Anbernic RG405M Review, Specs & Game List: The Anbernic RG353M has been my favorite handheld for the past year. Workmanship and performance went well together here, especially the metal case and the overall high-quality feel made a good impression. With the Anbernic RG405M, a kind of successor has now appeared, which of course I really wanted to try out. You can find out where the new console is better than its predecessor here.
Anbernic RG405M Review, Specs & Game List
- Anbernic RG405M
- at Banggood for €193.28 (Coupon: BGCGRV006 )
- Packaging
We don’t have to say much about the packaging, but it might be of interest to those who haven’t bought an Anbernic console yet. The white box is well described as “simple”, there is only a drawing of the console on the front and no other inscription. The handheld is always stowed reasonably safely inside in a plastic form, with just enough space next to it for a small box with the charging cable.
Under the console we find the instructions and – as a nice addition – a protective film for the display including a second cloth for dust-free attachment. There’s also a quick start guide, but it essentially just describes the console’s buttons and ports.
By the way, the console is available in two color variants: the black version that we received and which I find much more stylish, and a gray version with colorful A/B/X/Y buttons.
Fits comfortably in your hand
Speaking of the protective film, it should protect the display from scratches, but not from falls. The Anbernic RG405M weighs almost 260 grams, better not drop it. Of course, there is a reason for the weight, namely the aluminum housing, which, like its predecessor, feels very high-quality. The weight plays its part here and the console fits the hand very well, even if it might still be a bit too small for very large hands.
What is more pleasant compared to the RG353M is that the sides are now more rounded and the palms of the hands cling to them even better. By the way, there are no buttons or ports on the sides, so you don’t accidentally press a button. The power button and volume rocker are on the top next to the USB-C port. The headphone connection and the SD card slot are located on the underside. There is no longer an HDMI output that the RG353M still had.
The display is now slightly larger and measures 4 inches diagonally, but it is still in 4:3 format. This is ideal for most retro games that use this format. The resolution is 640 x 480p, which is also sufficient. The old titles look really good here.
The joysticks are hall sticks with magnetic sensors. They are recessed deeper into the case to keep the console flatter. The edge is slightly ribbed, which gives them a pleasant feel. Overall, very precise control is possible. However, they are not comparable to longer sticks on controllers, even the best sticks on handhelds don’t come close in my opinion. But the console is supposed to be compact and the compromise is fine here.
Operating System
If you start the console, you will be greeted directly by an Android interface. Emulators for most consoles are preinstalled; there are also several games already on the included SD card. I actually like a Linux-based interface more on retro handhelds (clearer, faster access to the games). But Android also has many advantages, so you have access to the Playstore and can easily install apps afterwards.
In the individual emulators you only have to search for the desired game file on the SD card and then you can run it. You can either download new games directly from the device (Chrome is pre-installed) or drag them to the SD card from another device.
The console supports WiFi 5, Bluetooth 5.0 and has 128 GB of its own memory. Even without the SD card you are sufficiently supplied here
Performance İn Games
After all, games up to Playstation 2 and on the Nintendo side Gamecube and Wii should run on the console. A Unisoc T618 ARM processor with eight cores, a Mali-G52 MP2 graphics chip and 4 GB RAM are installed for this. In practice, however, not all Gamecube titles run well or at all. If you really want to play PS2 or GC, you should choose a more powerful console; otherwise it’s just a gamble.
But everything below it works perfectly. N64 was (as always) the one I played the most during my review and the games here just look great and are as fun as ever. It’s a shame about my N64, which I recently dug up again for testing 8Bitdo’s mod kit – with the RG405M now I really don’t feel like switching back to the original.
You don’t have to talk about everything below (or before) that, of course, all 8/16-bit consoles are also represented and anyone who wants to play Gameboy games can do so as they please.
The battery life is definitely a positive thing. Anbernic installs a 4,500 mAh battery here, with which you can definitely get 5 to 6 hours of play time.
Conclusion – My new favorite console
I already mentioned it at the beginning, I already liked the predecessor RG353M very much. The RG405M is actually better in every way – bigger display, bigger case and therefore better feel, (slightly) better battery life. Overall, the console is still small enough to theoretically fit in your pocket. In addition, there is again a metal housing, which raises the price, but simply feels high-quality.
The price would then also be a small point of criticism on my part. We are here at around 200€, depending on where you order sometimes a little less. (You can get the predecessor for less than 150€.) I would say that the RG405M is actually enough when it comes to retro games and then you don’t need anything else (unless you want to play Wii and PS2 – you can do that too criticize, because the console is actually advertised explicitly).
Nevertheless, you have to put these 200€ on the table first. Banggood provided us with the console for testing, so I would actually like to say buy it there – however, the manufacturer Anbernic sells it for a little less anddirectly from the EU. Alternatively, you can wait for a better offer. In the course of the next few weeks and months, the console will certainly be available in the €150 region.
