What you need to know
- After teasing it for over a month, the Anbernic RG DS has officially been revealed in its entirety.
- It features a design reminiscent of the Nintendo DS Lite, and even sports dual touchscreen displays.
- The Anbernic RG DS can be pre-ordered from either Anbernic directly or via AliExpress, and is on sale for $93.99 for a limited time.
It's probably safe to say that 2025 is the year of the clamshell gaming handheld, at least in the Android space. Earlier this year, we saw the Retroid Pocket Flip 2 released, then the AYN Thor and AYANEO Pocket DS were introduced. Now, Anbernic is joining in on the fun with the Anbernic RG DS.
At first glance, the RG DS looks almost identical to the original Nintendo DS Lite, as it's even available in a couple of the same colorways. However, no matter how hard you look for one, you won't actually be able to use those original DS cartridges. Obviously, that's not really the point, as you can download those games to your computer, transfer them to a microSD card, then put that in the RG DS.
The RG DS is equipped with dual touchscreen displays, with both the top and bottom screens measuring in at 4-inches, and coming with a 640 x 480 resolution. These are both larger than the original Nintendo DS, DS Lite, or DSi handhelds, and just a smidge smaller than the DSi XL (4.2-inches.)
Anbernic RG DS |
|
|---|---|
Top Display |
4-inch IPS, Touchscreen, 640 x 480 |
Bottom Display |
4-inch IPS, Touchscreen, 640 x 480 |
Processor |
RockChip RK3568 |
GPU |
Mali G52-2EE |
RAM |
3GB |
Storage |
32GB + microSD (up to 2TB) |
Connectivity |
Wi-Fi / Bluetooth 4.2 |
Battery |
4,000mAh (~6 hours) |
Extras |
Hall Magnetic Switch for Sleep Mode, Six-axis Gyro, 3.5mm Audio Jack |
Software |
Android 14 |
Dimensions |
160 x 91 x 21.5mm |
Weight |
321g |
Colors |
Black & Crimson Red / Turquoise Blue / Polar White |
Obviously the big benefit here is that unlike the original hardware, Anbernic's RG DS is running Android. This means that you're not limited to just playing DS or DSi games, and have access to so much more. That said, we'd recommend tempering your expectations, as you'll likely start running into problems if you venture into the 3DS library of games.
This is because Anbernic opted to rely on the RockChip RK3568, the first time we're seeing this chip in a gaming handheld. It's using practically the same CPU as the RK3566 found in the Anbernic RG353V, but with a slightly more powerful GPU.
If you're curious as to why we don't have something like the Unisoc T820 from the recently-released RG476H, it's for good reason. Instead of trying to shoot for the moon, Anbernic went the opposite route, and managed to price this dual-screen Android-powered handheld at under $100.
Pre-orders are now open for the RG DS, and you can get one for $93.99 from Anbernic directly, or $96.99 at AliExpress (with code USCD12). Anbernic says it plans to ship RG DS pre-orders "before December 15," which leads us to believe it might begin arriving sooner rather than later. And when that happens, the pre-order discounts will vanish, with the $99.99 retail price taking its place.
