R36S vs Anbernic RG35XX: Which One Should You Buy?

These are the two cheapest retro handhelds worth talking about, and the internet will not shut up about either of them.

The R36S went viral on TikTok as the mysterious “$30 retro Game Boy” that seemingly came out of nowhere. The Anbernic RG35XX is the budget entry from the most established name in retro handhelds. Both promise to play your childhood favorites for less than the cost of a nice dinner — but they take very different paths to get there.

If you’re standing at the checkout screen wondering which one to click “buy” on, this is the comparison you need. I’ve spent serious time with both, and the answer might surprise you.

The Quick Answer

• Choose the R36S if: you want the absolute cheapest way into retro gaming and you’re mostly playing NES, SNES, and Game Boy games.
• Choose the Anbernic RG35XX if: you want better build quality, better software support, and you care about PS1 performance.
• My Pick: Anbernic RG35XX — The extra $20 buys you a meaningfully better device with a much stronger software ecosystem. The R36S is fine for a novelty purchase, but the RG35XX is the one you’ll actually keep using.

Side-by-Side Specs

On paper, these two look almost identical. Same screen size and resolution, same GPU, no WiFi on either. But the chipset difference — RK3326 vs H700 — matters more than it looks, and the price gap is the real question here.

Design and Build Quality

Pick up the R36S and you’ll immediately know you’re holding a budget product. That’s not necessarily a bad thing — the plastic is lightweight, the buttons work, and the overall shape is comfortable enough for short sessions. The landscape form factor with dual analog sticks feels surprisingly mature for a device this cheap.

But look closer and the corners cut become obvious. The shell has visible seam lines and occasional flex if you squeeze it. The screen, while fine for the price, has slightly washed-out colors compared to the RG35XX’s panel. The analog sticks are functional but feel loose — there’s more deadzone than you’d want, and the stick tops are smooth plastic that your thumbs slide off of during intense sessions.

The Anbernic RG35XX immediately feels like a step up. Anbernic has been doing this for years, and it shows. The shell is tighter, the buttons have a satisfying click, and the overall fit and finish is noticeably better. The d-pad in particular is excellent — it’s one of the best d-pads in any budget handheld, with a nice pivot that makes diagonal inputs reliable.

The RG35XX’s analog nubs are its weak point. They’re membrane-style nubs rather than proper sticks, which means limited range of motion and a mushier feel. For games that need analog input (N64, PSP), the R36S’s full sticks are actually better despite their looseness. But most games you’ll play on either of these devices use the d-pad, where the RG35XX wins easily.

Winner: Anbernic RG35XX — Better build quality, better d-pad, and the kind of polish that makes you forget it’s a budget device. The R36S feels like a $35 device; the RG35XX feels like it costs more than it does.

Screen Quality

Both devices use 3.5-inch IPS panels at 640x480 — which is actually a perfect resolution for retro gaming. Most classic systems output at or near 240p, so 480p gives you clean integer scaling without wasting pixels on unnecessary resolution.

The RG35XX’s screen is the better panel. Colors are more vibrant, viewing angles are wider, and the overall clarity is just a touch sharper. You notice it most in games with bright, saturated palettes — GBA games like Metroid Fusion and Pokémon Emerald pop beautifully on this screen.

The R36S screen is perfectly acceptable but slightly less impressive. Colors lean a bit cool, and the contrast ratio doesn’t quite match the Anbernic’s panel. In a side-by-side comparison, the difference is clear. On its own, you probably won’t complain.

Neither device has any brightness issues. Both get bright enough for indoor play and dim enough for bed.

Winner: Anbernic RG35XX — Better color reproduction and viewing angles. It’s not a dramatic difference, but it’s visible.

Emulation Performance

This is where the chipset difference actually matters.

The R36S runs a Rockchip RK3326 — the same chip that powered budget handhelds from 2020-2021. It’s proven and well-understood, but it’s hitting its ceiling. The RG35XX’s Allwinner H700 is a newer, more capable chip that gives it a meaningful edge in anything above SNES complexity.

Systems both handle perfectly:

• NES, Game Boy, SNES, Genesis — flawless on both devices. If these are your target systems, either handheld will make you happy.

Game Boy Advance:

Both play GBA games well, but the RG35XX is rated “perfect” while the R36S is “great.” In practice, this means the R36S occasionally drops frames in more demanding GBA titles or ones using special hardware features. Most games run fine, but if you’re a GBA purist, the RG35XX is the safer bet.

PS1:

This is where the gap starts to show. The RG35XX handles PS1 at “great” quality — the vast majority of the library runs smoothly, and demanding titles like Crash Bandicoot and Gran Turismo play well. The R36S rates “good” — most PS1 games work, but you’ll encounter more frame drops and some titles need per-game tweaking to run acceptably. Games with heavy 3D rendering (Spyro, Tony Hawk) can struggle.

N64 and Dreamcast:

Neither device is an N64 or Dreamcast powerhouse. The RG35XX handles some N64 and Dreamcast titles in a “limited” capacity — think Mario 64 and simpler games with frame drops. The R36S is in the same “limited” boat for both, but the RK3326’s N64 support is slightly more hit-or-miss due to its older driver stack.

DS:

The RG35XX rates “good” for DS emulation, which means a reasonable chunk of the library works with the right settings. The R36S rates “limited” — expect more compatibility issues and lower performance.

PSP:

The RG35XX can handle some PSP games in limited fashion. The R36S can’t do PSP at all.

PS2 and GameCube:

Not happening on either device. If you want those systems, you need to step up to something like the Anbernic RG405M or Retroid Pocket 4 Pro.

Winner: Anbernic RG35XX — Better PS1 performance, better GBA consistency, and more headroom for N64 and DS. The H700 is simply a more capable chip than the aging RK3326.

Battery Life

The R36S packs a 3,200 mAh battery — larger than the RG35XX’s 2,600 mAh. Combined with the slightly less powerful chipset drawing less power, the R36S actually delivers surprisingly good battery life. Expect 6-8 hours on retro games (NES through SNES) and about 4-5 hours on more demanding titles like PS1.

The RG35XX’s smaller battery means shorter sessions. You’ll get about 5-6 hours on lighter games and 3-4 hours on PS1 titles. It’s not bad by any means, but the R36S’s 23% larger battery is one of its genuine advantages.

Both charge via USB-C at 5W — neither supports fast charging, so expect 2-3 hours from empty to full.

Winner: R36S — The bigger battery gives it a solid 1-2 hour advantage in most scenarios.

Software and Custom Firmware

This is where the RG35XX absolutely demolishes the R36S, and it’s the single biggest reason I recommend it.

The Anbernic RG35XX has become one of the most well-supported devices in the retro handheld community. Custom firmware options include:

• Muos — The community favorite right now. Clean interface, fast boot times, excellent performance tuning. Actively developed with frequent updates.
• GarlicOS — The original custom firmware that put the RG35XX on the map. Stable, polished, and still popular.
• Knulli — Another strong option with its own community of fans.

The RG35XX’s H700 chip has been deeply optimized by the custom firmware community. Whatever performance gains exist in the hardware, the software community has wrung out every last drop. Firmware updates continue to improve emulation performance, add features, and fix bugs months after release.

The R36S has custom firmware support — it can run ArkOS and similar Linux distributions designed for RK3326 devices. But the scene is messier. The R36S isn’t a single device — it’s a loose collection of clone handhelds produced by multiple unnamed manufacturers using the same shell and chipset. This means:

• Different R36S units sometimes have different screen panels, requiring different firmware configurations
• Quality control varies between batches and sellers
• The firmware community has to account for hardware variations, making development harder
• You might get lucky with a great unit, or you might spend an evening debugging screen orientation issues

That inconsistency is the R36S’s fundamental problem. When it works, it works fine. But “when it works” shouldn’t be a caveat you need for a gaming device.

Winner: Anbernic RG35XX — Dramatically better software support. Muos and GarlicOS are best-in-class for budget handhelds, and the consistent hardware means firmware just works out of the box.

Value for Money

This is the comparison that actually matters, because neither device is expensive.

The R36S at ~$35 is objectively one of the cheapest ways to play retro games on a dedicated handheld. For the price of a fast food meal for two, you get a functional device that plays NES, SNES, Game Boy, and Genesis games perfectly. That’s genuinely remarkable. It also ships with a preloaded MicroSD card full of games (of questionable legality), so you can be playing within minutes of opening the box.

The RG35XX at ~$55 costs about $20 more. For that extra $20, you get:

• A better chipset with noticeably stronger PS1 performance
• Superior build quality and a better d-pad
• A slightly better screen
• Access to the best custom firmware in the budget segment
• Consistent hardware that doesn’t require debugging
• USB OTG support for connecting controllers and keyboards
• A manufacturer that actually stands behind their product

That $20 gap is one of the best value upgrades in the entire retro handheld market. Going from “good enough” to “genuinely good” for the price of a large pizza is a no-brainer.

The one exception: if you’re buying this purely as a novelty or a gift for someone who just wants to play Mario and Zelda on the couch, the R36S does that job for less. Not everyone needs the extra performance and polish.

Winner: Anbernic RG35XX — The R36S is cheap, but the RG35XX is smart cheap. The extra $20 buys tangible, daily-use improvements.

Score Summary

Final Verdict

Choose the R36S if you want the absolute rock-bottom entry into retro handheld gaming. Maybe you’re curious about the hobby and don’t want to commit more than $35. Maybe you want a stocking stuffer or a fun impulse buy. The R36S plays NES, SNES, Game Boy, and Genesis games just fine, and for that price, it’s hard to feel ripped off. Just know that you’re buying a no-name device with variable quality control and limited software support.

Choose the Anbernic RG35XX if you want a device that feels like a real product from a real company — because it is. The extra $20 gets you better emulation (especially PS1), better build quality, and access to custom firmware that transforms the experience. The RG35XX with Muos installed is one of the best retro gaming experiences you can have under $60. Period.

The bottom line: The R36S made retro handhelds go viral, and it deserves credit for that. But the Anbernic RG35XX is the device you’ll actually enjoy using six months later. Spend the extra $20. You won’t regret it.

And honestly? If you can stretch your budget just a little further, the Anbernic RG35XX Plus at $65 adds WiFi, Bluetooth, and better analog sticks. It’s the best value in budget retro handhelds right now and makes both of these devices a harder sell. Check out our best retro handhelds 2026 guide for the full breakdown.

Where to Buy

R36S — ~$35 at Amazon

Anbernic RG35XX — ~$55 at Amazon | Anbernic Direct

Recommended accessories:

• Samsung EVO Select 64GB MicroSD — Perfect size for 8/16-bit libraries on either device
• Samsung EVO Select 128GB MicroSD — If you want PS1 games too, go for 128GB

Both devices use MicroSD for all storage, so pick up a quality card. Avoid the cheap no-name cards that often ship with the R36S — they’re slow and unreliable. A Samsung EVO Select is the move.

Last verified: March 2026