Welcome to the Retro Handhelds Weekly newsletter! Whether you’re a seasoned modder or just getting started with classic gaming on the go, you’re part of a passionate group that keeps the retro handheld scene vibrant and fun. Dive in for the latest reviews, guides, and community highlights.
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Game of the Month: Join our monthly club to play curated retro titles and compete for RH merch. Get involved by joining our Discord community.
🎮 The guts behind the glory
- [Now Available in Peach] AYANEO Shares Some Additional Details on the KONKR Pocket Advance, Including a Live Order Page: Another AYANEO livestream culminated in the reveal of the "Peach" KONKR Pocket Advance. It's currently available for pre-order from AYANEO for the same prices as the other color options.
- Mangmi Air Y and Y Pro Finally Get Pricing and Pre-Order Dates: If you’re interested in picking up the Mangmi Air Y or Y Pro, it’ll come in at different prices depending on which model you buy and when you buy it. Pre-orders start on August 12th at 7:00 PM PDT, with the pre-order period ending August 15th at 7:00 PM PDT. So if you want to save as much money as possible, that’d be the time to grab it.
- The SteamBoy is a Vertical Steam Deck: Leave it to the community to do something absolutely crazy with the Steam Deck. This time, u/PhyFawkes shared "The SteamBoy," taking the Steam Deck motherboard and controls and turning it into a vertical handheld. It even has a 90Hz AMOLED display, and one of the trackpads integrated into the front.
More Hardware and Industry News
- Evercade Drops Doom Edition Nexus and More
- MagicX Puts Out an Update on Their Mini Dream Render
- Anbernic RG SP Preorders Open Soon for Just $59
- The EverDrive-64 Pro is Here, and It’s Packing a Punch
- The Price Creep is real, as 8GB Retroid Pocket Nova is the Latest Victim
- Trigger Steam games from floppy disks
- Jsaux Announces Voidjoy; the Next Step in Their Gaming Lineup
🕹️ Your gateway to pixel-perfect worlds
- Seedless and WatermelonDS Drop Their Latest Updates at Once: Sapphire Rhonodite, who’s decided not just to help work on one DS emulator, but two at the same time. SeedlessDS and WatermelonDS are two Nintendo DS emulators with a focus on both dual-screen emulation and low-end devices, if you’re looking at Seedless specifically.
- SpruceOS 4.3 Drops With Support for TrimUI Brick Pro, Anbernic XX and More: Starting out, just for some of your Miyoo handhelds, the team working on SpruceOS has further pushed their OS to add support for a number of modern TrimUI updates as well. With the latest update to SpruceOS 4.3, it adds support for the Brick Pro and early stages of development for the whole Anbernic RGXX+ lineup.
- PS3 Emulation Reaches New Heights on ARM: Whatcookie, one of the lead developers of the PS3 emulator RPCS3, has released a dense video highlighting improvements made to PS3 emulation using the ARM architecture. Whatcookie states in the video that this resulted in PS3 games running up to 60% faster, while reducing power draw by up to 25%.
More Software News
Emulation Corner
Latest Emulation Updates
Custom Core
Latest Custom Firmware Updates and Releases
👾 Game of the Month: Adaptation August
Game(s) of the Week
RPG of the Quarter (7/1 - 9/30)
✍ Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Write
Anbernic RG SP Review: Slimmer, Cheaper, and Better Than Expected | Retro Handhelds
The Anbernic RG SP may look familiar, but its slim design, improved stock OS, and affordable price make it one of Anbernic’s better clamshells.
andrew
Game Console R40xx Pro Max/S Review: A Waste of a Perfectly Good RK3326 | Retro Handhelds
This should go as a warning to all clone manufacturers out there. You want to stand out in a crowded market? Maybe try polishing the out-of-box experience so that it’s actually pleasant for newbies.
Nick
AceMagic Retro X3 Review: What’s Old is New | Retro Handhelds
See how the AceMagic Retro X3 blends NES-inspired style, Ryzen performance, easy upgrades, strong emulation, and premium pricing in one mini PC.
Ban
How to Play the Pokémon Red, Blue or Yellow Recomp on Your Android, Retro, and Windows Handhelds | Retro Handhelds
Gen1Recomp brings Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow to modern devices with mod support, 2.5D voxel visuals, and a dual-screen option for the AYN Thor.
andrew
📺 On the YouTubes
RH Partners
💸 Achievement Unlocked: Big Savings
The most recent AliExpress Choice Day sale has come to a close, but that doesn't mean there aren't still deals to be found. Check out some of the highlights below and head over to Handheld.deals to find even more.
Deal Highlights
- TrimUI Store Back to School Sale: Save Up to 25%
- LITNXT Summer Sale: Save 15% with code SUMMER15
- Anbernic RG34XX:
$69.99$59.99 - RG56 PRO:
$129.99$99.99 at Amazon - Woot Summer of Gaming Sale
- Lenovo Legion Go S (Z2 Go/16GB/512GB/Windows):
$849.99$666.59 at Amazon - TrimUI Smart Pro S: $79.99 w/ code ROYIBEILA05 (Save $20)
🗣️ Stay Connected
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