Yet another player enters the handheld PC gaming market; and this time it's none other than Anbernic, makers of retro handheld consoles (till now). A couple of months ago, a patent design of the company's alleged Windows-based handheld leaked, which you can see below:

Now, it seems like this handheld has gone past the conceptual stage and will soon be announced. A few hours ago, YouTuber Taki Udon shared leaked images of a new handheld from Anbernic bearing the same form factor as the patented design above. In two of the pictures, the unannounced device is seen to be running Windows.

Given that these are not official news, you might want to take these leaks and news with a grain of salt, but a source close to Anbernic (they, of course, wished to stay anonymous) told GBAtemp that indeed this Windows-based Anbernic handheld is coming soon. While they did not share more details such as specs and an ETA for an official announcement, they did mention that the device could potentially launch with SteamOS installed, making it one of the rare third-party device to run on the system. The source says that SteamOS for the device is already being worked on, with testing underway.

As that this marks Anbernic's first foray into WIndows handhelds and also from the symmetrical joystick form factor that the device bears (akin to the company's previous devices), it might be expected that it won't be a direct competitor to devices like the Steam Deck or AYA NEO. Rather, it would be likely that this handheld will be more of a better emulation device thanks to its SSD (over microSD) and has the bonus of coming with the Steam library. But when it comes to PC gaming, think games like Dead Cells rather than Elden Ring.

But if this device won't directly compete against its beefier counterparts, depending on the price, it could offer an interesting alternative for gamers looking for better handheld emulation and light PC gaming on a decent hardware. In fact, Anbernic has a stellar track record when it comes to the hardware front, as their devices, in particular the metal shell ones, are the best retro devices I've ever used (see the RG350M and RG351M). But even the plastic shell ones were professionally crafted; and hopefully Anbernic brings its hardware expertise to the handheld gaming PC market.

Speaking of hardware, it appears that they have improved some aspects of the form factor with this handheld as it seems to bear an integrated grip for better comfort. The shoulder and trigger buttons are now stacked rather than next to each other, which should also enhance the comfort of using the device. Also noticeable from the leaked images are two new face buttons: what appears to be a home button and a windows button.

As mentioned earlier, given that these are not official news, take them with a grain of salt. But the concept of such a device could prove to be interesting to talk about. Would you be interested in a lower-priced gaming PC handheld with lower specs for emulation and light PC gaming?

Image Source

 

[Takokeshi]

This thing look like a super nintendo controller, I wonder if that was on purpose?

 

[Marc_LFD]

The analog stick placement looks like the newest PlayStation handheld.

 

[guily6669]

That doesn't really look like analogue triggers = FAIL, there goes all the racing games to hell with digital ON/OFF switches

 

[masagrator]

From what I read this unit wants to run on Pentium/Atom CPU. Which will be laughable.

 

[Halbour]

From what I read this unit wants to run on Pentium/Atom CPU. Which will be laughable.

Well it will run SNES.... i think???

 

[Bladexdsl]

lol another one.

 

[Veho]

Would you be interested in a lower-priced gaming PC handheld with lower specs for emulation and light PC gaming?​

Yes. Plenty of old and low-spec PC games in my backlog. Pic related, me:

I'm hoping this one is closer to the Deck end of the spectrum, price-wise, than to the Aya Neo and co.

 

[Prans]

Yes. Plenty of old and low-spec PC games in my backlog. Pic related, me:

I'm hoping this one is closer to the Deck end of the spectrum, price-wise, than to the Aya Neo and co.

yeah, it will all come down the pricing for this device. Also, if it's more pocketable, it might also be an interesting edge.

 

[JaNDeRPeiCH]

From what I read this unit wants to run on Pentium/Atom CPU. Which will be laughable.

From me it will good to be a newcomer for buy these devices. My dream to have a portable dreamcast,n64 and psp without the stupid crappy emulation in android it will be blessing and the best part affordable cheaper cpu.

 

[Xzi]

If it's shipping with Windows, that's +$100 to whatever the price tag might've been to begin with, so that would be a bit silly on a device trying to undercut Switch pricing.

 

[subcon959]

If it's shipping with Windows, that's +$100 to whatever the price tag might've been to begin with, so that would be a bit silly on a device trying to undercut Switch pricing.

I doubt it, they will probably ship with Steam OS expecting that users will put their own Windows on it.

 

[urbanman2004]

I prefer to wait till the official announcement rather than speculate.

 

[HarveyHouston]

Yes. Plenty of old and low-spec PC games in my backlog. Pic related, me:

I'm hoping this one is closer to the Deck end of the spectrum, price-wise, than to the Aya Neo and co.

Yes, this is definitely me. Not only did I come very late into the hacking/gaming scene, but I also have decided that getting the "latest and greatest" isn't always the best experience. In fact, I typically wait a minimum of three months before trying something new.

That ending is funny though.

 

[CMDreamer]

If it really is Windows based, then forget about having all the device's resources for playing games.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

SteamOS is going to be the go-to for such devices going forward, unless some really big advances are made on the software front on the Windows side. Judging by LTT's videos about the Deck, SteamOS is just a way better experience than Windows. Less jank trying to get around without a keyboard and mouse and easier access to your games. Plus it runs way better. Unless Valve and AMD pulled some magic with the specific Linux drivers the Deck is using, those improvements in performance should translate to other low end devices as well as there is less overhead which matters on such a weak system (but likely would not have much effect on higher end hardware simply because the overhead comparatively takes up much less of the system resources when you have more resources available)

It is true that the "competitors" to the Steam Deck (put it in quotes because the price is not even in the same ballpark) have some software niceties that the Steam Deck on Windows doesn't. Not on the same level as SteamOS, but with enough effort it could end up with a comparable feature set and convenience (or if some hobbyist devs decide to take it upon themselves to make the ultimate frontend for Windows based handhelds)
But it's going to be tough to solve the performance disparity between Windows and SteamOS. The difference is great enough that it takes some games from unplayable/barely playable depending on who you ask, to a relatively smooth 30 FPS with not too many framedrops. On the exact same hardware, that gives SteamOS a huge advantage, which means it'd be stupid to stick with Windows as the default because what people are going to see in reviews and comparisons is the out of the box performance, and they're obviously going to go with the Steam Deck if it performs 50% better.

 

[orangy57]

i've been waiting for the handheld pc market to make a big comeback for the past eternity since the UMPC died out 12+ years ago, i'm not gonna say "OMG ITS HAPPENING!!!11!!" just yet but it really feels like its happening ngl

 

[Kioku]

Would you be interested in a lower-priced gaming PC handheld with lower specs for emulation and light PC gaming?​

No... I'd rather just buy one of their other products for emulation and keep the PC gaming on my desktop or laptop. Steam Deck would be tough to beat... Even if it were at sub $150...

i've been waiting for the handheld pc market to make a big comeback for the past eternity since the UMPC died out 12+ years ago, i'm not gonna say "OMG ITS HAPPENING!!!11!!" just yet but it really feels like its happening ngl

TBH, I'd rather they do what XPD is doing and bring the UMPC back, keyboard and all.

 

[64bitmodels]

hooo boy steam deck bringing in a lot of competition today
so fucking glad to see this scene growing like it deserves to.
i've seen some of anbernic's past work and it's mainly emulation- people say this is only good for emulation when in reality it's also good for other light games like minecraft & 2d indies. if it's sub 150 it'll be on my wishlist

 

[Shubshub]

The Steam Deck proves that Windows just does not run well in a Handheld Form Factor.
Its simply too bloated compared to Linux

The aim should be to improving Proton and Native Compatibility for Linux instead of trying to get by with limited specs while Windows eats a majority of the resources.