Anbernic just surprised us all with a ghost drop of their latest horizontal format emulation device, the Anbernic RG353PS.
Those familiar with Anbernic’s lineup would recognize the form factor from one of last year’s entries, the RG353P.
Anbernic’s take on the SNES controller or the PocketGO S30 wasn’t all that bad. It’s mostly comfortable and all-in-all nice looking, and if you love SNES – this is obviously great.
But we certainly didn’t expect to see them return to the RG353P series with a new entry.
So surprise surprise – we now have something from Anbernic with zero hints of it until today.
Let’s take a look and see if it’s something we are interested in!
Anbernic RG353PS
So what exactly is new about the Anbernic RG353PS from its predecessor?
From what we are hearing, it’s basically a Linux only device that removes the Android dual-boot option. Which, honestly, is something I prefer.
We should anticipate that previous Linux firmware will work straight away, so we can do some customization on day one.
Tech specs have not been shared with the Youtube video, so we would guess this is simply a minimized version of the previous iteration.
It’s likely going to have the same RK3566 Quad-core 1.8ghz CPU paired with a 3.5″ IPS display, now without the need for a touchscreen.
That means it will be a little cheaper too (hense the “S” in the name, much like they did with the RG353V and RG353VS).
I anticipate this new device to come in at around $99USD, which is where the RG353VS currently stands.
As we can see, the RG353PS comes in three new colorways that were not offered with the RG353P.
Those colorways include a new DMG grey style, a clear, and a transparent purple aka “atomic purple”.
And these new models were very obviously inspired by the early Game Boy palettes and graphics. The text on the screen bezel is nearly identical to what appears on the first Game Boy.
Anbernic is also using their new colorful action buttons, though these are not the same glossy finish that was used on the recent RG405M.
I’m a fan of simpler buttons, so matte is preferred. I would love black buttons again, but we got what we got.
Of the three options, I’d say they all have some issues. But the purple is probably the most appealing.
Conclusions
I’m not entirely mad at this new release.
Honestly, the RG353P was one I never picked up myself, but it always kind of intrigued me. I loved the SNES controller look.
Now that they’ve removed some of the fluff of Android and gave us a more simple version, I might need to finally pick one up.
What do you guys think? Is this a hit or a miss? And which color is best? Let us know on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
