When ANBERNIC makes announcements, it comes in waves. This news comes shortly after releasing the RG 55G1 handheld and just 48 hours after shadow dropping the $38 RG 35 handheld, which can now be purchased. That aside, this is a handheld many ANBERNIC and Dual-Screen fans have been waiting for; they're calling it the RG DS Plus, a refined version of the original $99 ANBERNIC RG DS that launched a while back.
It was officially revealed on ANBERNIC's YouTube channel, showing a glorious new look, obviously taking inspiration from the Nintendo DS, maybe too much inspiration- going as far as adding in a new stylus, just like the recently revealed Yoniq Duo that was shown off at Gamescom this year.
ANBERNIC are calling this the "next generation dual-screen handheld", packing it with two 4.3" 1,024 × 768 resolution displays capable of upscaling Nintendo DS games by 4x their resolution. This, in comparison to the original RG DS's 640 x 480, is a big jump and a much-welcomed upgrade, stating it's a "16 in 1 pixel density".
The promotional video shows off a few new features, such as an upgraded reinforced hinge to better match that of the Nintendo DS, and to prolong its lifespan, which I believe has been changed due to the community's feedback on the original RG DS. It's apparently "stronger, smoother and more refined" with dual-alloy hinges and "stepless positioning", meaning you can stop it wherever you please, which is nice to see.
It will run on Linux, and from what I can tell, a newly developed Nintendo DS emulator has been made specifically for the RG DS Plus called NNDDSS, which offers a fully customised interface for dual-screen Linux devices. ANBERNIC states it can screen swap, has shader options, instant saves, microphone support, cheat codes and more, which hopefully means it provides silkier DS performance on their devices.
The RG DS Plus will come in three different colours, a Pink, a dark Teal and a Black version, all featuring a single joystick, front facing speakers shoulder buttons and a hidden capacitive stylus that matches the colourway, allowing you to play those stylus friendly games that we all remember playing back in the day.
As of now, we only have the promotional video to go by, so no information has been announced regarding pricing, specifications or release date, but you can bet that it'll be here before Christmas and will likely be priced above $99 to not compete with the original RG DS. I am excited about this one; I passed on the original RG DS because it didn't impress me much, but I think this will intrigue me enough to produce a written and video review on it when it drops. As usual, follow our free weekly newsletter to not miss out on further information about the ANBERNIC RG DS Plus.
