The Rabbit R1 is a handheld device that we’ve not covered here on Retro Dodo since it’s an AI-focused gadget with its own operating system that hasn’t really leaned itself to the gaming world. That was until people managed to get Android running on it, turning it into something that is actually useful (hey, I’m just saying it like it is).
I know that the Rabbit R1 was supposed to be a gadget that helped us while not distracting us, but the whole point of devices like smartphones is to keep us distracted by playing our favourite games on emulators, right? I mean, what would we do without Delta these days… have to sit and stare out of the window in airplanes?
Having Android on the Rabbit R1 does just that, and it finally allows the device to run emulators… to some varied success. You can check out how HowToMen got Android running on the device too; it’s well worth a watch!
The device itself is quite small with a 2.88″ screen, which is undoubtedly bigger than the minuscule Thumby or the one-button handheld I covered recently. But still, it’s not going to give you the same gameplay feeling as handhelds like the Nintendo Switch. If you’ve got an external controller that can hold the device in situ like Bringus Studios on YouTube, however, then you can get AiAi running on this AI handheld and game on the go.
With 100GB of storage inside the tiny orange square, there’s plenty of space to store ROMs from your favourite games and files to play titles from Netflix such as GTAS: San Andreas, but the screen isn’t the best for pumping out epic graphics and the Helio G36 SoC processor isn’t known for being the best thing known to gaming-kind.
The video of Bringus Studios playing games on the R1 shows mixed success rates. Minecraft seems to run very well, Half-Life 2 not so much, and Dolphin emulation doesn’t really get off the ground. PPSSPP seems to run ok, though the whole thing seems a little hit-and-miss. Still, the fact that this modded Rabbit R1 plays games and that modding has finally begun on this device intrigues me, and I’m looking forward to seeing how people integrate it into other projects from here on out. You can check out the video of the R1 emulating games in action below.
