I am the kind of person who takes care of my stuff I have CIB Pokémon games and mint condition gameboys, it hurts my core that the hinge in this thing is starting to go already. I have never broken a Nintendo hinge before. I have repaired lots of old devices. Not sure I want to test the durability of things in the way of actually breaking my stuff. I pay for all these things with hard earned money so I rather not just break them for views. I’ll definitely make videos pointing out design flaw that I come across. This RG35XXSP and the MiyooA30 are some sad handhelds to come out this year. Would not recommend either.

Yeah it would be cool if companies sent me devices to durability test but I doubt that would happen any time soon. Not many of these companies like to be exposed for hardware issues or want to do actual product testing they just want to pump them out as fast as possible. Maybe I should make some goals on my kofi for consoles that people want tested and if people pool to buy it I’ll test it till it breaks or report issues on what might be a problem then give it away if it survives testing.

@@Johntriger I'm gonna stick with Bluetooth controllers for now, I'm gonna wait for 2x3 screen device that can play psp and bellow perfectly with the right quality and buttons. my phones is an amoled that plays up to psp and has better battery life and durability

Oh dang really? And here I thought just the hinge failing already was bad enough. What is casting the fires? Do you know if it was how it was charged or something?

​@@Johntrigeri think because the battery sitting above the cpu is a big issue

​@@mephistophelesknivez yeah this. Apparently quite a few have caught fire

There is a few mm gap but they would need to move the battery down and the cpu up to prevent this. I placed a little pice of copper and some thermal tape and it’s still not touching the battery. It is right under the battery though so all the heat would soak into the battery. Wonder if there is an issue with the charging controller on some boards. Maybe cheap components or something. I could see overcharging or over-discharging causing premature battery failure.

I can confirm on the latest arkos it won't boot. Won't even load to title screen. I'll try on rocknix

@@Johntriger thank you!

Works great on rocknix. A bit difficult to get the game data on it from a windows machine but if you boot up Ubuntu on a flash drive you can install it from steam and just transfer the files with the file manager to the sd card ports folder. Enjoy playing games!

Yup sometimes too advanced but it's basically Ubuntu with a theme so it runs pretty great

Yeah her dress is a blue-purple tone compared to purple on the ips screens inside the emulation devices. You can enable color correction in retroarch settings but I find it to be too washed out. They can all be enjoyed though so pick what you want to play and enjoy some games!

I wish it was, I really like the color.

Hopefully yours last longer, or you can maybe cancel until they fix the design or release a new one. The other RG35XX H RG35XX+ are the same device without the flipping feature/bug. I know its not the same but the RG35XX+ is the closest in feel and size if you really want a 4:3 screen for snes and genesis or other home consoles. If you want to play Gameboy get a powkiddy V10 for the 3:2 screen, its perfect for GBA at 2x scaled and good for GB/GBC, If you are willing to spend more than 40USD the RGB20SX or RGB30 is 1:1 and Perfect for GBA at 3x scaled at around 80 USD and really great for GB/GBC since it is close to 10:9 being.

@@Johntriger We will see I guess. I've heard some people are taking the battery out and seeing that Ambernic are inserting a thin piece of card between the battery and the CPU to help guard against overheating.... and as I type this I've just remembered that your video isn't about the battery exploding but the hinge exploding. Haha. You couldn't make it up. Can you guess how excited I am for my device to drop! Thinking of sending it straight back and picking up one for the RG Cube things. That looks cool too.

I have a RG Cube if you pick one up, I hope they have fixed the screen bleed issue, mine has a bit more light bleed than I am used to seeing on expensive devices. They sent a replacement screen when I contacted them though so that’s a win. Have yet to install it but customer service is good.

@@Johntriger Yeah, I believe reviewers got a slightly duff batch, which has subsequently been addressed. Fingers crossed... again!

Well I bought it with my money after reviews came out. Not to be a Debby downer. I do hope that new batches fixed it but still. We shall see. I don’t get sent any products by any company. Don’t think I am nearly big enough a channel for review units.

Not a dream, I sell them at my local antique shop. USB C modded Gameboy Macros. Also sell working DS stock or repaired, DS lite stock and USB C modded. Working on getting a site setup to maybe sell them online and ship in in the USA.

Hopefully yours last longer, is it a clear one?

@@Johntriger yes, the blue transparent one

Dang same as mine, If it makes you feel better this issue probably affects the normal solid colors as well not just the pretty transparent blue one. I have seen one other report of a busted silver model in the same spot.

I have been a fan ever since I was a kid and saw the SP commercials on TV and asked for one for Christmas. I have owned almost every Nintendo clam shell console in my life since. I have never personally broken a hinge on one before, so this was surprising to see given the limited use.

Yeah it's wider than most think since it's 3:2 but it's also a little over a half an inch larger screen than a stock gba at 2x the resolution so it makes for a great way to play gba gb gbc ngpc and the like. That's what I play on it mainly along with Stardew Valley for some causal gaming. Is there a device you would like to see it compared too for size and screen comparison? I have most of them just not sure what people would like to see compared.

@@Johntriger Hmmm Maybe the arc and Trimui smart pro? I currently have a 353vs and arc d, was thinking either this or the trimui just for gba.

I have a 353v that runs Android, trimui model S. Retroid pocket flip that has a wider screen like the trimui smart pro, retroid pocket 2s that plays gamecube for less than $100, PSVita oled and 2000 that are fun for psp and vita game that i just done play enough. Didn't pick up an arc since I don't play genesis that much but it's an interesting and comfortable looking design. The smart pro is interesting if I could pick it up cheap enough. Seems like a vita for emulation only. Made a dsi macro recently and shaved the hinges that is a really cheap way to play gba if you can fine one with a busted top screen, but requires soldering skills to make.

Powkiddy V10 is 2x scaled gba for cheap <50 bucks and the rgb30 or rgb20sx are 3x for around 80 bucks. If you want to stick with anbernic their rgcube is a bit pricey at 180 but is also 3x for gba and really comfortable but that one is really made for GameCube and PS2. A real gba will run you well over 100 if you want a nice screen in it because stock screen is either unlit or frontlit. Unless you spend big bucks on a 101 and I wouldnt recommend doing that now adays. Also don't buy a 640x480 device for gba it isn't scaled properly since those are 4:3 native displays and the gba is a 3:2 like the powkiddy V10.

@@Johntriger I'll have to check those powkiddy ones out. Def trying to get one with the 3:2 display, the V10 looks nice but a bit small for my hands.... after watching a video on it maybe its the right size.

I have a couple videos on it for reference, its pretty comfy for simple gaming for pokemon and stardew Valley and such. Definitely more comfortable than an GBA SP. About the same thickness as an SP while shut. Buttons are definitely more quiet than the Anbernic SP and about the same button feel as a Gameboy advance OG model except the start and select plus minus as those are tactile. Definitely a cheap and fun way to enjoy gba for a few hours at a time.

@@Johntriger Watched one yesterday after seeing your reply, going to check out the rest now.

Thats its breaking already and it's a month old. I have two GBA SP's that have seen far more usage without failure that are more than 20 years old. It's a horrible hinge design I don't recommend you buy this console at all, that is the point. I am not going to even sell the ones I have as I don't want people to buy trash from me that will just break from using it as intended. They need to redesign the hinge in this product its far too stiff. I repair old consoles, bummer to see this new stuff already breaking.

It's been out like a month. Do you think it's acceptable for the hinge to be cracking like that after a month of minimal use? Because I sure AF don't.

Yeah I do find it very disappointing. I would say a redesign is needed, a softer open/close is needed. I have seen pictures of it completely split (probably someone who actually plays it daily) and it looks to be the same spot as mine so that's just great. Ill keep using it sparingly but I doubt it will last nearly as long as my GBA SP manufactured in 2002.

Its on my list of video ideas. I'll make this soon. Currently testing arkos on the V10 and it doesn't have syncthing native so ill have to make the video with my rgb20sx

Yeah the RG35XX consoles come with gen1-3 Pokemon. You could even put the ds pokemon games on it, since it doesn't come with them. No touchscreen but the right stick acts as a pen.

@@Johntriger thx did u know how i can Download stuff i never did this before only one time for Android but IT was Not good Like 5fps XD because U say DS Games and i Love pokemon SS or HG sooo much

I recommend searching archive.org for the games you are wanting to play, just place them in the /roms/nds folder on the sdcard that comes with the anbernic. It already is loaded with a handful or ds games that are not pokemon or mario where you can see how it runs. I would really recommend buying a dsi for ds games then modding it as it's really easy now adays and had a touchscreen. Dsi is the least expensive one that you can get normally. I also mod DS lites as those are great for gba if you want the nostalgia of cartridges

@@Johntriger OK thx

When do you see vertical lines. Haven't noticed any lines up and down on my screen I have two different colors and both are clear. I mainly play gba on it.

@@Johntriger Yeah I saw that you had two and since you don't have any visible lines well dang, maybe my unit has a bad screen. It's like very small vertical lines that go all across the screen, like some kind of filter that is constantly applied. It's very noticeable with big solid colors but it's also on the main ArkOS page so i think it's the screen itself. I checked other videos and didn't seem to see those lines either.

Dang yeah if it's a filter that persists on the main screen then the screen is probably not plugged in all the way since it still turns on doubt it is defective but its totally possible. If you feel comfortable opening it up it's one of the easier things to work on. I opened mine up for the fun of it two screws visible and two underneath the battery. Then use a pry tool like a credit card to separate the two halls you should be able to get to the screen connection there and undo and reseat it. Might be worth your time over waiting for a replacement to come in the mail. I pla to do a teardown on the V10 soon if you don't feel comfortable doing without a video.

@@Johntriger Yeah I opened it up to fix the weird quiet L2 trigger. Reseated the screen connector again but nope, still there. Weird. It's not THAT bad but yeah it's like having some kind of permanent vertical line shader. Thanks for the help ! :)

Weird sorry that didn't fix it. Definitely contact powkiddy if you haven't, they might be able to send you a replacement screen/faceplate. I know anbernic sent me a replacement screen for my RGCube took a few days of back and forth and they offered for me to ship it in for repair or replacement and I asked if they could ship a replacement part instead. So just give it a try. It's a great device so I hope you get it fixed or swapped out.

Yeah it is almost like the bottom cover is the exact same bit the faceplate that holds the buttons is over twice as thick as the original SP. It would have to be a complete board redesign. Probably rushed to market too soon to beat other Chinese manufacturers to building a SP clone. It would be sweet to see a new SP clone with a nice 2x or 3x 3:2 screen. I prefer 3x at 720x480 since then snes and othe 4:3 content would look better than on a 2x scaled 3:2 480x320 screen.

@@Johntriger Yea, they are definitely overthinking it. People do still buy GBA consoles for just GBA games. If they just market it primarily to them, literally no one would complain, and most definitely will dominate the world of GBA since there's no analogue pocket for gba (screen wise).

Hinge replacement sounds like a good idea. This is disappointing. Have not noticed any on my gray unit, yet.

I have many hinges for gba and nds so ill take a closer look it would be kinda cool of you can just pop some weaker ones in from an gba SP or something. Would probably stop them from breaking as easily. But I doubt it will be that easy probably will need custom hinge replacements made.

Crispy Clear 😀

If using rocknix or jelos you can crank the game setting to max by highlighting Stardew Valley Select instead of A Advanced system options System options Cpu and gpu scaling options set both to maximum performance from on-demand. Arkos should be set yo performance already. It Will be a little more laggy than a rk3566 device. But is still playable and since it is the pc version just ported you can transfer saves between your computer and it.

@@Johntriger thank you for responding. I appreciate the feedback. I subbed to your channel.

I have seen reports of silver ones failing in a simialr spot. Eventually it will split all the way across. I wouldn't be surprised if anbernic releases hinge replacements that are less stiff since you should be able to pull them out. I'll have to look closer but I bet there is a teardown video out there.

​@@Johntriger can the hinge be replaced with a gba sp ones?

Thanks, I hoped it would come across on video. A bit hard to show the color and clarity of the screens on camera.

Did you transfer the game data from your steam purchase? You need to go to beta in settings on steam for stardew Valley and download compatibility mode. Then transfer all game data to the gamedata folder listed on the portmaster website. Can't just download and play as you have to own the game and transfer data. I used Samba to transfer from my computer. Just get a dongle to do the wifi transfer or on arkos you can just plug the SD card into your computer and transfer it that way. It will says please wait loading on arkos and a black screen on rockix/jelos if you have the files in the right spot. Takes awhile to load up but plays pretty good!

@Johntriger thank you, I got it working took a while to figure out but your steps helped out. Plays well.

Yeah emulation is more saturated. That particular gba has a DSi screen installed it's 1x scaled pixel perfect though it's a bit more saturated than original. I recently acquired a silver stock gba sp to compare to my silver rg35xxsp. That will be a more true comparison.

@@Johntriger i have checked my 35sp and indeed whites are really white. I compared as you advance wars and at the beginning the dress of the girl seems more blue than purple on emulation

@alex2921 Made a new video showing the Anbernic SP vs a SP 001 with original screen a SP with a DSI screen and a GBA with a 101 screen. Also showed the V10 to show how big GBA looks on it. Hope it can show you what I mean.

@@Johntriger thanx man!

I usually change it to L1 R1 Start Select to close game. I was trying to open the retroarch emulation settings menu, but I forgot that I disabled it.

its especially sad when anbernic made that sick gba sp clone... and then used a non integer scaling screen so gba games naturally look terrible lol

Yeah I really liked the concept I picked up a blue and a silver one since I was excited about it. Could have been a knockout for gba if it was just 3:2 with a 720x480 for 3x scaling. Could have still played 640x480 content with boarders, Just feel like they tried to make a gba do too much and its great at everything but gba. Its better than it used to be when the 480p screen devices first launched, like the RG350M. The blurring filters and whatever else is on by default is to a point where someone who doesn't know better would think that is just how gba looks. But it is one of those things that once you see it, its hard not to see it. Here is my wish. Someone make a 3:2 flippy console with a 720x480 screen. Could even be 3 inch screen to make the device more pocket-able because as is the RG35xxSP is kinda big compared to a gba sp.

shauninman.com/utils/screens/ Check out this site to compare screens. You can even make a custom 720x480p screen to see what I am talking about.

Sweet, that's good to hear.

If you install rocknix onto a spare SD card, syncthing works great for managing saves and you can use samba to access the roms partition via your file browser by just typing in \\192.168.1.lastthree There are some on KZfaq you can find. Just look up syncthing and samba setup for rocknix or jelos(older not updated) same setup for them both. I have been wanting to make a video about it with the v10 or the rgb20sx. It's on my list of video ideas. Not sure how to get syncthing to work on arkos. It's probably possible just not an obvious button like it is on rocknix.

@@Johntriger Sound easy. I am looking forward to your video. Thanks bro

Dang, that's a shame it won't boot at all. If it doesn't light up or show charging at all then maybe the battery got unplugged during shipping. Make sure to tell aliexpress or whoever you bought it from that it is defective if you can't get it to charge.

@@Johntriger thanks buddy! Yeah I will do, I even unplugged the battery but nothing else worked. That's the thing with these cheap devices!

True sometimes you get a dud. Not a horrible device. My favorite firmware is minui for it. Others are okay but not great, your mileage my vary

Yeah the stock card that it ships with has arkos installed with the typical 6000 games or so. Gba and most of the stuff you would want to play are preloaded except Mario and pokemon games due to copyright I guess.

Yeah the middle two pins have to both have 5.1kohm resistors soldered to ground which is on the left when looking at the port with the dsi open. Same port on dsi and dsi xl

@@Johntriger Still waiting on my dsi xl to arrive so ill be able to come back here :).

Dsi xl has some really nice ips screens on it. Makes a pretty huge macro haha I ended up moving the scree out of this one into a cool blue one I got my hands on. I ordered an aftermarket screen and couldn't get it to work but ill have to bust it back out to see if I can atleast show where you need to solder for people who want to make a macro dsi xl

@@Johntriger niceeee I'll be waiting 😎

Yup probably a software issue along with hardware on these sticks. The RG Cube got a third party fix that solved it so I guess it could be fixed via software but doubt someone will fix this handheld since there is newer stuff out now. Like that it runs android though.

Thanks, I'll give it a try. I do like that you can see the roms partition on arkos but something about having to load individual programs to change things like wifi seems overly complicated for beginners or people just wanting to play. I do like the quick shutdown when it works good.

Okay I'll try it today neex to build a silo for my chickens haha. Worse case ill plug in another controller and see if that works for placing buildings.

Yeah you just have to buy it on steam and download the compatibility version under beta in the games settings on steam. the easiest way or you can move it is probably to a USB and then transfer via the file manager from /media/USB/stardewdata to /storage/roms/ports/stardewvalley/gamedata/

You are welcome, glad I tried it. I've installed it on other devices that have portmaster but since this device is 3:2 it fills the screen and is really enjoyable. Feels almost made for it.

@@Johntriger new challenge! if ur willing lol. The psp port of jetpack joyride

@@taylorgibson4343Haven't made a video yet, but that game is really fun when it isn't full of ads like on mobile.

Let me know when it comes in. I recommend either stick with the stock os since it is pretty good now or install MINUI on the SD if you don't care about fancy features and just want to play games.

Rocknix puts the roms on the SD card's ext4 Linux partition. You either need to plug a USB drive into the unit and use File Manager to copy them over or use ssh/samba over the network with an ethernet or wifi dongle in the V10. I used samba across my network and got everything working.

Exactly, thanks for repeating that. Then just run refresh game lists in the settings menu to populate it all with the games you transfered. For an easier time if you have access to a Linux or Mac you should be able to see the roms partition and transfer games easily. I hope Rocknix changes the formatting of the storage to something windows can see in the future. Or windows gets the ability to see ext4 partition formats.

@@Johntriger I'm on a Mac and I couldn't see the partition. Samba was the easiest solution. :(

Can you copy a link for the image you used for rocknix please

github.com/ROCKNIX/distribution/releases/download/20240702/ROCKNIX-RK3326.aarch64-20240702.img.gz This exact one from this page github.com/ROCKNIX/distribution/releases

Depends if it's gba I just set the left and right triggers to the x and y buttons. Otherwise I don't play games that need them with this setup. I even opted to remove the right analog stick. It's more like a gba gb gbc device for me with a bit of snes sprinkled in. Most of the snes games that I play do not rely on the trigger buttons.

@@Johntriger no actually that's a good idea, I've been playing mostly GBA lately 👏

I copied them from my Phone to a USB C flash drive then moved them from /media/USBDrive/roms to /storage/roms via the File Manager in Tools on the V10, then refresh the gamelists in settings. That is probably the easiest way unless you have linux or a mac to access the second partition on the SDCard. Windows only lets you see the first boot partition I hope the Rocknix team can somehow change this in the future. If you have a USB WiFi adapter laying around plug it into the OTG Port and go to settings and connect to your WiFi. From There you can enable Samba to easily connect via your computers file browser you just have to type in \\192.168.1.whateverlastthreenumbers to access it via WiFi. Just moving files with a flash drive might be easier though. The USB WiFi adapter lets you scrape the artwork as well so that is nice.

@@Johntriger Ah, that all makes sense! Thanks!! A USB WiFi adapter is on my list now.

The Powkiddy A30 is the closest thing so far. Hope they release a new version with a stronger chipset and a 3:2 screen with a 720x480 resolution. Then it would be 3x gba native like the RGB30 and RGB20SX. A Joystick on the left below the dpad would be nice. I would pick one up instantly.

I usually play pokemon with just the dpad and left trigger. So just one handed in bursts of 30 min at max since I don't have much free time. Go into pokemon and set L=A and it makes it one handed. It's how I play most of my gba pokemon games. For others where you are two handed its not uncomfortable due to being thick enough to hold. The triggers are sloped a bit toward your hand so it's easy to hold without pressing them. I find it more comfortable than my gba SP as it's rather thin and small.

on the powkiddy v10

Never heard of Openbor until this comment. If you mean the TMNT Rescue Palooza, then yeah runs good. Testing it out, I will have to make a short featuring it for you tonight or tomorrow.

@@Johntriger ty, if ur willing to, please also test stardew valley with portmaster on it :)

Glad you could see what I am talking about, It is not just the RG35XXSP that is an issue, it is any 4:3 screen that is 640x480p. They just do not work well with GBA. Yeah, you can rebind the keys in Retroarch under the Tools section you can save the changes. So it could be Select and Plus or Minus button to control volume after rebinding. Select up and down would still control main volume though.