XU Retro has officially unveiled its next budget device, the XU35 H40. The XU35 H40 follows the announcement of three other devices, including the $42 XU20 V32. XU Retro is launching the XU35 H40 in December for $90.
The XU35 H40 will ship with a 960×720 display with a 4:3 aspect ratio and will include Hall sensor joysticks and triggers. On the inside, this handheld will contain 4 GB of RAM, 64GB of internal storage, and presumably microSD support. While not confirmed, it is presumably going to run Android and ship with the same customized Dawn Launcher as the other XU Retro and MagicX devices.
As we initially reported, the device got an upgrade to the Helio G85 from the previously announced Helio P65. Notably, the G85 also features in the recently announced MagicX Touch One. The G85 is mostly untested in this space, but will likely top out at Nintendo 64 and Dreamcast.
The announcement of the XU35 H40 comes amidst intense competition in the sub-$100 handheld space. XU Retro themselves have announced multiple upcoming handhelds. The XU20 V32 is a vertical handheld with a 3.2-inch display, an Allwinner A133P chip, and the afore-mentioned $42 price tag.
The upcoming XU30 V36 features a larger 3.6-inch screen, while the XU40 H55 offers a 5.5-inch 1080p high-resolution screen. Both devices are powered by a Dimensity 7050 (upgraded from an Allwinner A733). Meanwhile, the XU35 H50 appears to be a 5-inch version of the XU35 H40 and should also run on a Helio G85.
The device also appears to be in direct competition with the recently unveiled Mangmi Air X, which will launch in a similar price range. As the calendar rolls over into December, it will be interesting to see if XU Retro can find a niche in the busy budget handheld market. If not, I’m sure one of the other half-dozen devices XU Retro releases this year will.