Anbernic is trying their hand at higher end Android emulation, do you think they've hit the mark for the price? Stay tuned for more content on the 556 from us! Update - PS2 Emulation Showcase using Vulkan is now available (which improves PS2 performance immensely): ua-cam.com/video/kJaBPJ-h7sc/v-deo.html Other Notes: -Over sharpening is NOT in effect, Russ used a macro lens to confirm. The contrast settings set to extra saturated can play tricks on you. -Temps stayed pretty cool throughout, the fan is nice and quiet on 'cool' mode, but the 'strong' mode is fairly loud. I'd just leave it on 'auto'. -Aether was using OpenGL and underclocking, I am going to try Vulkan & regular speed to confirm PS2 performance woes (video above!)
For 170 USD shipped right now it seems absolutely worth it. The RP4 900 will cost you around 170$ right now also. And this has more going for it. You can’t expect it to perform like the RP4 pro when it costs less and has a bigger screen/RGB light/ more ergonomic. If the RP4 had all that it would be costing around 250 not including shipping.
@@pleasuretokill none this matters he made a new video saying he messed up he had it on open GL not volken which ur supose to do it plays all ps2 game sup to even 6x
Thanks for putting this out so quickly. It kinda reinforces my assumptions about the device - great ergonomics and screen but so-so performance. I hope some software updates can address some of the slowdowns, but you do get what you pay for I guess.
Glad I preordered it, meets my needs and seemingly great controls which I love about all of my Anbernic devices so far. Ergonomics will be the theme for 2024 if any of these manufacturers are paying attention and it's nice to see Anbernic got the message here. I'm sure with proper tweaking this will be fine. I expected RP4 standard performance, but better everything else and I'm not disappointed. Decent first look. I really HATE (with a passion) "unboxing" videos...but you were first with this so I had no choice but to deal with it.....Look forward to the real video.
This one's a fine competitor to the RP4 Pro. The T820 is relatively new and may need optimisation with emulators. I would see Yuzu's performance increase significantly after optimisation is done, most games may run 25-30 fps capped at 30. Anbernic has also been working on its stock firmware to improve gameplay experience, they may just test a good set of games with Yuzu. Gamma OS is a good bonus and it's going to need to gain all the power needed from the GPU to perform significantly well. I would buy this or the RP4 Pro if I wanted more of PS2, Wii, GC, 3DS, PSP etc. Yet again, there's still the Odin 2 if you need better. Amazing review Stubbs! good job! Cheers to the RH Team ❤
I would say it is a fine RP4 base model competitor, especially considering they are about the same price. Odin 2 is way out of this price range at this point.
One of the best parts of this Handheld is the AMOLED screen. AMOLEDs are better in Sunlight and Burn-In issues won't be as much of a problem with this type of OLED Screen. AMOLED > OLED.
@@retrohandhelds That is part of my Email to Anbernic. I told them AMOLED screens are superior the OLED Screens for Handheld use. I also told them about trying to appeal to both Retro and Modern Gamers with certain designs.
@@toycoma98 But unless you’re getting crashes or glitches, Vulkan is generally much faster on these devices … which is kinda the point. We want to see the handheld”s performance under normal use conditions.
Exactly. Vulkan would certainly run better, as it's been optimized for this architecture already. This is why the RP3+ runs PS2 so well despite the lower clock speeds.
I'm happy Anbernic has been reading my emails. This Chipset should be relatively decent for most Native PS2 and GameCube Emulation. Geekbench scores say this Chipset is on par with Snapdragon 845 in terms of CPU performance however the GPU is what will most likely hamper this Chipset when in comes to native Android Gaming.
Seems like this was designed to eat the RP4's lunch. Looks amazing, I especially love the look of that glass like transparent blue color. I just wish they went with a more common chipset so it runs well with all emulators out the box. Still, this looks great.
I think this would be a great device for streaming and cloud gaming, great screen and ergonomics for the price. It's a shame it seems to lag behind the RP4P significantly when it comes to higher end emulation but it's a new chipset for these handhelds and maybe that performance will improve over time. I was tempted by the RP4P but the screen size is too small, while I find the Odin 2 too big and a bit pricey so I'm keeping my eye on the RG556. And it would be nice to see this screen make its way into more devices.
I'm disappointed but not surprised about the level of PS2 emulation. I was really hoping for better performance but it looks like the speculation about the chip set not being that powerful is correct. Ergonomics and appearance look awesome but for the price, I think you're definitely better off going with the RP4 Pro. Maybe it'll change once a more thorough review is done but I'm not too confident. Great first look though Stubbs!👍
He didn't use Vulcan, so yes, do watch another video before making up your mind on the PS2 emulation.....her had plenty of time to do this right from the out, but only cared about getting it out there so he could be first. Not good.
@@dragon2knight no I haven't completely made up my mind on it yet, I'm just saying it doesn't look too promising after this first look. I'm rooting for it though because I like Anbernic's products and I really like the looks of this one. Time will tell.👍
@@biggie01taws6 My feelings exactly. I like Anbernics d pads and sticks so far on my two other devices from them and was/am hoping that they do a good job here. Seeing as this was the first video showing this to the general public I wish he would have forgone the clickbaity "first look" garbage and done an actual review, it's not like he didn't have the time to do it after all, he has till the 5th of March before the pre order ends, lol. Now I'm seeing folks all over this thread already cancelling their orders or not even thinking about doing one in the first place. I feel bad for Anbernic because of this.
Rg556 and the rg505 is a really good console, i think the rg556 would be a good console if the price would be like 150$, but i think i just stick to my rg505 because that's all of my money like 210$ is too expensive i mean in my country buying an nintendo switch is like a 100$ - 120$ but i still gotta say to be honest rg556 is a beast even thought its not affordable but less problem and they actually put alot of work with this one, overall rg556 , rg505 and the retroit pocket is an beast. Its my opnion so its better not to argue.
If only Microsoft made a standard controller that looks just like that for Xbox. The fun factor will shoot through the roof as well as many options of ways to play games.
Great video man. For PS2, maybe using Vulkan can have a better performance. If it works great on PS2, I might consider this instead of the RP4Pro. Thanks
I bought it to post a video on my yt channel in italian, but unfortunately in italy there's a 50 dollars fee ...😢 Anyway unisoc t820 can be found in nubia neo 5g
Does it come with emulators installed already ? I was planning on getting it without the sd card or are the emulators only included with the purchase of the sd card
A quick note. The music you hear when you're playing Burnout Legends on PSP is copyright. Which means once the YT algo hears it they will probably demonetize this video. A sad state of affairs and against the spirit of fair use. But they do it all the time regardless.
Anbernik continues to try to please everyone at once, releasing similar vague devices without character. It turns out expensive and boring. It would be better if they listened to the community and continued to develop devices like the RG ARC - let it be an IPS, a bit more powerful, nice price and a big explosion of nostalgia...!
@@retrohandhelds saw it now. That's the performance I was expecting haha. I have the rg505 and I got a lot of ps2 games running really well with tweaking in the advanced section. So I'm deciding whether to cop it and get the 556 since there's barely any tweaking required. Plus better display and ergonomics
What issue are you having with PPSSPP? My phone has Android 13 and the latest versions of PPSSPP work without issue on it. So it would seem this is more an Anbernic issue than an Android 13 one.
Ah on newer versions it won't let you set a storage folder. I'm not sure why yet. Scoped storage is a funny beast, normally it would prompt you on first opening the emulator to create a folder. The pre-installed build works, and 1.9.4 works however.
@@retrohandhelds I've double checked on my Poco X3 Pro, which is running Android 13, by uninstalling & then reinstalling the free version of PPSSPP and it prompts me to select a folder each time. Perhaps a silly idea but do you have a folder called PSP in your internal storage? Perhaps one needs to be present to trigger the prompt?
I'm confused about the PPSSPP Android 13 issues stated in the video. I have a Galaxy A03s (definitely not bragging - it's the cheapest Galaxy Samsung sells in the US) with Android 13 and the Play Store version of PPSSPP Gold - Version 1.16.6, which is almost the newest. It works fine for me. When I first set up PPSSPP on Android 13 I had to follow some prompts to let it set up some files in my Emulation > PSP subfolder and then I moved my games to the sub-subfolder marked GAMES that it created. Y'all already know that because Stubbs and the Retro Handhelds team have tested many other Android 13 handhelds and phones. I'm just surprised they (either Anbernic or the PPSSPP dev) would break that functionality here. Is it possible to manually create the needed folders and then tell PPSSPP to use them?
Not sure why anyone pre orders Anbernic devices anymore. They are dropping in price pretty quickly in the first 6 months. In a few months something better will come along that will mean a discount here.
Could you try another code on switch? It's a 3D title. Saw it running on the RG4 pro on a UA-cam video okay. As it's not a fast paced game. Wonder if it will be okay on here? I've got one of these on order. But yeah be nice to know 😀 might be pushing it.
Is there an anbernic handheld that’s considered “the best” or do some of them have certain specs better than others? I wanted to get one but I’ve seen many versions of this handheld so I have no clue what’s what
Anbernic does waves of handhelds with the same chipset, but different form-factors. Generally speaking, the 351 line maxed out at PSX and some N64, the 353 line was a little bit stronger, the 405 and 505 went a into light GameCube and PS2, and the 556 is pushing further into GameCube and PS2 and light Switch stuff. -xoxo Gary
The rg556 is the follow up to the rg552,, anbernic has always strived to be high end ,and are high end systems,,look at the anbernic win series,the rg556 I have found needs more RAM,,I have found that the rg556 runs everything from PSP on down perfectly,,ps2 games make this machine struggle. I wish this machine had dual operating systems like the rg552 does,, anbernic also has an all Linux version of the rg552,and that version screams,,hoping anbernic comes out with a Linux version of the rg556 as well..
It's unfortunately going to be some time before we get another Dual-Booting SoC especially one that's powerful. For example the A311D, A311D2, and S922X are the next step up from the RK3399 in terms of performance. However Amlogic has lackluster Kernel Support for these SoCs. Up from that is the RK3588 Chipset however if it gets put into a Handheld it will most likely need to be treated like an x86 Handheld. 😥
I agree, for me the d-pad seems to be one of the biggest issues. I wish everyone just switched to the Ambernic RG ARC (Saturn) pad and that would become the standard. Works great for all games including fighters.
@@iromek I'd prefer have both the SNES and Genesis D-Pad be the standard for a good D-Pad in Gaming period. There's no need for game companies in general to reinvent the wheel.
Hi, I’m going to buy a handheld for my son’s birthday and I want the anbernic handheld that plays the absolute most amount of games ie. biggest game libraries, most emulators, and if it has google play etc. Which one would I buy? Thank you in advance!
The 556 is probably your best bet. Gogamegeek (link in video description) sells them with two sizes of SD cards. The 256GB would have the most games. Lots of people buy them without the card to save money, but the preloaded ones are probably more up your alley.
So you just compared this unit to the significantly more expensive Retroid Pocket 4 Pro and the even more expensive Aya Neo Pocket Air... how is that a fair comparison? Surely this unit is lower spec based on price alone... but does seem like a very solid console.
@@louismontrose8966 Then you did not get what I meant. And that is it should run without slowing down (it can crash or simply not work for some games), but for games known to work, it should not slowdown and should have stable 60fps for example.
About 4 - 8 hours so far, depending on usage. Yep it has 128gb of built in storage, and you can add up to an additional 1.5tb via micro SD card (2tb technically!)
Even though I have Odin 2, and I was gonna get RP4 Pro, but Anbernic RG556 has won me. Over the OLED screen with it's beautiful, vibrant and saturated and great HDR color reproduction will be unmatched. Considering how cheap RG556 is at 170 pounds. This is absolutely a great bargain and the UniSoc T820 has very similar power to performance as Mediatek Dimensity 900. So you can play vast majority of PS2 games upto 80% of. The libraries at 2x resolution just fine and GameCube and Wii should be but easier to run aswell. When it comes to Switch emulation you might well as get PC or Odin 2, or even Steam Deck. The software isn't quite there yet I'm sure it'll be ready by next year when gaming consoles have 6gb ram could run them. For now my 8gbram Odin 2 base runs switch games just fine at 30fps no update required I'm running latest version of yuzu!
Hmm... This doesnt seem to clear the bar the Retroid Pocket 3+ set. Im more particular with the form factor. If it's big and bulky, imma just take my steam deck. But if im looking for the portability, my RP3+ still is amazing. That said i would love to get my hands on an RP4Pro some day... Hopefully.
Frustrating that they always seem to cheap out on something. In this case the D pad and symbol buttons. They are essential for a good playing experience. The best screen and mobile processor in the world is no good if you struggle to control the game
UGHHH Android OS?! D,= SO excited when i saw this video featuring a new Anbernic device... And then... Anbernic... you lost me at android. =,( Though I wonder if a Linux version will come out?? =D
Anbernic is trying their hand at higher end Android emulation, do you think they've hit the mark for the price? Stay tuned for more content on the 556 from us!
Update - PS2 Emulation Showcase using Vulkan is now available (which improves PS2 performance immensely):
ua-cam.com/video/kJaBPJ-h7sc/v-deo.html
Other Notes:
-Over sharpening is NOT in effect, Russ used a macro lens to confirm. The contrast settings set to extra saturated can play tricks on you.
-Temps stayed pretty cool throughout, the fan is nice and quiet on 'cool' mode, but the 'strong' mode is fairly loud. I'd just leave it on 'auto'.
-Aether was using OpenGL and underclocking, I am going to try Vulkan & regular speed to confirm PS2 performance woes (video above!)
How did you get one of these so early!? 😱
Use Vulkan, please! You can get maybe some more stability. Do you know when you're going to up the next video? Cheers from Brazil!
“High end” and the chipset they chose to power this handheld are mutually exclusive. This is a low to mid end Android device.
Question, what do you use to mount your camera for the Overhead setup?
If this had an sd845 it would probably be their best selling device ever. As it stands. It’s just okay.
the ergo's will probably be a buy for me. not every device needs to be pocketable, nor over 200 dollars.
For 170 USD shipped right now it seems absolutely worth it. The RP4 900 will cost you around 170$ right now also. And this has more going for it. You can’t expect it to perform like the RP4 pro when it costs less and has a bigger screen/RGB light/ more ergonomic. If the RP4 had all that it would be costing around 250 not including shipping.
Where/how do you get 170 usd after shipping? Closer to 190 after shipping for me both from AliExpress and the official site.
@@samh5886 shipping is calculated differently for everyone.
Great first impressions video Stubbs. For now, I decided to cancel my preorder. I look forward to the deep dive! Thanks man.
For sure, Nick! Thanks for watching!!
Yep. Not powerful enough. T820 is a bust for PS2/GC. Thats a no go for me. Odin 2 it is.
@@pleasuretokill what about RP4 pro, didnt u like it?
@@pleasuretokill none this matters he made a new video saying he messed up he had it on open GL not volken which ur supose to do it plays all ps2 game sup to even 6x
Thanks for putting this out so quickly. It kinda reinforces my assumptions about the device - great ergonomics and screen but so-so performance. I hope some software updates can address some of the slowdowns, but you do get what you pay for I guess.
That screen is worth it definitely
That screen looks sweet. Cheers for the review from a fellow Donatello fan.
Donny is the BEST! Thanks for watching
ordered my rg556 an hour ago. i'm really hyped and looking forward to it!
Damn, glad the move to Palpagos Isles went well!
Galapagos Islands!? 🤨
Glad I preordered it, meets my needs and seemingly great controls which I love about all of my Anbernic devices so far. Ergonomics will be the theme for 2024 if any of these manufacturers are paying attention and it's nice to see Anbernic got the message here. I'm sure with proper tweaking this will be fine. I expected RP4 standard performance, but better everything else and I'm not disappointed. Decent first look. I really HATE (with a passion) "unboxing" videos...but you were first with this so I had no choice but to deal with it.....Look forward to the real video.
I hope you enjoy it! 😊
The screen is awesome ngl
That looks much better than expected especially the black. Reminds me of an xbox controller with a built in screen
Kind of does huh? Come on Microsoft, give us the Xbox Handheld
I know right!
Nice review. Though, I wish you had a Black X55 in this video to compare. It looks the most like the Black RG556.
This looks like the perfect device for cloud gaming on the go
Just had to beat Russ to the first impressions video, eh? Haha. Good work, Stubbs. 😊
Haha thanks. Russ and I discussed our release schedule for it, you should see his before the week's over. 😆
Cheers Stubbs. I kinda like it, looks pretty classy. We'll see how performance pans out, needs pretty solid PS2 or it's a bit of a miss at this price.
This one's a fine competitor to the RP4 Pro. The T820 is relatively new and may need optimisation with emulators. I would see Yuzu's performance increase significantly after optimisation is done, most games may run 25-30 fps capped at 30.
Anbernic has also been working on its stock firmware to improve gameplay experience, they may just test a good set of games with Yuzu. Gamma OS is a good bonus and it's going to need to gain all the power needed from the GPU to perform significantly well.
I would buy this or the RP4 Pro if I wanted more of PS2, Wii, GC, 3DS, PSP etc. Yet again, there's still the Odin 2 if you need better.
Amazing review Stubbs! good job! Cheers to the RH Team ❤
I would say it is a fine RP4 base model competitor, especially considering they are about the same price. Odin 2 is way out of this price range at this point.
@@snowolf494 I'd say if you got money to blow, just get the Odin 2. If not, both options are fine mid-ranged handhelds.
Its gonna need lots of work from yuzu team to get 'most games at 25-30'. Nothing from anbernic is gonna fix it.
Too slow, competes with base model
One of the best parts of this Handheld is the AMOLED screen. AMOLEDs are better in Sunlight and Burn-In issues won't be as much of a problem with this type of OLED Screen. AMOLED > OLED.
Love the amoled!
@@retrohandhelds That is part of my Email to Anbernic. I told them AMOLED screens are superior the OLED Screens for Handheld use. I also told them about trying to appeal to both Retro and Modern Gamers with certain designs.
Great first look!!! I need some hadokens and shoryukens on that d-pad please!!!! From what you said about the d-pad it sounds like it will do well.
Hiya Stubbs...This is the kind of straight to the point, meat & potatoes video that i've been looking for more often from your crew...appreciate it!
Hey, thanks! This is the style we'll be sticking with most of the time 🫡
This si great for psp and Gamecube games! The screen si awsome. And the design and batery life si great too.
It will be great for Vita games too. Vita3K just needs more time to bake. 😁
Why not try the Vulkan instead of OpenGL on AetherSX?
That's a great idea, we'll try that for our review video.
When I experience a crash with Aethersx2 using vulkan, i switch to opengl and doesn't crash.
@@toycoma98 But unless you’re getting crashes or glitches, Vulkan is generally much faster on these devices … which is kinda the point. We want to see the handheld”s performance under normal use conditions.
Exactly. Vulkan would certainly run better, as it's been optimized for this architecture already. This is why the RP3+ runs PS2 so well despite the lower clock speeds.
It currently is middle of my "day" but that soothing deep voice is about to send me right to bed!!
STOP IT YOU (sweet dreams)
I'm happy Anbernic has been reading my emails. This Chipset should be relatively decent for most Native PS2 and GameCube Emulation. Geekbench scores say this Chipset is on par with Snapdragon 845 in terms of CPU performance however the GPU is what will most likely hamper this Chipset when in comes to native Android Gaming.
The Gucci case is insane
Seems like this was designed to eat the RP4's lunch. Looks amazing, I especially love the look of that glass like transparent blue color. I just wish they went with a more common chipset so it runs well with all emulators out the box. Still, this looks great.
With some tweaking I think many will be happy with this until you hit Switch
Glad they sent you one!
Thx bro, you did it faster than Russ
I just pre-ordered a blue one today! It looks so cool and I'm very excited to play ps2 games on a handheld. Hopefully it's not too hard to set up.
I think this would be a great device for streaming and cloud gaming, great screen and ergonomics for the price. It's a shame it seems to lag behind the RP4P significantly when it comes to higher end emulation but it's a new chipset for these handhelds and maybe that performance will improve over time.
I was tempted by the RP4P but the screen size is too small, while I find the Odin 2 too big and a bit pricey so I'm keeping my eye on the RG556. And it would be nice to see this screen make its way into more devices.
I'm disappointed but not surprised about the level of PS2 emulation. I was really hoping for better performance but it looks like the speculation about the chip set not being that powerful is correct. Ergonomics and appearance look awesome but for the price, I think you're definitely better off going with the RP4 Pro. Maybe it'll change once a more thorough review is done but I'm not too confident. Great first look though Stubbs!👍
He didn't use Vulcan, so yes, do watch another video before making up your mind on the PS2 emulation.....her had plenty of time to do this right from the out, but only cared about getting it out there so he could be first. Not good.
@@dragon2knight no I haven't completely made up my mind on it yet, I'm just saying it doesn't look too promising after this first look. I'm rooting for it though because I like Anbernic's products and I really like the looks of this one. Time will tell.👍
@@biggie01taws6 My feelings exactly. I like Anbernics d pads and sticks so far on my two other devices from them and was/am hoping that they do a good job here. Seeing as this was the first video showing this to the general public I wish he would have forgone the clickbaity "first look" garbage and done an actual review, it's not like he didn't have the time to do it after all, he has till the 5th of March before the pre order ends, lol. Now I'm seeing folks all over this thread already cancelling their orders or not even thinking about doing one in the first place. I feel bad for Anbernic because of this.
@@dragon2knight yep, totally agree with you 100%!👍
Thanks for the review, what percentage of PS2 games do you think will work?
At least 70-80%. 乁( •_• )ㄏ
Rg556 and the rg505 is a really good console, i think the rg556 would be a good console if the price would be like 150$, but i think i just stick to my rg505 because that's all of my money like 210$ is too expensive i mean in my country buying an nintendo switch is like a 100$ - 120$ but i still gotta say to be honest rg556 is a beast even thought its not affordable but less problem and they actually put alot of work with this one, overall rg556 , rg505 and the retroit pocket is an beast. Its my opnion so its better not to argue.
If only Microsoft made a standard controller that looks just like that for Xbox. The fun factor will shoot through the roof as well as many options of ways to play games.
Good specs for the price tbh
Would be great if you could check whether these handhelds work with bluetooth earbuds.
If they don't, it's a big no from me.
Ah that's a great idea!
Retroid Pocket 3+ works with bluetooth headset.
Any link to a website on how i can prepare my SD for this device? i have no idea what to do for Android system i only have an RG35XX with GarlicOS.
Great video by the Way...better than video i sent back to anbernic lol
Is the screen that blue/cool or just your capture?
Does your hands block the speaker (muffle or reflect/bounce the sounds) when gripping it?
Can't wait for the deep dive. It'll drop in price when it's not selling atvthis price point
No vulkan for ps2?
Hi! Great first look on device. Is there screen ghosting in menus or home screen? What is battery drain per hour on ps2 and gamecube?
No ghosting that I can see, battery drain so far is about 10% an hour or so with gc/ps2, very rough estimate.
I only play pixel games, so yeah i probably stick with the RG35XX Plus/RG35XX H
Damn, the free Gucci case is worth more than tge gaming console. What a steal!😂
Great video man. For PS2, maybe using Vulkan can have a better performance. If it works great on PS2, I might consider this instead of the RP4Pro.
Thanks
If you want Performance the RP4 Pro is still better in this area.
Yo creo que si lo pone bullan le dará un mejor rendimiento y también tratar de realizar algunas configuraciones
If it runs Scarface and NFS underground 2 on PS2 I'd buy it
It runs Black well.
Nice work Stubbs!
Thanks FTN!
We should wait maybe several years and I hope that then I'll be really good
where do u get your roms & emulators? how do u put them into your sd card set it up into this device?
I bought it to post a video on my yt channel in italian, but unfortunately in italy there's a 50 dollars fee ...😢 Anyway unisoc t820 can be found in nubia neo 5g
Does it come with emulators installed already ? I was planning on getting it without the sd card or are the emulators only included with the purchase of the sd card
yes if you buy the standard with 256gb
A quick note. The music you hear when you're playing Burnout Legends on PSP is copyright. Which means once the YT algo hears it they will probably demonetize this video. A sad state of affairs and against the spirit of fair use. But they do it all the time regardless.
Anbernik continues to try to please everyone at once, releasing similar vague devices without character. It turns out expensive and boring. It would be better if they listened to the community and continued to develop devices like the RG ARC - let it be an IPS, a bit more powerful, nice price and a big explosion of nostalgia...!
great video man, but why are you using opengl on aethersx2? 95% of the games prefer vulkan
Thanks man!! Ah if you have time, watch my follow-up video called 'PS2 Emulation Showcase' (where I learned from my openGL mistakes) 😂
@@retrohandhelds saw it now. That's the performance I was expecting haha. I have the rg505 and I got a lot of ps2 games running really well with tweaking in the advanced section. So I'm deciding whether to cop it and get the 556 since there's barely any tweaking required. Plus better display and ergonomics
love the aya neo too but have the aya neo air 1 s and its perfect ,but ordering grips for it
The OLED screen looks amazing, destroy's the garbage on the Craproid 4.
It does beat RP4 on screen hands down!
What issue are you having with PPSSPP? My phone has Android 13 and the latest versions of PPSSPP work without issue on it. So it would seem this is more an Anbernic issue than an Android 13 one.
Ah on newer versions it won't let you set a storage folder. I'm not sure why yet. Scoped storage is a funny beast, normally it would prompt you on first opening the emulator to create a folder. The pre-installed build works, and 1.9.4 works however.
@@retrohandhelds I've double checked on my Poco X3 Pro, which is running Android 13, by uninstalling & then reinstalling the free version of PPSSPP and it prompts me to select a folder each time.
Perhaps a silly idea but do you have a folder called PSP in your internal storage? Perhaps one needs to be present to trigger the prompt?
I'm confused about the PPSSPP Android 13 issues stated in the video. I have a Galaxy A03s (definitely not bragging - it's the cheapest Galaxy Samsung sells in the US) with Android 13 and the Play Store version of PPSSPP Gold - Version 1.16.6, which is almost the newest. It works fine for me.
When I first set up PPSSPP on Android 13 I had to follow some prompts to let it set up some files in my Emulation > PSP subfolder and then I moved my games to the sub-subfolder marked GAMES that it created. Y'all already know that because Stubbs and the Retro Handhelds team have tested many other Android 13 handhelds and phones. I'm just surprised they (either Anbernic or the PPSSPP dev) would break that functionality here. Is it possible to manually create the needed folders and then tell PPSSPP to use them?
Not sure why anyone pre orders Anbernic devices anymore. They are dropping in price pretty quickly in the first 6 months. In a few months something better will come along that will mean a discount here.
AW FLIPPIN HECK WITH THE HECKIN SHARPENING WHAT THE ACTUAL FRICK!!! I'm so angry I feel like swearing!
Steady!
Gamma OS can fix this in the future!😅
Hahaha. Eh its there, but I didn't mind it as much on this higher res screen. Now the 405M is another story..
Nice handheld, with that possibility similar to RP4 pro ,safety playable up to PS1,under 200$ is ok!
Good update from the often forgotten rg552?
Could you try another code on switch? It's a 3D title. Saw it running on the RG4 pro on a UA-cam video okay. As it's not a fast paced game. Wonder if it will be okay on here?
I've got one of these on order. But yeah be nice to know 😀 might be pushing it.
Is there an anbernic handheld that’s considered “the best” or do some of them have certain specs better than others? I wanted to get one but I’ve seen many versions of this handheld so I have no clue what’s what
Anbernic does waves of handhelds with the same chipset, but different form-factors. Generally speaking, the 351 line maxed out at PSX and some N64, the 353 line was a little bit stronger, the 405 and 505 went a into light GameCube and PS2, and the 556 is pushing further into GameCube and PS2 and light Switch stuff. -xoxo Gary
I was gonna get ayn odin2 after march but now i am considering this...
The rg556 is the follow up to the rg552,, anbernic has always strived to be high end ,and are high end systems,,look at the anbernic win series,the rg556 I have found needs more RAM,,I have found that the rg556 runs everything from PSP on down perfectly,,ps2 games make this machine struggle.
I wish this machine had dual operating systems like the rg552 does,, anbernic also has an all Linux version of the rg552,and that version screams,,hoping anbernic comes out with a Linux version of the rg556 as well..
It's unfortunately going to be some time before we get another Dual-Booting SoC especially one that's powerful. For example the A311D, A311D2, and S922X are the next step up from the RK3399 in terms of performance. However Amlogic has lackluster Kernel Support for these SoCs. Up from that is the RK3588 Chipset however if it gets put into a Handheld it will most likely need to be treated like an x86 Handheld. 😥
Dude, woulda nice if you included genshin on it too, I want to see how good it is with native android games.
My only complaint with this Handheld is the Glossy D-Pad. D-Pads should never be glossy.
While it didn't bother me, I do agree with you, I want a nice grippy matte dpad
I agree, for me the d-pad seems to be one of the biggest issues. I wish everyone just switched to the Ambernic RG ARC (Saturn) pad and that would become the standard. Works great for all games including fighters.
@@retrohandhelds Same Here.
@@iromek I'd prefer have both the SNES and Genesis D-Pad be the standard for a good D-Pad in Gaming period. There's no need for game companies in general to reinvent the wheel.
Is there a way to unlock the ANBERNIC RG505 gaming device pattern as it was locked by the child and he did not remember the code. Thank you.
Hi, I’m going to buy a handheld for my son’s birthday and I want the anbernic handheld that plays the absolute most amount of games ie. biggest game libraries, most emulators, and if it has google play etc. Which one would I buy? Thank you in advance!
The 556 is probably your best bet. Gogamegeek (link in video description) sells them with two sizes of SD cards. The 256GB would have the most games. Lots of people buy them without the card to save money, but the preloaded ones are probably more up your alley.
So you just compared this unit to the significantly more expensive Retroid Pocket 4 Pro and the even more expensive Aya Neo Pocket Air... how is that a fair comparison? Surely this unit is lower spec based on price alone... but does seem like a very solid console.
What other devices can it be compared to?
I thought its 175 vs 200 for rp4pro? Is that significant?
$25 is not significant
@retrohandhelds the Gameforce Ace IS shipping. Mine is in transit.
Thanks for the review. Glad I didnt preorder. Should be getting the gameforce ace soon. Hopefully, it performs better.
Is that a Thunderbird behind you?
Just waiting until Anbernic come out with something that will be a closer competitor to the Odin 2. Cause I don't just wanna drop 600$ on it lmao
Another 16:9 handheld not powerful enough to play 16:9 games\systems. 😢
Why can't we have nice things!?
Can you tell.me how where you dowload donkey kong returns? I try to downloaded n not work for me
For that money I would expect PS2 emulation being flawless. And some good number of Switch games.
Then you’re crazy, nothing has flawless ps2 emulation lol
@@louismontrose8966 Then you did not get what I meant. And that is it should run without slowing down (it can crash or simply not work for some games), but for games known to work, it should not slowdown and should have stable 60fps for example.
@@DS-pk4eh only because he didn't use vulcan. Crappy and lazy "review".
NGL I skimmed through the video. I'm looking to see if this has HDMI out? I use these to play multiplayer couch games
How does it feel in the hands compared to the odin 2?
Ergonomics, weight and screen I like better on the 556, everything else I give it to the Odin 2.
Battery life plz! Also can it store movies and videos from UA-cam??? 👍🏽🤩
About 4 - 8 hours so far, depending on usage. Yep it has 128gb of built in storage, and you can add up to an additional 1.5tb via micro SD card (2tb technically!)
How did the trigger depression distance feel in the comparison to the Odin 2? Too shallow, too deep or just right?
Feels about right to me, they nailed the triggers.
@@retrohandheldsgood to know, is there rumble, does it vibrate ?
@@olevet75there is!
This new rg556 looks a lot like the powkiddy X55
where can I find minecraft game for Anbernic RG556?
Not powerful enough. Looks like my choice will still be Odin 2. I need PS2 @ 2X minimum for as many games as possible.
The Odin 2 can do this at 3x Resolution😅
Damn he is handsome. 🎉
🤣🤣🤣 hi Mr. Sugden
Wish they charged another £50 and given it the same CPU as the RP4 pro.
How's the 3ds emulation faring now that citra has shut down?
Still the same, you can use all builds still, just the main ones won't see anymore updates. Runs very well.
btw can u change the analog stick light color or its only blue?
Ah not so far, just on or off.
Can you test Jackass The Game next time. It came put to be really demanding game. And I am talking about both PSP and PS2 versions.
Even though I have Odin 2, and I was gonna get RP4 Pro, but Anbernic RG556 has won me. Over the OLED screen with it's beautiful, vibrant and saturated and great HDR color reproduction will be unmatched.
Considering how cheap RG556 is at 170 pounds. This is absolutely a great bargain and the UniSoc T820 has very similar power to performance as Mediatek Dimensity 900.
So you can play vast majority of PS2 games upto 80% of. The libraries at 2x resolution just fine and GameCube and Wii should be but easier to run aswell.
When it comes to Switch emulation you might well as get PC or Odin 2, or even Steam Deck. The software isn't quite there yet I'm sure it'll be ready by next year when gaming consoles have 6gb ram could run them. For now my 8gbram Odin 2 base runs switch games just fine at 30fps no update required I'm running latest version of yuzu!
Odin 2 Pro is still the best
Hey Stubbsy, what Android version is it?
Mr White. It is Android 13 sir.
I find that my outdated galaxy s10e paired with dual shock 4 handles these tasks almost as good
Honestly a great way to go
My RP3+ and Flip have a T618 and play PS2 better than that at native res.
Hmm... This doesnt seem to clear the bar the Retroid Pocket 3+ set.
Im more particular with the form factor. If it's big and bulky, imma just take my steam deck. But if im looking for the portability, my RP3+ still is amazing. That said i would love to get my hands on an RP4Pro some day... Hopefully.
Ah good points! Yeah RP4 Pro wins in performance and pocketability, but for me it beats 3+ (in performance, screen and ergonomics anyways).
Unisoc please Open source for drivers switch
Its mali gpu like mediatek and some exynos, people are working on mali open source drivers.
Would you have the opportunity to try some psvita games ? (I'm looking for a console to play PSVita Gundam games in good conditions)
Frustrating that they always seem to cheap out on something. In this case the D pad and symbol buttons. They are essential for a good playing experience. The best screen and mobile processor in the world is no good if you struggle to control the game
That thing looks like it's a Powkiddy X55
Hello there ,Do you think I can use sd card games from Rg 505 to ANBERNIC Rg 556?because I bough The machine only (I havent arrive )thank you ,
Yes that should work just fine 🙂
@@retrohandhelds thank you for the response 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
UGHHH Android OS?! D,=
SO excited when i saw this video featuring a new Anbernic device... And then...
Anbernic... you lost me at android. =,(
Though I wonder if a Linux version will come out?? =D