The Best Anbernic Handheld Consoles Ranked: Australia’s Definitive Guide 2026

The device that put Anbernic on the map. The RG351P was enormously popular due to its price point, build quality, and ability to run pixel-perfect GBA games. The RG351M followed with a full aluminium shell and built-in WiFi. Both run on the Rockchip RK3326 and handle everything up to PS1 comfortably, with variable results on N64 and PSP.

Popular Mechanics selected the RG351P as the “best handheld game system for emulation.” The 3:2 screen ratio remains ideal for GBA purists — used units are still worth picking up for that alone.

Anbernic’s first Android device and a significant hardware leap. The RG552 features a superb 5.36-inch 1920×1152 IPS touchscreen and a six-core RK3399 chipset, enabling Dreamcast and Saturn emulation that previously wasn’t viable. It was also the first Anbernic to dual-boot Linux and Android.

The trade-offs: battery life of around four hours and no 5GHz WiFi support. Well-regarded but never matched the cultural impact of the 351 series, partly due to the higher price and the arrival of the Steam Deck.

Refined the vertical Game Boy-style form factor. The RK3566 chip pushed the emulation ceiling to Dreamcast. The Android version includes a touchscreen and shortcuts to jump between menus and switch ABXY layouts on the fly. WiFi and Bluetooth on both versions enables RetroAchievements and wireless controller support.

Performance on N64 is unreliable — step up to the RG405M for that. The persistent downside: shoulder buttons that were fragile, close together, and activated with almost no pressure. The Linux-only RG353VS was better value for most users running custom firmware.

Widely considered one of Anbernic’s best-executed devices. The Unisoc Tiger T618 chip reaches PS2 and GameCube. The metal shell covers virtually the entire chassis in aluminium — Anbernic’s trick being that one of the rear rubber pads lacks metal underneath to allow wireless communication without affecting aesthetics.

Hall effect joysticks, solid build, Android 12. Main community criticism: D-pad below the left stick (Switch-style layout) rather than the traditional position above.

An oddity that became a cult favourite. Reviewers praised its perfectly balanced weight and a screen that handles both standard play and vertical SHMUP orientation — letting you rotate the device for arcade games the way they were meant to be played.

Not the most powerful device in the range, but punches well above its class in usability and screen quality for the price. The only XX-series device without the analog stick cardinal snapping issue.

The current performance flagship. The Dimensity 8300 chip sits well above the T820 found in the RG476H and RG556, making this the device for players who genuinely need PS2 and Wii at full speed. The 5.5-inch AMOLED screen and 5500mAh battery round out a premium package.

The trade-off is the same as the RG556: size kills pocketability. This one lives in a bag, not a pocket. For pure emulation performance at any price in the Anbernic range, nothing beats it.

Cardinal snapping is an often firmware-based quirk where analog sticks on certain Anbernic devices force input toward the four cardinal directions — Up, Down, Left, Right — rather than registering smooth diagonal movement. On affected devices, pushing the stick at a 45-degree angle snaps it to the nearest cardinal axis instead of registering the true diagonal.

It matters most in 3D games requiring precise analog movement — Super Mario 64, racing games, and anything with free-look camera controls. For 2D gaming across NES, SNES, GBA, and PS1, it is largely irrelevant since those games use eight-directional input anyway.

The good news: on most affected Anbernic devices, this is a firmware issue rather than a hardware defect. Installing custom firmware such as muOS or ROCKNIX resolves cardinal snapping entirely on most units. The RG CubeXX is the only XX-series device where cardinal snapping is not present on stock firmware.