Anbernic has released an official firmware update for their troubled RG DS device, a large patch aimed at resolving some of the device’s many critical flaws before it starts shipping out to the general public.
The narrative surrounding the RG DS launch has been dominated by software gripes, rightfully. Early reviews reported that the upper screen would drop to a jarring 40Hz refresh rate while the lower screen continued, a quirk discovered by The Phawx and corroborated by reviewers who found the device uncomfortable and ill-equipped for the one thing it exists to do: play Nintendo DS.​
Until now, the community’s hope had largely shifted toward community projects like GammaOS Next, the widely anticipated Christmas miracle for its ability to fix the 40Hz bug and massively reduce latency.
With the 1.4 update, Anbernic appears to be responding directly to the criticisms that made custom firmware a necessity. The official changelog targets the exact pain points highlighted by early reviews:
- Upper Screen Frame Rate Fix: The update resolves the critical issue where the top screen’s frame rate would degrade when games were active on the lower display. This directly addresses the “40Hz bug” that plagued the launch units.​
- Screen Synchronization Optimization: By optimizing how the two screens sync in NDS games, this patch should eliminate the see-saw effect seen in games like Sonic Rush.
- Dual-Screen Backlight Control: A new feature adding independent backlight control, offering a quality-of-life improvement for managing battery life and visibility across the two IPS panels.
While update 1.4 (available here, and shipping with new devices) suggests a better launch than reviews are anticipating, GammaOS still offers deeper enhancements like a global shader pipeline, touchscreen RetroArch UI, and audio improvements via GammaEQ.​ However, for users who prefer not to tinker with flashing custom software, the update aims to transform the RG DS from a glossy paperweight into eWaste that finally functions as advertised, even if most folks would still be better served by an original DS.
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