The M25, a design clone of the PlayStation Portal, has been released via Geekbuying, While its design may lean heavily into its Portal inspiration, the device itself is less powerful than the Portal, but also directly suited for playing retro games.
The PlayStation Portal is seemingly working its way into one of many current designs that manufacturers will end up cloning, copying, or drawing heavy inspiration from. In years past, the PSP held the throne, then the Switch, and later, the Vita. However, with the M25 and the Project X before it, the PlayStation portal design may be a long-running standout despite its differences in power.
SJGAM M25 Full Specifications
- Display:Â 4.3-inch LCD
- Resolution: 480 * 272
- Processor: Quad-core Rockchip RK3566 Cortex-A55, 1.8GHz
- GPU: Dual-core G31 MP2
- RAM: 4GB
- Storage: 64GB or 128GB
- Battery: 3000mAH
- Software: Linux-based OS, EmuELEC 4.3
The specs above showcase the differences in power when compared to even a stock PlayStation Portal, but the major difference is that there are currently no known hacks available for the PlayStation Portal that would enable it to play retro games.
The M25 utilizes the Rockchip RK3566 found inside of numerous devices released over the years like the Powkiddy RGB30, the Anbernic RG503, and the Powkiddy X55. Mirroring their performance, the M25 can be expected to play up to DS and GBA titles well, but if PS1, PSP, or N64 are specialties to a library, it may be better to look at devices with a stronger chipset like the T618 found in the Powkiddy X28.
Build quality in these clone devices will always remain the biggest elephant in the room. While this device has yet to be placed in any customer’s hands just yet, it’s par for the course for devices that heavily borrow from successful products to find the easiest way to bring the price down.
And the easiest way to do that generally relies on cheaper plastics, less button molding, and cheaper screens. The allocation of the now-old RK3566 could have also been a major contributor to how the device manages to sell for lower-than-average pricing.
But the question of worth comes into play based on the above specs and usability. The PlayStation Portal is one of the more comfortable handhelds to use, so mimicking its design to make a retro handheld bound to playing portably makes sense. When comparing the device’s specs to those of similar pricing like the PowKiddy X55 and the RK2023, it stacks up with the only noticeable differences being that the M25 has 4GB of RAM whereas the others have 2GB and 1GB respectively.
However, the available listings for the M25 do not list two major possible takeaways: the type of LCD screen being used, and the clock speed of the RAM. Without these two pieces of information, it’s nearly impossible to guess how well it can play more demanding DS titles, or how deep blacks appear on-screen.
SJGAM is known for releasing devices specific for the budget-handheld seekers and has kept the same idea present in all of its releases from the M17, to 18, 19, and so on and so forth. The M25 joins the ranks and derives its design from an already popular device noted for its stellar ergonomics. Being budget-friendly, on Linux, and well-priced next to its competitors, the M25 may be the perfect device for a bargain hunter looking to emulate retro handhelds up to the DS.
Is the M25 going on your wishlist? Do you still dream of a day when the PlayStation Portal is cloned into a more powerful device? Let us know in the comments below, and chat with us in our Discord!
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Thanks for the review as always. I would like to point out that the software and emulation performance has seemed to get better with every release from the m18 – m25 along with the it being largely compatible between the devices as well. I’ve gotten every single one of these devices as well from the lowly m7 and m17 up to the m19. I’ll likely pick this one up as well.