The Android console market is currently “lawless territory”. The fact that AOSP is freeware allows many Chinese manufacturers to launch new devices like donuts, but very different bets like the Logitech console or the Razer console.
[Razer presenta la primera consola Android con 5G, un monstruo gaming con Xbox]
These cheap consoles don’t focus on providing an easy-to-use experience, nor a user-friendly interface; in fact, they are not recommended if you don’t like to “tinker” with the software, because only then will you get the most out of it.
These consoles also walk the fine line of legality. Many claim to be able to play console games, but actually do so using emulators, which often require the user to have a legal copy of the game and the console to run (or a copy obtained officially).
New Anbernic Console
Just by “digging” a bit into the Chinese import pages, it’s easy to find many of these consoles, but then what makes Anbernic special? It’s one of the ones that seems to have the most success with its launches, despite doing a lot throughout the year. The latter receives good reviews from those who have already been lucky enough to have had a test drive.
The console has a hard-to-remember name, RG505, but many people compare it to the PSP, Sony’s classic console, and that’s no coincidence. The 4.96-inch OLED display has the exact same 960 x 544 pixel resolution, so it looks like it was designed to run those games just fine.
The other hardware element that stands out is the Unisoc Tigger T618 processor, which with its eight cores (including two 2.0 GHz Cortex-A75) and 4 GB of RAM promises enough power to run games. It’s based on Android 12 and has WiFi and Bluetooth 5.0, with a 5,000mAh battery that promises up to 8 hours of battery life.
In fact, perhaps somewhat controversially, Anbernic’s official website states that this console is capable of running PlayStation 2, Nintendo Wii, and Nintendo GameCube games, as well as previous consoles. All this with emulation of course, which is not to everyone’s taste. Additionally, it claims to be able to run native Android games like Genshin Impact, but that might be a bit more uncertain considering its level of requirement.
These types of consoles are somewhat controversial, but are very popular among enthusiasts who have the knowledge and time to modify the system to their liking and use whatever software they want. They’re not for everyone, but it’s a demonstration of how Android has grown.
The Anbernic will be priced at 150 dollars, although it will probably be possible to get it cheaper at some Chinese import stores.
