TL;DR
- The Anbernic RG 557 will launch on April 25, with a special early bird discount.
- It retails for $249, discounted to $234.99 for the first 72 hours.
- It’s the most powerful device Anbernic has ever released, but it faces stiff competition and looming tariffs.
Anbernic is one of the most prolific retro gaming handheld makers, but it has chosen a strange time to launch its first device of 2025. First teased earlier this month, the RG 557 will finally go on sale on April 25, but pricing and shipping troubles may put a damper on Anbernic’s most powerful handheld to date.
According to Retro Handhelds, the RG 557 will retail for $249, with a special discount bringing the price down to $234.99 for the first 72 hours. That puts it in an awkward spot since it’s priced right between the Retroid Pocket 5/Flip 2 and the AYN Odin 2. Thanks to their Snapdragon chips, any of those devices will have better compatibility with emulators on Android.
Pricing and trade tensions may sink the RG 557 before it’s even shipped.
Global trade issues aside, the RG 557 looks to be a notable upgrade over the RG 556. The Dimensity 8300 SoC offers a major jump in benchmarks, but that might not necessarily translate directly into performance gains. Anbernic has shown off impressive PS2 and Wii U performance, but real-world results may vary. Apart from that, it has the same 4.48-inch AMOLED panel as its predecessor, with new, “Anti-Magnetic Capacitive” sticks.
Early hands-on videos from the Retro Game Corps and Retro Handhelds have been mixed, mostly due to the relatively new chipset and the smaller sticks. Regardless, further testing and optimizations could make this an interesting addition to the Anbernic lineup, provided it can survive the tensions between China and the US.
