UPDATE (5/22 – 4PM): Anbernic Responds
Anbernic has responded to The Phawx’s video published this morning. Here’s the statement that Russ from Retro Game Corps provided shortly after his own video went live:
According to Anbernic, the screen is indeed a 3:2 720×480 display, that has a custom frame/shroud that is 4:3 in dimensions, to fit the housing. So it may be that Phawx’s findings in the software is incorrect data being outputted by the hardware (which is common, these devices are full of all sorts of slapped-together errors). My big takeaway still stands: it has the space for a 4:3 display, and that would have been a better fit for playing 4:3 content with those new analog sticks. At the very least, if it is a custom frame for the 3:2 display, centering it in the housing would have looked a lot better than this weird top forehead that we have going on right now!
Anbernic’s latest handheld, the RG34XXSP, is here and has been making its rounds throughout the reviewer space. The Phawx is one of the latest YouTubers to take a look at what Anbernic has been working on, and discovered something that we never would have suspected.
The RG34XXSP is advertised as having a 3.4-inch display with a resolution of 720 x 480 and a 3:2 aspect ratio, complete with the “five-head” due to the larger top bezel. As it turns out, the larger top bezel serves a purpose as Anbernic is actually using a 3.5-inch screen with a resolution of 1280 x 960, making for a screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio.
At first, you might be thinking that this is the Retroid Pocket Mini saga all over again, but that’s not the case here. The Phawx provides a detailed breakdown of what Anbernic is doing, which basically boils down to “turning off” the pixels and scaling the 4:3 screen down to 3:2.
Image via The Phawx
What separates this situation from the Pocket Mini is that there aren’t any issues when it comes to shaders, and if it weren’t for this video, then we would have never known. The Phawx provided further evidence to back up that idea, as Anbernic did the same thing with the RG34XX (non-SP), a handheld that has been out for about six months.
Interesting stuff from @carygolomb about the RG34XXSP. Apparently Anbernic used a 4:3 screen for their 3:2 screen XX devices. The scaling works fine and shaders work, so it’s not like the Retroid fiasco, but it’s interesting nonetheless. 🧵 Time👇
— ZuReviews (@ZuReviews) May 22, 2025
Zu weighed in on this topic over on Twitter with his take, and pointed out that “at least four separate cfw teams made cfw for the 34XX and didn’t see anything in code.” Which, when you think about it, is pretty crazy to think about, but at the same time, shows that Anbernic did things in a way that wouldn’t reveal the true size of the screen.
Ultimately, this isn’t something that we should be overly concerned about, as the RG34XXSP works exactly as advertised. If anything, I’d be interested to see if a developer can “unlock” those extra pixels, and then someone could create a 3D print to replace the front bezel. If that were to happen, we’d end up with an RG35XXSP that is lighter, more powerful, and has built-in joysticks.
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