23 Years After the SP, This Handheld May Finally Improve the Game Boy
The mountain of excellent Game Boy-like retro handhelds hasn’t improved the pocketability that peaked with the Game Boy Advance SP in 2003. Cribbing from Nintendo’s square design, Anbernic’s upcoming RG Rotate has the chance to finally bring something new to this ancient form factor.
After weeks of rumors and then an incoming tide of teasers, Anbernic has finally offered full details on its swiveling handheld. In short, the RG Rotate is an Android-based gaming handheld with a screen that flicks and spins up to reveal four face buttons, a D-pad, and the good old select and start keys. The top of the case includes two rows of swappable shoulder buttons. You can either get the RG Rotate in black with an ABS plastic back or a silver version that’s full CNC aluminum. This silver handheld, at 204g (0.4 pounds), will weigh more than an old-school Game Boy Advance SP, which clocked in at 142g (0.3 pounds). The black version is less hefty at 167g. However, both models are also a few millimeters thinner than Anbernic’s other clamshell designs, like Anbernic’s previous RG34XXSP. The difference with the RG Rotate compared to those models is the square 3.5-inch LCD display hitting a 720 x 720 resolution. That means you’ll have to play all those upscaled 3:2 or 4:3 aspect ratio games, such as Game Boy Advance titles or PSP titles, with black bezels. It still offers more screen real estate than other clamshell handhelds of this shape and size.
The device is running on the Unisoc Tiger T618 octa-core CPU plus 3GB of RAM. With these specs, it may have enough juice to emulate your consoles all the way up to the original PlayStation and Nintendo 64 era, or even as far as the GameCube days. The limited controls may hamper your sixth-gen console vibes. However, this device will be even more portable than larger handhelds, like the Retroid Pocket 6 or Nintendo DS-like AYN Thor.
© Anbernic; screenshot by Gizmodo Anbernic keeps hinting it would make a great iPod alternative with a cassette playing on-screen. It supports Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5, so you won’t be hooking it up to your Spotify account when out of the house. The larger problem is the lack of any 3.5mm headphone jack. You’ll need to source your own USB-C DAC (digital auto converter) adapter for 3.5mm. For casual use, it could prove a phone alternative when you’re on your daily commute. It even includes a small microphone on the same plate as the controls. There may be enough versatility here for the RG Rotate to act as a phone alternative on your daily commute. An exposed screen may seem antithetical to the portability of the old SP model—a design that transitioned to the Nintendo DS. But in this day and age, we’re used to exposing our phone touchscreens in our pockets. It’s currently unclear how scratch-resistant it can be. The box comes with a screen protector for this reason.
The all-metal silver version will cost $108, while the black edition starts at $88. Anbernic is hosting an early bird offer for the first three days after launch where you can shave $8 and $5 off the starting price, respectively. Both devices are set to go on sale May 11.
