It’s a weekday or weekend, so you know what that means? Anbernic has revealed a new retro gaming handheld.
The Anbernic RG505, available from here, joins releases this year that include the Win600, RG353P, RG503, and now the RG353V, all of which are capable of playing TMNT Shredder’s Revenge. To say it’s been a busy year for Anerbnic would be an understatement. It’s felt like every few months there’s a new console to check out.
Throw in the Powkiddy X28 and you get an idea of how busy this period is set to be.
Anbernic RG505: What’s New
At first glance, it doesn’t look like the RG505 is offering anything all that groundbreaking. That’s on the outside, at least. Where Anbernic consoles tend to differ is always on the insides.
Judging the device from front-on, the design is a mix between the RG351 and the RG552. It’s a portable console, for sure, but the main difference between the RG505 and the RG351 is the much larger 4.9-inch OLED touchscreen – something owners have been calling for – and the extra large R2 and L2 nubbins protruding from the top of the console.
What the RG505 Can Emulate
In the video at the top of the page, Anbernic shows God of War 2 running on a PS2 emulator. Going from previous Anbernic offerings, that means it probably can’t really handle PS2 to the fullest but some games should be playable.
If we assume the RG505 is set to replace the RG552, up to GameCube is most likely a safe bet. All the retro systems from Nintendo and Sega are a given these days, but if the system is able to run some PS2 games, that opens up a world of possibilities, including DS and 3DS.
Here’s what Anbernic reckons it can run:
- Sega: Genesis/Mega Drive, Master System, Game Gear, SegaCD, Sega32x, Dreamcast
- Nintendo: NES, SNES, Gameboy, Gameboy Advance, DS, 3DS, N64 GameCube
- Sony: PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable
- Misc: PC Engine, WonderSwan, Mame, FBNeo, Neo Geo, Android
RG505 Specifications
It’s a given that the RG505 would reuse Anbernic’s trusted buttons and d-pad, but where things get really interesting is the use of the magnetic hall joysticks. This is a first for Anbernic and should feel and react a lot more naturally than the standard joysticks.
The RG552 used the RK3399 chipset. While that was a solid choice, it wasn’t used to the best of its capabilities and resulted in a retro handheld that was overpriced and underpowered.
The latest Anbernic offering came in the form of the RG353p, which utilized the RK3566 chip. That was a better outing than the RG552 but if Anbernic is touting the RG505 as a PS2 emulator console, there’s no way the RK3566 could hit those highs.
These specs below, on paper, should in theory be able to run PS2. How well that will work, however, we won’t know until people get to go hands-on with the console (Anbernic doesn’t send us stuff so we’ll keep you posted on what other critics make of the device).
- CPU: Unisoc Tiger T618 64-bit octa-core @2.0GHz
- GPU: Mali G52@850Mhz
- RAM: 4GB LPDDR4X
- Storage: 128GB high-speed eMMC 5.1 HS400
- Operating System: Android 12
- Storage: 2.4/5G Wi-Fi 802.11, Bluetooth 5.0
- SD Support: Up to 512GB
- Battery: Li-polymer 5000 mAh, around eight hours
Anbernic RG505 Price
The Anbernic 505 pricing starts from $157.99. That is a lot cheaper than we were expecting, especially so given the tech inside this beast.
In some ways, the RG505 is a new version of the RG552, which makes the lower price even more surprising.
It’s also worth noting the RG505 could very well be going head to head with the Ayn Loki eventually, a powerful device that’s set to launch at $249 for its cheapest version. The $157.99 price tag massively undercuts the Loki.
Anbernic normally tends to never price in relation to threats as the name brand carries weight with select users. That said, if it’s looking to bring back lapsed customers, this lower price point is a smart move.
- RG505 – $157.99
- RG505 + 128GB – $172.99
- RG505 + 256GB – $187.99
