin, PS Vita‑ish slab running a MediaTek Helio G85, a 5″ full HD display, and Hall effect controls. The G85 is a 2020‑era entry‑level gaming chip, so, like Anbernic’s RG Vita, its pretty much maxing out around PSP, but that should also keep the price in the approachable range. GameMT is claiming 5–8 extra hours of battery life from a built‑in power‑saving mode and uses a metal backplate for heat dissipation, all in a body that’s just 13.2 mm thick and around 200g.
Then there’s the knob. Instead of a right stick, the Super Knob 5000 has a single left joystick and a big, RGB‑ringed rotary dial on the right. NotebookCheck (via Retro Gaming with Deadfred) notes this is basically a reworked EX5 shell with a slightly newer chipset, which is fine and good, but I wanna know what you are actually doing with this thing mid‑game.
Best‑case scenario, the knob ends up as a fun, Playdate‑adjacent gimmick, mapped to throttle, power sliders, or weird mini‑games where you lean into the analog spin. Worst‑case, it’s another “look different for the AliExpress thumbnail” experiment that makes most Android titles or 3D systems feel worse to play, especially anything expecting dual sticks.
GameMT most recently brought us the E3 Vigor, a 1:1 handheld that starts at $45. There’s no pricing on the Super Knob yet, but with that aging SoC and mid‑range positioning, this should fall into impulse buy territory, rather than trying to be your next main Android rig. Whether the Pocket Super Knob 5000 is clever or just cursed, at least it’s trying something new in a market that usually just rearranges buttons and calls it a day.
GameMT Pocket Super Knob
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