UPDATE: The H36S has now started showing up over at AliExpress! Depending on the seller, prices range between $44 and $50.
A new Allwinner A133P device has seemingly dropped on Alibaba, but its manufacturer is entirely unknown.
Over on our Discord, taizou has shared what appears to be a horizontal handheld that uses Allwinner’s A133P chipset but, for some reason, has no brand attached to its creation.
A133P devices have become somewhat of a hot commodity in the retro handheld space since they were initially popularized by the TrimUI Smart Pro. The chipset allows for better performance on budget devices than the over-utilized H700 that has been featured in literal dozens of handhelds released just in the past year.
The A133P is the chipset found in the TrimUI Smart Pro and Brick, MagicX Zero 28, and is expected to be seen in the upcoming MagicX Zero 40. Performance-wise, it can easily tackle the majority of PS1 titles but may offer some stuttering and headache when it comes to tougher-to-run N64 and Dreamcast titles.
Brand? It Has No Brand
Despite its relatively newfound popularity, the processor is also being used in off-brand devices that seemingly have no brand attached to them.
H36S Renders
The H36S, based on the renders shown, looks to have a more unbody and sleek design when compared to its counterparts, but as with most things at this price point, an argument can be made that the device will have uneven and cheaper plastics in reality.
On its face, it has the typical fanfare of four action and directional buttons, start and select, but it also features two symmetrical analog sticks as well. With a commonly used 3.5-inch screen with a 640 x 480 screen resolution, it does manage to ironically sit closer on the budget-friendly end of devices when positioned next to its peers.
The TrimUI Smart Pro houses a 16:9, full 720p screen, while the Brick sits with a 3.2-inch screen with a staggering resolution of 1024 x 768 — same as the PowKiddy RGB20 Pro.
Performance Capabilities
With the newly shown off H36S, gamers can expect decent performance on PS1 titles, but varying performance on Dreamcast and N64 depending on the game being played. Outside of that, the power could be useful in ensuring PS1 gameplay is as smooth as can be, with no compromises being made. In any case, it is a slight bump up from the RK3326 we see commonly used in cheaper handhelds, and at the same time, it could birth a newfound “standard” in retro handhelds where even the cheapest of them offer stellar performance on PS1 games.
H36S purported specs
However, with all things retro handheld related, the actual usage, how well the console will perform, and any other quirks and kinks found within the device could be the deciding factor between worthwhile and worthless. For instance, the latest Retro Handheld find, the BatleXP G350, sounds great on paper when compared to other similar devices, but it wasn’t until the device was fully tested and used that we found out that it may stand alone atop the R36S clone mountain.
The H36S can be seen over on Alibaba, but be warned that the site is entirely in Chinese. Should the product become more widely available for US customers, we’ll be here to share it directly with you.
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This is interesting, if we get Crossmix on this Handheld we’ll have a decent N64 Handheld. Too bad we won’t be able to play Sin and Punishment.