Anbernic’s NEW RG557 running what Snapdragon CPU?

The Anbernic RG556 was one of my favorite handhelds that year, also I’m not surprised they are getting ready to release an updated RG557. The most unexpected part is the CPU driving this new handheld.

The Anbernic RG556 is not only great for Retro Gaming but also Streaming. Yes I understand it doesn’t have the streaming WiFi configuration that most would want. We put that aside however and with the beautiful 5.5” AMOLED display and Unisoc T820 SOC it has plenty of horse power to push pixels to that screen.

I mentioned the WiFi which you have 2.4GHz/5GHz options but are missing out on WiFi 6 or the newest WiFi 7 for you fancy pants out there (ok I’m a little jealous but I just updated to a WiFi 6 mesh network). Hopefully the RG557 will come with at least WiFi 6 and a dual connection option to make that streaming experience even better.

One of the most interesting things about the RG557 is Anbernic seeming to dip their toes into the Snapdragon SOC scene. I feel like it was only a matter of time after Retroid recently changed from Dimensity to Qualcomm CPUs that Anbernic would follow suit. The consensus seems to be the actual processor is a 2023 Qualcomm Snapdragon G2 G1 in the magical world of unconventional naming conventions.

The RG556 was Anbernic’s first high end/power release last year so even though a couple months late it’s only natural for the RG557 to kick off 2025. We already knew they were upgrading the SOC in the “XX” line of handhelds and a Snapdragon is also welcomed here.

But enough about the history here is the specs we have so far on the secretive Anbernic RG557 thanks to information that came out from those who held it at CES:

Image from Retro Handhelds Discord detail breakdown RetroSpecd

Looking at the breakdown of the T820 in the RG556 vs the Snapdragon G2 (if correct) in the RG557 there is some significant performance upgrades.

I also ran a Comparision of the SDG2 G1 vs the SD865 found in the Retroid Pocket 5/Mini and was surprised by the differences. It starts with the SDG2 being a 4nm chipset vs 7nm on the SD865. Outside of efficiency we see significant improvements in clock speeds. Let’s keep in mind however they are specs based benchmarks and we really won’t know much power it’ll have until we can do some real world bench testing.

We also don’t know for sure that this is the SOC that Anbernic is using on the RG557. Though the math is right, being listed as a Custom G2 could be something we have never seen before. But based on what we have it will be close to the SDG2 G1 if nothing else.

It wasn’t shared if the Anbernic RG557 will be coming equipped with an AMOLED display again. There may be a misprint but the RG556 comes with an 1080×1920 display and the info we have on the RG557 again is supposed to be 1920×1080. This could be a typo or they might have switched to a portrait display.

If you have never held the Anbernic RG556 before and assuming the RG557 will be similar, imagine holding a telescoping controller with your phone in it. The ergonomics are similar and the look is as well with how the screen lays between the handgrips. But here you get a dedicated gaming machine which wont have the memory full of images you accidently took in your pocket and all of those annoying notifications when gaming are absent. Also can’t forget stability being present as you wont have a bunch of flexing or sliding components when you get aggressive pwn’n newbs.

This is everything I have so far. Remember that everything is speculative at this point and there might not even be an Anbernic RG557 in the works (wink). I for one hope/believe that it’s true and we will soon have Anbernic’s build quality in a handheld supporting a 4nm Snapdragon processor. I can’t still can’t believe how far this hobby has progressed in the last couple of years.

I wonder if they will bring the transparent blue back?

As always once I learn more I’ll keep you posted.

GameOn

CellPhish