TL;DR
- ANBERNIC has revealed its first device of 2025, the RG-557, featuring a large AMOLED display.
- It’s the most powerful device the company has ever released, emulating Wii U and upscaled PS2 games with ease.
- No word on pricing or release dates, but it may be packing the Snapdragon G2 Gen 1 processor.
ANBERNIC has been suspiciously quiet this year after releasing a whopping 12 devices in 2024. Today the company finally announced its first device of 2025, and it looks like it might be a powerful alternative to popular retro Android gaming handhelds like the Retroid Pocket 5.
The ANBERNIC RG-557 is a large device with a 5.48-inch HD AMOLED display. It’s the same size and rough design as the RG-556 from last March, but if rumors are true, it will pack far more power.
The RG-556 packed a budget UNISOC Tiger T820 chipset, which generally tops off at PS2 emulation. The video above shows the new RG-557 comfortably playing demanding Android games, Wii U titles, and upscaled PS2 games, which was not possible on its predecessor.
ANBERNIC stopped short of announcing the full spec sheet, but a very similar device was spotted earlier this year at CES (shown below). If the final device matches the ANBERNIC prototype shown there, it will have a Snapdragon G2 Gen 1 SoC and 8GB of RAM.
Note that this is not the new Snapdragon G2 Gen 2 announced last month, but rather last year’s middle-tier gaming chip. It’s possible, however, that the internals have been upgraded to this year’s model, matching the internals of the upcoming Retroid Pocket 6.
Either way, it should outperform anything the company has released to date. It will also have more raw power than community favorites like the Retroid Pocket 5, which packs a Snapdragon 865. Granted, driver support may be an issue for certain emulators.
If rumors are true, this will be the most powerful ANBERNIC device ever released.
We still don’t have pricing for the new model, but it’s likely to be a step up from the ~$170 price tag of the RG-556. Still, ANBERNIC is best known for budget and mid-range gaming handhelds, so it will likely be one of the most powerful devices in its price bracket.
