ANBERNIC RG Rotate Review: A Surprisingly Fun, Affordable Handheld With A Twist

This year has been a little slow for handheld releases, all thanks to increased storage and shipping prices, so when the ANBERNIC RG Rotate landed on my desk recently, it was a refreshing surprise that I have thoroughly enjoyed using.

It’s ANBERNIC’s first take on integrating a flip-out display that reveals a hidden gamepad underneath to pair with retro emulation via Android OS. Nobody else has done this on the scene yet, and I feel as if only now we’re seeing truly unique devices being forced out of the manufacturers' doors because many of us have many handhelds that do many things, so these new products have to have a very unique offering in order to sell.

Which I’ll admit this does, and it’s very satisfying to open thanks to the alloy hinge that has taken inspiration from flip phones from the 2000’s.

But is this a genuinely good handheld? Is the flip-out display a gimmick? Is it too big? What’s the signature feature that ANBERNIC has missed out on (there's always one), and is it worth the $88 - $108 price tag?

• Release Date: 11th May 2026
• Pricing: $88 - $108
• Where To Buy: ANBERNIC.com

The Rotating Display

As soon as I took this device out of the box,  I was surprised at how large it is. For some reason, I was expecting this to be a mini retro handheld with a smaller display, a pocketable form factor and less chunkiness. 

ANBERNIC decided to add a 3.5” IPS display to this, which is why this is a fairly normal-sized device, similar to that of a GAME BOY Advance SP. Alongside the 2000mAh battery that’s been crammed in, it will surprise you, but that said, it’s not oversized. It’s still somewhat pocketable, and for those larger games such as PlayStation 1, the larger display is somewhat needed, so I kinda understand why ANBERNIC went for this size, it’s to tick as many boxes as they can for their customers to increase sales.

The main question I have regarding this device is how long the hinge will last. Like any new gimmick like this, the first to manufacture it usually gets a disadvantage in terms of issues coming to fruition, so the only method I could think of was to literally open and close it 1,000 times. By my calculations, if you’re using it a few times a day, that’s like 5 "opens" a day. To get to 1,000, that would be 6 months of usage, so this text should determine if the hinge can last 6 months without busting.

The screen flips with a good force to the left, clockwise and will provide a small schlocking sound once it opens and closes, alongside a small bump in force once it hits the ever-so-slightly padded ends of the alloy hinge. It does feel well built, and opening and closing it with one thumb is pretty easy, which i am surprised about, as the weight of the display itself is pretty hefty, so full props to the hinge here for distributing the weight nicely. I will note that if you want to open it with one hand, it’s gotta be the right hand!

Before the 1000 test, I took a look at where the display sits in both open and closed states, both perfectly aligned with the back shell, as should be. I had no misalignment out of the box. Perhaps under a microscope, there would be a hair's length, but honestly, nothing visible, which is good, as nobody wants a misaligned flip screen, which is what happened with a lot of flip phones in the 2000s after many months of use!

Now, after many hours of flipping this thing open and closed, which i think deserves a subscribe to our newsletter if you havent, I noticed that there was some minimal markings on the back which can be removed with a micro fibre cloth, and more importantly when the console is open, the screen sits a hairs pinch higher than it did before, making the resting place of the screen sit, ever so slightly misaligned. You really have to look closely to see it, but once you see it, it's hard not to. This doesn’t affect gameplay at all, but just means retro gamers with OCD may notice the screen is slanted perhaps a degree too high now. A slight push down will fix it, but it's worth noting and was the only thing I could see that had changed after the test.

The quality of the display is all you need; it’s bright, features a 720 x 720 resolution, it’s sharp enough for retro games and has a nice range of saturation. Exploring Android on it is just about viable, for example, the keyboard when typing is very small, so you will need to focus, and some applications will look a little cramped if its not built for square displays.

The only complaint I can see customers having is that fact that the 1:1 does restrict itself to 1:1 games. And that I would agree, you wouldn’t really buy this to play 3:2 or 4:3 games exclusively, this is a 1:1 focused device, simply see other ratios as a bonus, which comes with a whole lot of black borders. There’s no light bleed on my unit either, which is unfortunately common in ANBERNIC handhelds of the past.

The Metal Build Feels Premium

The body itself comes in two variations; there’s a full metal aluminium version of this device, which costs $108, this adds weight but also adds a premium feel, which I do enjoy. If you’ve followed us for some time, you know I have a soft spot for metal handhelds, and this feels a delight in the hand, I’ll admit. There’s also an ABS plastic version that is cheaper and lighter, coming in at $88. Depending on when you are reading this, there are early bird discounts for the first 7 days, so check out ANBERNIC's official website to see for yourself.

The back of the device features ANBERNIC branding and shoulder buttons that can be removed. I believe this is the first time ANBERNIC has offered interchangeable shoulders, and I am happy that they have done so, not because of the fact that either of them is uncomfortable, that’s not the case, both heights for me are just fine, but it’s just nice to know that ANBERNIC are giving more value to the customer in the form of choice. Other manufacturers have done this before, such as the TRIMUI Brick, so it seems like the trend is catching on. This does require you to remove the backplate and to peel stickers off the old ones to replace them with the new; it’s pretty easy to do for those wanting extra height on their R2/L2 buttons.

In between them is a USB-C port for charging and using with accessories. And here is one of the biggest flaws of the device: it has no headphone jack. Instead, it requires you to use an adapter in order to use your wired headphones. It’s the signature missing feature which every ANBERNIC handheld has at least one. This surprised me because it's being advertised as a literal music player in some of their promotional materials, and I know many people who use headphone jacks on their handheld devices regularly, so this is disappointing to see.

The Hidden Buttons & Why It Limits The Console

Now, the gamepad, once revealed, is slim-lined, sits deep into the base of the console to stop it from hitting or touching the sliding display, and because of its compact form factor, it only has a limited number of buttons. So no analogue stick here, folks!

You’ll find a D-Pad, action buttons that feature a subtle engraving around A and B, likely a nod to the GBA SP, a home button, and then your start and select buttons laid out just like the GAME BOY Advance SP, too. In ANBERNIC fashion, these buttons are as good as you’re going to get on a $100 device. They’re bouncy, clicky, sit firm on top of the switches and do the job, as it should. I have no issues here with these buttons at all. There’s also a hidden microphone under the start/select buttons, should you want to record things.

In terms of comfort, it weighs the same as a typical smartphone, and most of the weight is in its base, where the battery sits, making the centre of gravity perfectly central to my palms, so there’s no feeling of the display tilting your hands back. The edges are smooth-ish, for a square design. I found my fingers resting on the back of the device instead of the shoulder buttons, which is fine, but now and then my finger would cover the speaker grill located on the back of the device, so i’d have to move my index finger ouI’d of the way every so often. It’s comfortable for a couple of hours of gaming, that’s for sure, and the battery matches that at around 4 hours in total, which is great, but any more and you’ll likely find other handhelds, with more ergonomic designs, will be better for you.

What can and can't it emulate?

Now let’s talk emulation quality, because that’s what many of us will use it for. It runs on Android 12, so many of the emulators and apps needed will be pre-loaded for you once booted up.

RG Rotate Specifications

• 3.5" IPS 1:1 720X720 Display
• Unisoc Tiger T618 Octa-core CPU
• Mali G52 GPU
• 3GB RAM
• 32GB Storage
• OS: Android 12
• 2000MAH Battery
• WiFi 5 + Bluetooth 5.0
• USB-C Port
• Interchangeable Shoulder Buttons

These specifications may ring some bells for you if you have other ANBERNIC devices, as they are very similar to the specifications of the RG405V and the RG405M that were released way back in 2023. So, it’s very capable, too capable in fact.

To put the specifications into perspective, it's powerful enough to run up to Nintendo 64, PlayStation 1, and even a handful of GameCube games on here, but just remember it has a limited amount of buttons and no analogue stick, so you are limited to what you can use this device for, physically. Nintendo 64, PSP and GameCube are awkward to play because of the lack of analogue sticks, so I found myself not playing these games at all, even if the specs could push that far. Making me wonder if we, as consumers, are paying for the power that we don’t use. Could ANBERNIC put less in here, and made the price less at the same time? I’m not sure if it works like that, but if they could have done that, I think that it would have been a better route for them, especially if it means lowering the price by $15/$20.

I found myself exploring a lot of GAME BOY, PS1, GAME BOY Advance, GAME Gear, Mega Drive, Neo Geo and SNES games on here. Rarely did I dabble in anything else because of the screen size and lack of controls. So please be aware of that before purchasing this device; it’s limited in a way, but that should be very obvious before buying it, and if that does trip you up after buying it, more fool you!

The specs play all of these consoles flawlessly using the Android applications, so you’ll have no issues upscaling your games here to take advantage of the 720p display and the GPU. 1:1 games look remarkable on here with only a tiny border, taking full advantage of the screen and the form factor, offering a unique way to emulate your GAME BOY games on a flip device. Other ratio games don’t look too bad on here, but you will have borders, which aren’t a big issue in all honesty, but don’t go buying this specifically for 4:3 games.

Some Android games will work on a 1:1 display, but again, I didn’t find myself using this for that as it just didn’t look natural at all, but it is there for those of you that want it, and the same goes for other applications too, as ANBERNIC is advertising this as a kinda, multimedia device, to be used with music, voice recording, surfing the web and more, but that’s just them trying their hardest to market it toe veryone, most of us, will be using this purely for retro game emulation, and it’s bloody good at it, with a fun feature that I can’t stop playing with.

Overall Opinion

So overall, I really do enjoy using this device. ANBERNIC has taken a risk, and has brought a new function to the affordable retro handheld scene, one I think many others will copy, which is ironic as ANBERNIC in the past has been renowned for copying others. The rotating hinge is high quality, and I am confident it will last a long time. Those with an inkling of OCD will notice that the screen is slightly off-angle by a tiny, tiny margin. Which can be fixed with a slight push i’ll admit, but is noticeable most times and it does get on my nerves now and then.

Emulation-wise, it can handle most games you chuck at it up to Nintendo 64, but as mentioned, it doesn't have the controls to play games beyond PS1 effectively, which narrows itself ever so slightly and contradicts the powerful specifications inside.

I do advise taking a look at custom frontends when you install your applications, as ANBERNIC’s hasn’t aged well, which is something I mention in all of my ANBERNIC reviews, but they haven’t touched it in years and are instead pre-loading the device with crappy AI apps instead, which is disappointing to see.

But those minor remarks aside, it’s a fun, semi-powerful, affordable retro handheld with a twist, and I’m all for it, especially in a time where handhelds feel the same. For $88 or $108, I think it’s worth exploring if you want something new in the space.