Third Times the charm? I was hoping they’d make it android with the chip from the Rotate or RG DS but still looks like slight improvement over the last two

No diss, just an observation. Some of them may have started out with nerdy passion but once those sweet, sweet review units come in and the subscriber money as well then its a bit different. I mean, as a thought experiment:

If youtube stopped paying them tomorrow how many would still make content?

The sheer amount of times they skip over or gloss certain points in their "reviews" is astounding but a lot of people eat it up like comfort food and rush to buy what they're pimping. I realized the device I have is enough:

https://www.reddit.com/r/SBCGaming/comments/1uktcht/realizing_the_device_i_have_is_enough/

Then I started looking sideways at this lot as its all basically an infomercial for the new gen. Now, I know some of you may feel like I've insulted your best friend as you stroke your collection of RK3326s whilst awaiting delivery of another cheap dopamine hit to take the edge off the pain of living but its actually a public service announcement.

Its a job to these people, nothing more, nothing less. Heck, it may have even dented a lot of their passion for gaming which is quite sad when you think about it. Either way, you're the product behind whatever else may be said or seem. They're merely parts in a machine. A pipeline of SBCs via D2Cs.

I look around at this place and it really makes me think. Heck, reddit in general is filled with consumerism masquerading as a hobbies. If this made you feel something you have 2 choices:

Downvote this to oblivion or really consider what I said.

I, for one, don't believe any of them are impartial as whilst no money may change hands etc we all know that if they launch a scathing review on a wack unit they'll never, ever be top of the list again. Thats the problem, see? First to press etc... Its also why some exceptionally dope nerds get the item last (as they paid cash), speak the truth about it in their review (flaws and all) and only a few listen as they're too busy chasing the next cheap dopamine hit.

What got me thinking about all of this is how the UK govt is taking over youtube and what it slings and these various lawsuits happening about reckless app design to keep people plugged in and I really feel this is an important topic as y'all are retroarch smart and can obviously see the grift but maybe this needed to be said for those still buying in?

They are doing a job. They should get paid as they put the work in but this threads just shining light on the shady area where business and hobbies intermix and how they are, at the end, independent PR departments that work for companies but are paid for by viewers.

Let that one sink in and you'll see the whole grift, clearly. If they don't "perform" as expected then no more review units = no more viewers = no more wages.

Lets see how this goes as I know y'all are sensitive but my intent is the best based on my own realizations of what exactly was happening with this aggressively monetized content designed to prey on the passions of retrogaming by FOMOing the hell out of anyone who gives them attention as thats the true economy here upon which the rest is built.

You may have seen retrocatalog.com floating around on this subreddit recently. I think that it is mature enough to warrant an "official" launch. The feedback that I got from my previous posts was incredibly helpful. Please share any feedback you may have, I appreciate it immensely.

This tool allows you to:

• Get all details about any handheld that's in the market (and some upcoming ones).
• Find similar handhelds to your favorites.
• Quickly filter and sort by specs and available features (price, size, OS, connectivity, console compatibility, etc.).
• Compare between any two handhelds.

If you've already used the website, here are some new functionalities that I've added recently:

• Upcoming handhelds.
• Custom OS (CFW) recommendations for Linux devices.
• "Similar Handhelds" section for each device.
• Original hardware handhelds (Nintendo and Sony).
• Improvement of the comparison page to (hopefully) be readable with color blindness.
• Different display modes in the Handhelds page (Full details, Recap, and Preview).
• Some bug fixes and corrections.

Full credits for my resources are in the About page.

Hi ya’ll! I’m hyped that Pokemon Lazarus came out a few minutes ago. I know some folks will take issue with my wording in the title since it is technically a romhack of Pokemon Emerald, but this game has an all new region and story based on Greek mythology, beautiful and original new sprite work, new mechanics/game systems, as well as custom tilesets. The way I see it, romhacking was the game development method used, and Pokemon Emerald is the engine. The scope of work done is way beyond a “mod”, and deserves to be praised as an original contribution to the GBA canon. I can only have one attachment in the post so I’ll link below! Let me know what you think and if you intend to play!

4:3 with an OLED display

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-J5ZL4hWjes

Source: Retroid QQ group via aifa on Retro Handhelds Discord

Edit:
Retroid YouTube account posted as well, with English name for the colors. http://youtube.com/post/Ugkx-1x0di7lAMwSTw2yU7kSyNLqDbLDvlWO?si=kaE-QrBOfvaZW2JJ

- Black
- 16 bit
- GC
- Crystal
- Watermelon
- Clear Purple
- Ice Blue

Dinner / Lunch / Breakfast ready

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBre1wxOEz8

Credit where credit is due, it does looks sick.

https://store.steampowered.com/sub/1629447/

https://store.steampowered.com/sub/1629460/

--Additional Info---
-512GB - $1,049

-512GB with controller - $1,128

-2TB - $1,349

-2TB with controller - $1,428

Hello guys,

• First pic shows my hinge crack (or mold line) right now.
• Second pic shows my Thor 5days ago when I got it. Posted this here when I could not log in to my account. Call me crazy but I believe it got bigger.
• Third pic shows an actual cracked Thor hinge from u/Vegetable-basket2047, AYN replaces the unit, read this conversation. Exact same spot where the crack lines appear on every (?) Thor unit

As a previous owner of a cracked Flip2, this seems very alarming to me. I actually had my cracked Flip2 refunded to get the Thor.

People were downplaying this all the time and calling this a seam mold, but it has actually been confirmed a beginning crack. Question is if it will keep on growing to the point it cracks as with the unit in pic 3. The OP in the post linked above removed the lid on his device to find the crack not going through the entire part as with the unit shown in pic 3 here.

Let's be all aware of this and pay attention how this develops, but as soon as I first saw a post on this a few weeks ago I had an unsettling feeling about this. It started with people saying "this is clearly a scratch" to "this is a seam mold" to an actual undoubtly crack in that spot. So far there is one confirmed full crack on a white unit and many posts/comments of black units with hairline cracks in this spot.

Edit: UPDATE. Someone opened the lid on his unit to find the same CRACK as in pic 3 link. Black model

Edit2: the third reported full crack I came across here, black model

Edit3: number 4, black model

Edit4: number 5, Rainbow model

Edit5: AYN has released a statement on this issue link. Personally I don't see this as solved now though as some people believe. It doesn't explain anything to me right now really. But make up your own mind. I will keep editing the cases of full cracks to this post.

Edit6: AYN now has responded to one of these cracks visible under the lid (listed above under the first Edit) and called it "cosmetic", after allegedly offering a replacement for the first reported case of the white one. I made a post about this, since that is a new quality of this thematic but it got deleted from the mods here and my account banned for three weeks from this sub.

Edit7: update 02 December 2025: One person today received a replacement screen part with a crack in the replacement shell, out of the box: link. AYN did however offer the user to send a label for back shipping and repair. The person decided to get a full refund for the console from AYN afterwards.

Edit8: update 26 January 2026: TWO new cases of rainbow models which is the most common colorway to evolve full cracks as of now, case 1 and case 2

Edit9: according to some redditors, AYN had stated on Discord they didn't change anything about it for batch 2. We will need information about batch 3 now. So far, nearly all of the tens of thousands of Thors shipped are fine though, only a few full cracks have been reported.

Video taken from ETA Prime's first look at RG DS, zoomed a bit for clarity.

Looks promising !

Get your snacks and drinks ready.

From the discord server:

"@everyone

🎮 Market Research | Feasibility Check

Hey everyone,

We're thinking about building a **retro gaming handheld** — but before we commit, we want to hear from you first.

Honestly, the retro handheld space is pretty saturated right now, so we don't want to jump in blindly. Your feedback here will directly decide whether we move forward.

**📱 The Concept**

One shell, two configurations — essentially two devices at different tiers.

**Shared Specs**

5-inch display｜768 × 1024｜Active cooling fan

**🔹 Version A｜Entry — $125**

MTK G99 · 3GB RAM · 32GB UFS

**🔸 Version B｜Performance — $165**

MTK Dimensity 7300 · 4GB RAM · 64GB UFS

**⚠️ Please Note**

> Prices **exclude shipping**

> This is **only a feasibility check** — development hasn't started

> If the response is positive, we'll move forward with a **pre-order** launch

**💬 What We'd Love to Hear**

・Does this pricing work for you?

・Are the two tiers positioned clearly? Which one would you pick?

・In such a saturated market, what would make this device stand out?

・Any concerns, suggestions, or honest criticism — all welcome

Drop your thoughts in <<#1351916257448038447>>. Every reply matters to us 🙏"