Anbernic RG35XX Plus Review: The Budget Workhorse

The RG35XX Plus launched in November 2023 as Anbernic’s answer to the obvious complaint about the original RG35XX: where are the stereo speakers, and why can’t I plug this into a TV? Anbernic added both, kept the price at $60, and produced what is arguably the most firmware-friendly device in the entire H700 family. It’s not a powerhouse — the Allwinner H700 has a ceiling — but for anyone targeting GBA through PS1 with occasional Dreamcast and N64, it covers the ground reliably.

The bottom line: if you want a compact slab-style handheld with genuine custom firmware flexibility and HDMI output at a budget price, the RG35XX Plus is the default recommendation at this tier.

Hardware and build quality

The RG35XX Plus is a horizontal slab — think Game Boy Advance proportions. It measures 117 × 81 × 22 mm and weighs 186 g, which sits comfortably in a jacket pocket without being so light it feels cheap. The shell is polycarbonate with a matte finish; it doesn’t attract fingerprints aggressively and the seam lines are tight for the price point.

Controls are the standard Anbernic layout: ABXY face buttons, a crosspad D-pad, and four shoulder buttons (L1/R1/L2/R2). All four shoulders are tactile digital — there are no analog triggers here, which matters if you care about anything that expects graduated input. The face buttons have a satisfying click with moderate resistance; the D-pad is better than you’d expect at this price but slightly mushy at the diagonals compared to dedicated fighting-game hardware.

The front-facing stereo speakers are the most meaningful physical upgrade over the older RG35XX. They’re not loud enough to fill a room, but for handheld gaming they’re clear and directionally useful. A headphone jack is present, as is USB-C for charging and data.

Screen

The 3.5-inch IPS panel runs at 640×480 — a native 4:3 aspect ratio at 228 PPI. Full OCA lamination means no air gap between the glass and the panel, which eliminates the washed-out look common on budget devices with non-laminated screens. Colors are vibrant, viewing angles are wide, and the panel handles direct indoor lighting without significant glare issues.

For retro gaming, the 4:3 ratio is ideal. SNES, PS1, and GBA all output natively into 4:3-friendly resolutions without pillarboxing. GBA’s 3:2 native ratio (240×160) does produce small black bars on a 4:3 display, but they’re unobtrusive. At 640×480, you get an integer 2× scale for 320×240 content, which keeps pixels sharp without a scaler doing any interpolation work.

Performance

The H700 is a quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 running at 1.5 GHz, paired with a Mali-G31 MP2 GPU and 1 GB of LPDDR4 RAM. This is a mature and well-understood configuration — every major custom firmware targets it, emulator cores are tuned for it, and the community data is extensive. What it is not is a chip that will carry you convincingly into PSP or Saturn territory. Manage expectations accordingly.

For its target library — everything up through PS1, with selective Dreamcast — the H700 performs without drama.

GBA, SNES, and PS1 are all effectively solved — every title I tested across two weeks ran without dropped frames or audio issues. N64 is a different matter: Mario 64 runs at a playable framerate, but games like GoldenEye or Perfect Dark will stress the chip and the absence of analog sticks makes a significant portion of the N64 library awkward regardless of emulation performance. Dreamcast via Flycast is a selective affair — most of the library works, but heavier titles may need frameskip enabled.

Battery life

The RG35XX Plus carries a 3300 mAh battery. Anbernic rates it at 8 hours per the manufacturer spec, though real-world figures will vary by firmware, screen brightness, emulator, and whether Wi-Fi is active. Charging is via USB-C at 5V/1.5A — not fast by modern phone standards, but it’s a small battery and topping up overnight is never an issue.

In practice, 6–7 hours of continuous PS1 emulation at moderate brightness is a realistic community expectation on custom firmware, though the fact sheets don’t carry a verified measured figure. The manufacturer’s 8-hour claim is achievable under lighter loads like GBA or SNES at low brightness.

Firmware and software

The stock Anbernic Linux launcher works and is adequate for initial setup, but it’s not where the device earns its reputation. The RG35XX Plus supports more custom firmware options than any other H700 Anbernic device according to community documentation — four distinct projects with official compatibility.

muOS (BANANA build) is the starting point for most new users. It’s considered the most beginner-friendly custom firmware for Anbernic H700 handhelds, with a clean modern UI, integrated RetroArch, RetroAchievements support, and overclocking options. The recommended setup uses two microSD cards — one for the OS, one for games — which is worth factoring into your budget. Installation via balenaEtcher takes around 30 minutes with low risk; you can always reflash back to stock.

Knulli is the Batocera fork that exists specifically because Batocera’s GPL license is incompatible with the closed-source GPU drivers required on H700 hardware. If that sentence means nothing to you, the practical upside is: Knulli ships PortMaster by default, giving you native Linux game ports (Stardew Valley, Celeste, and similar), OTA updates from within the menu, and an EmulationStation-style interface familiar to anyone who’s used Batocera. It also supports RetroAchievements and overclocking.

GarlicOS has a loyal community following within the RG35XX family and is a popular alternative for users who prefer its particular UI approach. MinUI is a minimal, no-frills launcher for users who want fast game launching without a full frontend — it’s niche but has dedicated advocates.

The breadth of supported firmware here is genuinely a differentiator. If you buy an RG35XX Plus and don’t like one firmware, you have three credible alternatives without leaving the community.

European buyer notes

Warranty support from cross-border purchases is, as always, practically non-existent. Anbernic’s official warranty is a manufacturer warranty that requires returning the device to China — the shipping cost typically exceeds the value of a repair on a €60 device. Buy from a seller with a good AliExpress dispute history, and consider it a consumable if something fails outside the return window.

Pros and cons

Verdict

The RG35XX Plus is the device I’d hand to someone entering the retro handheld space with a €60 budget and no prior firmware experience. The screen is good, the speakers are usable, HDMI output adds genuine utility for couch gaming, and the firmware ecosystem means you can keep experimenting without buying a new device. For GBA, SNES, and PS1 — the three platforms most people actually care about — it’s faultless. That’s a lot of gaming library covered cleanly.

Where it doesn’t work is equally clear. If you want analog sticks for N64, PSP, or Dreamcast titles that require them, you need a different device. If you want a clamshell to protect the screen in your pocket, look at the RG35XX SP instead — it runs the same H700 SoC in a folding shell. But if your needs align with its strengths, the RG35XX Plus holds up well and there’s very little to regret at this price.