Alright, let’s dive into Anbernic’s latest offering. After a surprisingly quiet spell following their usual barrage of releases, the Anbernic RG557 has finally surfaced. If you remember the RG556 from last year, you’ll instantly recognize the form factor – they’ve wisely kept that comfortable, ergonomic design with the built-in grips. And yes, that absolutely gorgeous 5.5-inch, 1080p AMOLED screen makes a welcome return; it really is a stunner for retro and modern games.
You’re seeing these pop up on AliExpress now, kicking off around the $249.99, plus the usual shipping costs once the initial buzz fades. So, while the spec sheet looks impressive for that price bracket, especially with that OLED panel, the real test is how it all comes together. Does the performance deliver consistently across different emulators? How does that software hold up? And are those new sticks a step forward or back? Let’s get into it.
Design and Build
Picking up the Anbernic RG557 feels instantly familiar if you’ve handled the RG556. Anbernic stuck with that ergonomic shape, complete with the pronounced grips at the bottom that make it genuinely comfortable for longer play sessions. It’s a mid-sized handheld, bigger than a Retroid Pocket 5 but maybe a touch smaller than an Odin 2.
The white model offers a clean look with a plastic texture that’s smooth but has a slight grit, reminiscent of the Odin. The transparent purple variant, however, goes for a super glossy, highly transparent finish. You can see right through to the PCB, which has a neat purple and gold aesthetic, but be warned – it’s a fingerprint magnet and feels quite slick in the hands. It’s a trade-off between seeing the cool internals and dealing with the smudges and slippery feel.
Compared directly to the old RG556, the shell design is nearly identical, though the new RGB lighting around the sticks is a definite visual upgrade over the basic white LEDs on the older model. Build quality seems decent, though one reviewer noted the SD card slot cover felt a bit loose and saw some minor panel gaps, possibly indicating early production units might have some slight inconsistencies.
Controls
Here’s where things get a bit contentious. The analog sticks are brand new, described as “high-resolution anti-magnetic interference capacitive joysticks,” likely using TMR sensor technology. TMR sensors promise accuracy and low power draw. However, the physical sticks themselves are a step back for many. They are significantly smaller and have much less travel compared to the excellent Hall sensor sticks found on Anbernic’s own RG406H. They feel more akin to Nintendo Switch Joy-Con sticks, which feels undersized on a device this large and focused on comfort.
Critically, the caps are not removable like on the 406H, meaning you can’t easily swap them for taller or wider ones – you can only put caps on top of them. While testing shows they are accurate with a full range of motion and no cardinal snapping issues (an improvement over the RG556’s sticks), the small size and limited range just don’t feel great for precise movements in shooters or streaming games. The sticks do feature customizable RGB lighting, adjustable through the Android settings, which is a nice visual touch.
The face buttons (A, B, X, Y) are also rubber membrane, offering a quiet, somewhat mushy but still tactile feel – good for not annoying others nearby. Select, Start, Back, and Home buttons do their jobs, and the dedicated RG button brings up Anbernic’s frontend. Up top, the shoulder buttons are clicky microswitches (the loudest buttons on the device), while the triggers are analog Hall sensors, offering variable input for racing games, though they don’t have a huge amount of travel and feel a bit resistant to press.
The D-pad uses a rubber membrane and has a glossy finish, which feels a bit unusual compared to traditional matte D-pads. It has decent pivot but can feel a bit “touchy” – it doesn’t take much rocking force to register a diagonal, passing the ‘Contra test’ but perhaps being slightly more sensitive than ideal. For fighting games, however, it performs well, reliably registering diagonal inputs for special moves.
OLED Screen
The display is undeniably a highlight. It appears to be the same 5.48-inch (often rounded to 5.5-inch) AMOLED panel used in the Anbernic RG556, boasting a sharp 1920×1080 resolution and a 16:9 aspect ratio perfect for widescreen content and modern Android games. Colors pop, blacks are deep, and the overall vibrancy is exactly what you expect from OLED.
Compared side-by-side with the RG556, the RG557’s screen seems to have a slightly warmer, more natural color balance, moving away from the cooler tone of its predecessor. It’s still a bit cooler than the Retroid Pocket 5’s display, which many consider very well-balanced, but it’s an improvement. Brightness is excellent; it gets very bright for outdoor visibility (though maybe not quite as bright as the RP5) and dims down nicely for late-night gaming without disturbing anyone.
One potential drawback for sensitive users is PWM flicker. While invisible to the naked eye for most, camera footage clearly shows banding, indicating significant pulse-width modulation is being used for brightness control. People prone to headaches from PWM might find this screen problematic, unlike some other OLED handhelds with less aggressive flickering.
Under the Hood
The biggest change is the move to the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 system-on-a-chip. This 8-core ARM processor (with one core hitting 3.35 GHz) is a significant step up from the Unisoc T820 in the RG556 or the Dimensity 1100 in the Retroid Pocket 5. It’s paired with a generous 12GB of fast LPDDR5X RAM and 256GB of very quick UFS 4.0 storage, plus microSD expansion up to 2TB.
Benchmark numbers reflect this power jump. In 3DMark Wildlife Extreme, the RG557 scored around 3029, more than double the ~1334 of a Snapdragon 865 device. Geekbench 6 CPU scores were around 1374 single-core and 4276 multi-core, handily beating the 865, though still trailing behind flagship chips like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 found in the much pricier Odin 2.
AnTuTu scores broke the 1.3 million mark, compared to ~870k for the 865. Synthetically, especially on the GPU side, the Dimensity 8300 is punching well above its expected price point. This raw power means native Android games like Genshin Impact, Call of Duty, PUBG, and racing titles run maxed out at 60fps without issue.
Software
The Anbernic RG557 ships with Android 14, offering access to the Google Play Store for downloading apps and emulators. Anbernic includes its own simple game launcher, which automatically scans for games if you provide the paths, aiming for an easy out-of-the-box experience (especially if you buy their pre-loaded SD card). There’s also a built-in keymapper for mapping touch controls to physical buttons in Android games that lack native controller support; it works okay but can have minor glitches, like needing to release inputs briefly when switching characters in Genshin Impact.
You get toggles for performance modes (though the “High” mode seems to be mostly placebo, sometimes even reducing benchmark scores) and fan control (Auto, Cool, Strong, Custom). A welcome fix is that the button layout setting (Switch vs. Xbox) now correctly persists after rebooting the device.
However, Anbernic’s Android build isn’t without significant issues. As seen on previous devices, the firmware comes pre-loaded with numerous emulators, including paid apps like DraStic, Pizza Boy, M64Plus FZ Pro, PPSSPP Gold, DuckStation, and Yaba Sanshiro 2 Pro, seemingly cracked versions. There’s also an app called Rixel HK, which functions as a direct download portal for ROMs. This practice of bundling pirated software and facilitating ROM downloads is ethically questionable and potentially harmful to the emulation scene.
Many will likely want to uninstall these immediately and install fresh versions from the Play Store or trusted sources. More concerning are potential underlying software bugs. One reviewer quickly found a permissions error where apps like Emulation Station Desktop Edition couldn’t write to internal storage, preventing theme downloads and potentially causing other issues with apps that need internal storage access. This suggests the Android 14 implementation might be rough around the edges and could have other hidden problems.
Emulation Performance
Thanks to the Dimensity 8300, the Anbernic RG557 handles lower-end systems and PSP emulation effortlessly. PSP games can be pushed to resolutions like 4K (8x native) at 60fps, which is massive overkill for the 1080p screen but demonstrates the headroom available. PS2 emulation via AetherSX2 (or NetherSX2) is generally very strong. Many demanding titles like Tekken 5, Sly Cooper, Gran Turismo 4, and Ratchet & Clank run perfectly at 3x resolution (1080p).
Even some notoriously difficult-to-emulate PS2 games can hit high frame rates at 3x resolution much of the time. However, performance isn’t flawless across the board. Games like Soulcalibur 3 experienced noticeable dips and audio crackling at 2.5x resolution, feeling worse than the same game on a Snapdragon 865 device (Retroid Pocket 5) despite the RG557’s higher raw power. Similarly, other demanding titles, while often smooth, also suffered from performance dips at 2.5x resolution that were felt in gameplay, requiring resolution drops or potentially underclocking hacks to smooth out.
GameCube and Wii emulation via Dolphin also shows promise but reveals limitations. Games like The Simpsons: Road Rage and F-Zero GX run well at 720p (or even 3x resolution for F-Zero), maintaining 60fps. Sonic Colors (Wii) runs great at its native 30fps. However, super demanding titles like Rogue Squadron 2 still struggle to maintain full speed even at 2x resolution. More worryingly, compatibility issues related to the Mali GPU drivers (common with MediaTek chips) surfaced.
A mod like Super Mario Sunburn ran significantly worse on the Anbernic RG557 than on the less powerful Retroid Pocket 5, hovering below 30fps at 2x while the RP5 handled it smoothly at 60fps (with a mod). This highlights the critical difference: Snapdragon chips benefit from mature drivers and community-developed alternatives like Turnip drivers, which drastically improve performance and compatibility in emulators (especially Switch emulators like Yuzu/Sudachi).
The RG557’s Mali GPU is stuck with stock drivers that rarely get updated, limiting its potential despite its raw power. Testing showed Wii U emulation was hit-or-miss (Bayonetta 2 below target FPS, Wind Waker HD graphical errors), and Switch emulation faces significant compatibility hurdles compared to Snapdragon devices.
Connectivity & Battery
Modern connectivity is onboard with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. The USB-C port supports 27W fast charging for the 5500mAh battery and also handles video output, mirroring the screen at 1080p 60Hz (no resolution control found yet).
Battery life is claimed at up to 8 hours, which might be achievable with very light emulation or Android tasks, but pushing demanding systems will drain it much faster. The active cooling system features intake vents on the back and an exhaust on top. The fan is definitely audible when running at higher speeds but can be managed via software settings.
Final Thoughts
Priced initially around $250, the Anbernic RG557 presents a mixed bag. The OLED display is fantastic, the raw processing power is impressive for the price, and the ergonomics are solid. Yet, the choice of tiny, non-swappable joysticks feels like a misstep for a device this size. The software situation, with pre-loaded questionable apps and potential permission bugs, needs attention.
Most critically, the reliance on Mali GPU drivers limits its high-end emulation potential and compatibility compared to Snapdragon alternatives in a similar price bracket, despite having superior benchmark scores. It’s a powerful device, but one that comes with compromises that potential buyers need to weigh carefully.
