After months of requests from the community, Anbernic has revealed a brand new vertical Android-based handheld, the Anbernic RG405V.
And it is technically exactly what we all asked for – a vertical version of the RG405M.
But now that we see it in practice, is it everything we hoped for? Well… not exactly.
Update August 28, 2023: Anbernic seems to be very close to launch, as they just posted an unboxing and closer look video today. This has certainly been a divisive design, with half of the crowd thinking it will be quite comfortable despite its "unique" appearance. The other half disliking it entirely.
Anbernic RG405V
As we can see in the reveal video just posted by Anbernic, the RG405V is now a real device in-hand. Meaning that these things are already produced and should be for sale soon.
But did they really have to go that far out with the design? They really went way out of their usual realm with this one.
As I have expressed many times in the past, the RG351V is my absolute perfect handheld. The only thing I would change is to lose the LED on the front and make it metal.
And the RG353M is a close second favorite of mine in the Anbernic lineup.
We’ve known Anbernic for sharp and modern design aesthetics in so many great handheld emulators.
But as we can see in the new RG405V, Anbernic has attempted some pretty unusual shapes in an attempt to achieve “ergonomics”. To me, it just looks… wrong.
I could write a whole breakdown on each and every part of the design that I think could have been improved. But let’s just sum it up by saying that it’s a pretty poor design entirely. Nothing redeeming to be found.
We can see that the popular wood finish from the RG351V has made a return as well.
This was the first 351V that I purchased (I have all three colorways now). So I have a soft spot for that finish. But used in such an awful shape, I’m not exactly excited to see it again.
A full spec breakdown has not yet been shared, but it is safe to assume we are looking at a near identical hardware setup to the RG405M.
We know it will be an Android-based device with a 4 inch touch screen and it will make use of the Unisoc T618 CPU. Familiar hardware in a new unfamiliar design.
RG405V Specifications
- Screen: 4-inch IPS touch screen (640×480)
- CPU: Unisoc Tiger T618 64-bit cota-core 2*[email protected]+6*[email protected]
- GPU: Mali G52@850Mhz
- RAM: 4GB LPDDR4X@1866Mhz
- Storage: 128GB eMMC
- Connectivity: 2.4/5G WIFI 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0
- Operating System: Android 12
- Battery: Li-polymer battery 4500 mAh, charging 2hours, battery life 7 hours
- Etc: Hall joystick, six-axis gyroscope sensor, support OTA wireless upgrade, vibration motor
Early Impressions
You had one job, Anbernic *facepalm*. I hate to use the word “hate”, but I hate it.
To me, this is just very bad design. Coming from a company like Anbernic who has chosen to be their own taste makers, for the most part.
The same company who had a good thing going for them in devices like the RG350P, RG351MP, RG351V, RG353M, RG353P, RG405M. So many great devices with fantastic design.
When the community asks for a vertical 4 inch device, and you have stuff like the RG351V or RG353V to use as your base, and this is the result. I just can’t see how that happens.
Maybe one of the worst console designs to come from Anbernic?
And funny enough, this seems to be inspired by one of the worst handhelds to be released in recent times, the SZDiiER D-007. Which makes it even weirder/funnier/worse.
