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.
Anbernic RG477V Confirmed in New Teaser Video
Wouldn’t ya know it. The morning after the guys talk about the Anbernic RG477V leaks, a teaser video gets published to the Anbernic YouTube channel. And just like that, the company has one more handheld on its way before we flip the calendar into the next year.
AYANEO Pocket DMG Now Comes in New Color
It’s been a little over a year since the AYANEO Pocket DMG was originally released, and to celebrate, the company is releasing a new color option. The “Bright Silver” variant was spotted on one of the AYANEO device showcase streams, leaving many to wonder if it were real. As it turns out, not only is it real, but you can already order one for yourself, directly from AYANEO.
The best part? it’s actually less expensive than the original model, starting at either $339 or $419, depending on your preferred configuration.
AYANEO Pocket DMG – Bright Silver
New OneXPlayer X1 with Panther Lake Appears on GeekBench
CES 2026 is right around the corner, and with that, we’re expecting to learn about a lot of different handhelds slated to arrive over the course of the next year. We’re also likely to hear about AMD and Intel’s new processors, but at least for Intel’s Panther Lake series, OneXPlayer might’ve spilled the beans.
A new OneXPlayer X1 “i” made a surprise appearance on GeekBench, giving us an idea of what we can expect from Intel’s upcoming chip. To be fair, this is just one test, but it does appear that the Core Ultra 5 338H will perform admirably, but might still fall short of AMD’s Ryzen AI Max 385.
More Hardware News
- LEGO Is Releasing Another Buildable Retro Handheld!
- PlayStation 6 handheld leak
- OneXPlayer APEX Sales Paused
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.
Anbernic RG DS Gets Massive Overhaul with GammaOS Next
It’s a Christmas miracle! Gamma Claus decided to surprise everyone with the release of GammaOS Next for the Anbernic RG DS. This means that once Anbernic actually starts shipping its latest handheld, you can ditch the janky stock OS in favor of a much better and improved solution.
Lair Launcher Roadmap
It’s been a few days since the first Public Alpha for Lair Launcher/iiSU was released, giving the developer some time to get working on bug fixes. In the meantime, Sapphire shared a roadmap of what they will be focusing on before moving on to implementing more features into the launcher. These include the following:
- The metadata scraper (covers, titles, info, background art, etc.)
- Fixing the bugs reported in this alpha, including UI issues, dual-screen behavior, and SAF problems.
Not only that, but Sapphire revealed that new releases will be made available “every two weeks” for Patrons and those who are supporting iiSU. If not, you’ll be limited to one release per month.
Anbernic Rolls Out First Official Update for RG DS
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.
More Software News
- FEX Release FEX-2512
- RetroHrai! is Another New Android Launcher
- Star Fox 64 for Sega Dreamcast
- Papaya Launcher Updated
- Pokémon Crystal Awakening
- Pocket Codex
- Argosy Launcher
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.
The Best Retro Handhelds for Every Budget (As Chosen by You)
As we enter gift-giving season for you or a loved one, sometimes you need to make a decision. What device do I get for someone? What should I give myself? How much should I really spend to get the performance I want? With that in mind, my goal is to grab the best handhelds you can at each price point to give you my thoughts and opinions on what you really should consider buying this year. Or at the very least, which ones you should try picking up during the next AliExpress sale.
Game Over: RDI Halcyon
In the mid-1980s, while home gaming was still recovering from the industry crash, RDI Video Systems had a vision of the future. They believed the next great leap in interactive entertainment would not come from cartridges or simple sprites, but from full motion LaserDisc video (an idea eventually revisited by Philips, with a similar level of success), voice recognition, and a computer that talked back like something out of a sci-fi movie.
Game of the Month: Wish List Brings Holiday Cheer
The Wish List theme that always comes through each December is one of my favorite themes we do each year (and one of the only recurring ones). Essentially, GOTM Champions who are eligible to nominate do so by providing a “Wish List”, or a list of three games for each range of release dates.
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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