Intro:
A year ago, I got my hands on a GPD win. Basically a DS-sized handheld PC with built-in gaming controls. It was - and still is - an amazing product. Being able to play actual, genuine windows games on the go is awesome. That this doesn't include the newest games was a given, but while its successor looks appealing in all aspects except the price, I was more interesting in that other product they released somewhat quietly: the GPD XD+.
My recent bloggings already reveal my increased interest in the android operating system. I got an ipega 9023 controller to hold my tablet, but even though it became about the same size as a wiiu tablet, it didn't feel right. This wasn't due to technology, however: response time was excellent, and the buttons and controller feel great. The problem was that a nvidia tablet (as well as most 7" tablets nowadays, I imagine) is so simple and elegant in itself that the act of sliding it in and enabling bluetooth was weighing it down. I mean...if you had to unbox and rebox your console controller between gaming sessions each time, I bet it'd start to wear down a bit on your end as well. Especially if you're me, who often gets interrupted by the dog or my girlfriend who needs assisting with mundane tasks.
So...the GPD XD+. I practically dare you to find a negative review on the thing on the internet, because the most negative I could find was "not much of an improvement of the GPD XD". As such, it was almost guaranteed value for money. Now that I have it a couple weeks, I can only attest that.
Unboxing (hardware):
There are plenty of unboxing videos already on the web, so I'll just stick to my own opinions on this one:
* this time there was no English->Belgian connector in the box. Not much of an issue because USB chargers are common enough
* microUSB instead of usb 3.1. Less future proof, but plenty of...erm...present-proof.
* the device looks sturdier and better than the GPD win.
* buttons are of the same quality as the win (meaning: absolutely awesome), but located in a better position (especially L3 and R3).
* android buttons take some getting used to, but certainly not bad
* the built-in key overlay is rather basic, but works the whole time. Combined with apps that detect the gamepad (like just about any emulator), you'll easily play the majority of android games
Standard software overview:
On the software end, the XD+ makes it pretty clear whom this device is for. The GPD win only had steam preinstalled over a barebones windows environment. This thing immediately boots in a smorgasmbord of emulators (ppsspp, retroarch), apps and even preinstalled pirated roms. This is obviously pretty welcoming, though I'm not sure of the value in the long run. I mean...the UI is intuitive to use (either by touchscreen or the controls), but if you're used to android, you probably want to switch it to your preferred launcher (nova, in my case) at some point. Luckily, the play store, google settings and even an UI switcher are close at hand.
GPD isn't different than other manufacturers in the fact that they add a bunch of software on their device. Some are known popular ones (kodi, netflix), other...not so much. In theme with the gaming aspect, it even has a chinese playstore equivalent that lets you download and install cracked apk's. Pretty sweet, but it sounds kind of risky on GPD's behalf.
Two apps deserve special mention. As I would quickly discover, not all games that use controls use the same type of controls. But there is a 'gamepad' app that quickly lets you switch between PS4, xbox360 and 'null' controllers. If a game doesn't have any touchscreens, there is also an app (that even has its own button) that lets you bind touches in specific areas to gamepad buttons. This app...mostly works. It's UI is kind of clunky and doesn't have options for all games (e.g.: some games use a sliding motion to initiate going in a certain direction. It's unfortunately not possible to properly bind this to the D-pad).
My own stuff:
Obviously, I bought this thing for gaming. So pretty soon after making sure the thing worked, to following games were added to the device:
-In between: this was the first actual android games I tried. It was also the one that made me discover about the gamepad app (this one uses PS4 configs). But after that, things were fantastic. By the way: In between can stand toe to toe with braid. The cloud saves also worked wonders for my savegame progress.
-Munch's Oddyssey: just as smooth as on nvidia shield tablet. Only problem was getting the savegames ported over correctly, because the cloud saves were unavailable.
-Crush (PPSSPP): the obligatory thing to test. Of course I'm in the luxury situation of only having played a few low-demanding PPSSPP games on my gpd win. Crush certainly ran better here, but I can't say whether that's android, the PPSSPP version and/or my hardware speaking. Probably a bit of everything.
-Super Mario 64 (superN64): the Nintendo 64 is a bit of a lost generation for me. The SNES had better 2D graphics and it's only at around the gamecube that 3D starts to look decent. But at least it plays as smooth as one could imagine.
-Limelight: a minimalistic puzzle-platformer...and near impossible to control well, because the makers not only not opted for gamepad controls but also went with a slider touch. But because this game requires pretty quick reflexes, it's near impossible (and downright not fun) to play.
-steam link beta (geometry rush): just by lucky timing, this app got out as my gpd xd+ was on its way. Now that I've tested it, I can say it's just MADE for a device like this. It basically streams your PC directly to your device, so you can play even the heaviest PC games from your couch. Geometry rush is a good test for this: it's one of these 'one button endless runner' kind of games. Assuming you've got 5GHz wifi, this baby will cause a delay so low that you'll soon forget you're streaming in the first place.
I also played seasons after fall (a Ori & the blind forest clone). I anticipated more from the game itself, but the technical part was flawless: it just threw all the graphical fidelity to the xd+ without a hitch.
-stealth bastard deluxe: an interesting one. Like limelight, it does the joystick thing. But perhaps because it only does left and right movement (and actions on buttons), it's playable. Frustrating at times, but playable. For now...
Rooting:
The gpd xd+ does not come pre-rooted. It's possible to do so (in fact: I have it rooted now), but it took me so much effort I'd advice against it unless you REALLY want it. You see, the tutorial I found was this one. Simple, clearly explained and basically fool-proof. And in the end I can attest that what is said isn't a lie. However, I strongly suspect that you need your bootloader unlocked AT BOOT. I don't think the option you easily change doesn't do that. I unlocked my bootloader at boot in the process of attempting to flash a fucked up iso that put my gpd xd+ closest to being a brick than I ever had happen.
I'll spare you the details, but if you come across someone claiming a working TWRP-image with 20180401 in the file name...DO. NOT. FUCKING. INSTALL. IT!!! It's not that it doesn't contain TWRP, but navigating TWRP is done on an inverse screen, external inputs aren't possible and the damn thing doesn't come out of boot. I ended up with (somehow) managing to restore boot, recovery and system from stock. So if you feel adventurous, make sure you AT LEAST have that downloaded, and be prepared to sacrifice your warranty (I now get the message that it's voided each time I do a cold start).
Granted: after this endeavor, the earlier linked youtube-video worked and I'm now rooted. But I'm summarizing a lot in this part of the text.
Comparisons and conclusions:
As I've found out, the main difference between the XD+ and the (first) win is the time-to-game factor. I can start, stop and/or continue playing in a matter of seconds. Android is as snappy and responsive as on the first day, and with the exception of a few slowdowns while using some rooted apps, completely without flaws. And as little as that might sound, but the difference between 5 seconds and a minute (about the time to boot/unhibernate the win) is a lot when discussing an 'on-the-go' device.
As mentioned in a lot of reviews: the XD+ has almost exactly the same dimensions as a 3DS. I was unsure whether this would replace my PSP, but a quick comparison quickly convinced me: the latter is WAAAAY bulkier and has a much smaller screen than I remember.
For me, it's an absolutely awesome device. If you want an emulator device, I can absolutely recommend it. The question is more whether you want to use android as a gaming device. Every time "mobile" and "gaming" gets used in the same sentence, some guys pop up proclaiming that there should be a "DOESN'T EXIST" in it as well, and I'm getting pretty tired of pointing out games ("exceptions!" "ports of other consoles!" "older titles!"). So I'll just leave it at "you can play android games as well if that floats your boat". It happens to float mine, in any case.
A year ago, I got my hands on a GPD win. Basically a DS-sized handheld PC with built-in gaming controls. It was - and still is - an amazing product. Being able to play actual, genuine windows games on the go is awesome. That this doesn't include the newest games was a given, but while its successor looks appealing in all aspects except the price, I was more interesting in that other product they released somewhat quietly: the GPD XD+.
My recent bloggings already reveal my increased interest in the android operating system. I got an ipega 9023 controller to hold my tablet, but even though it became about the same size as a wiiu tablet, it didn't feel right. This wasn't due to technology, however: response time was excellent, and the buttons and controller feel great. The problem was that a nvidia tablet (as well as most 7" tablets nowadays, I imagine) is so simple and elegant in itself that the act of sliding it in and enabling bluetooth was weighing it down. I mean...if you had to unbox and rebox your console controller between gaming sessions each time, I bet it'd start to wear down a bit on your end as well. Especially if you're me, who often gets interrupted by the dog or my girlfriend who needs assisting with mundane tasks.
So...the GPD XD+. I practically dare you to find a negative review on the thing on the internet, because the most negative I could find was "not much of an improvement of the GPD XD". As such, it was almost guaranteed value for money. Now that I have it a couple weeks, I can only attest that.
Unboxing (hardware):
There are plenty of unboxing videos already on the web, so I'll just stick to my own opinions on this one:
* this time there was no English->Belgian connector in the box. Not much of an issue because USB chargers are common enough
* microUSB instead of usb 3.1. Less future proof, but plenty of...erm...present-proof.
* the device looks sturdier and better than the GPD win.
* buttons are of the same quality as the win (meaning: absolutely awesome), but located in a better position (especially L3 and R3).
* android buttons take some getting used to, but certainly not bad
* the built-in key overlay is rather basic, but works the whole time. Combined with apps that detect the gamepad (like just about any emulator), you'll easily play the majority of android games
Standard software overview:
On the software end, the XD+ makes it pretty clear whom this device is for. The GPD win only had steam preinstalled over a barebones windows environment. This thing immediately boots in a smorgasmbord of emulators (ppsspp, retroarch), apps and even preinstalled pirated roms. This is obviously pretty welcoming, though I'm not sure of the value in the long run. I mean...the UI is intuitive to use (either by touchscreen or the controls), but if you're used to android, you probably want to switch it to your preferred launcher (nova, in my case) at some point. Luckily, the play store, google settings and even an UI switcher are close at hand.
GPD isn't different than other manufacturers in the fact that they add a bunch of software on their device. Some are known popular ones (kodi, netflix), other...not so much. In theme with the gaming aspect, it even has a chinese playstore equivalent that lets you download and install cracked apk's. Pretty sweet, but it sounds kind of risky on GPD's behalf.
Two apps deserve special mention. As I would quickly discover, not all games that use controls use the same type of controls. But there is a 'gamepad' app that quickly lets you switch between PS4, xbox360 and 'null' controllers. If a game doesn't have any touchscreens, there is also an app (that even has its own button) that lets you bind touches in specific areas to gamepad buttons. This app...mostly works. It's UI is kind of clunky and doesn't have options for all games (e.g.: some games use a sliding motion to initiate going in a certain direction. It's unfortunately not possible to properly bind this to the D-pad).
My own stuff:
Obviously, I bought this thing for gaming. So pretty soon after making sure the thing worked, to following games were added to the device:
-In between: this was the first actual android games I tried. It was also the one that made me discover about the gamepad app (this one uses PS4 configs). But after that, things were fantastic. By the way: In between can stand toe to toe with braid. The cloud saves also worked wonders for my savegame progress.
-Munch's Oddyssey: just as smooth as on nvidia shield tablet. Only problem was getting the savegames ported over correctly, because the cloud saves were unavailable.
-Crush (PPSSPP): the obligatory thing to test. Of course I'm in the luxury situation of only having played a few low-demanding PPSSPP games on my gpd win. Crush certainly ran better here, but I can't say whether that's android, the PPSSPP version and/or my hardware speaking. Probably a bit of everything.
-Super Mario 64 (superN64): the Nintendo 64 is a bit of a lost generation for me. The SNES had better 2D graphics and it's only at around the gamecube that 3D starts to look decent. But at least it plays as smooth as one could imagine.
-Limelight: a minimalistic puzzle-platformer...and near impossible to control well, because the makers not only not opted for gamepad controls but also went with a slider touch. But because this game requires pretty quick reflexes, it's near impossible (and downright not fun) to play.
-steam link beta (geometry rush): just by lucky timing, this app got out as my gpd xd+ was on its way. Now that I've tested it, I can say it's just MADE for a device like this. It basically streams your PC directly to your device, so you can play even the heaviest PC games from your couch. Geometry rush is a good test for this: it's one of these 'one button endless runner' kind of games. Assuming you've got 5GHz wifi, this baby will cause a delay so low that you'll soon forget you're streaming in the first place.
I also played seasons after fall (a Ori & the blind forest clone). I anticipated more from the game itself, but the technical part was flawless: it just threw all the graphical fidelity to the xd+ without a hitch.
-stealth bastard deluxe: an interesting one. Like limelight, it does the joystick thing. But perhaps because it only does left and right movement (and actions on buttons), it's playable. Frustrating at times, but playable. For now...
Rooting:
The gpd xd+ does not come pre-rooted. It's possible to do so (in fact: I have it rooted now), but it took me so much effort I'd advice against it unless you REALLY want it. You see, the tutorial I found was this one. Simple, clearly explained and basically fool-proof. And in the end I can attest that what is said isn't a lie. However, I strongly suspect that you need your bootloader unlocked AT BOOT. I don't think the option you easily change doesn't do that. I unlocked my bootloader at boot in the process of attempting to flash a fucked up iso that put my gpd xd+ closest to being a brick than I ever had happen.
I'll spare you the details, but if you come across someone claiming a working TWRP-image with 20180401 in the file name...DO. NOT. FUCKING. INSTALL. IT!!! It's not that it doesn't contain TWRP, but navigating TWRP is done on an inverse screen, external inputs aren't possible and the damn thing doesn't come out of boot. I ended up with (somehow) managing to restore boot, recovery and system from stock. So if you feel adventurous, make sure you AT LEAST have that downloaded, and be prepared to sacrifice your warranty (I now get the message that it's voided each time I do a cold start).
Granted: after this endeavor, the earlier linked youtube-video worked and I'm now rooted. But I'm summarizing a lot in this part of the text.
Comparisons and conclusions:
As I've found out, the main difference between the XD+ and the (first) win is the time-to-game factor. I can start, stop and/or continue playing in a matter of seconds. Android is as snappy and responsive as on the first day, and with the exception of a few slowdowns while using some rooted apps, completely without flaws. And as little as that might sound, but the difference between 5 seconds and a minute (about the time to boot/unhibernate the win) is a lot when discussing an 'on-the-go' device.
As mentioned in a lot of reviews: the XD+ has almost exactly the same dimensions as a 3DS. I was unsure whether this would replace my PSP, but a quick comparison quickly convinced me: the latter is WAAAAY bulkier and has a much smaller screen than I remember.
For me, it's an absolutely awesome device. If you want an emulator device, I can absolutely recommend it. The question is more whether you want to use android as a gaming device. Every time "mobile" and "gaming" gets used in the same sentence, some guys pop up proclaiming that there should be a "DOESN'T EXIST" in it as well, and I'm getting pretty tired of pointing out games ("exceptions!" "ports of other consoles!" "older titles!"). So I'll just leave it at "you can play android games as well if that floats your boat". It happens to float mine, in any case.
