R46H Hand-held Console
Oct. 11th, 2025 04:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chuckroI’ve previously reviewed the R36S and the R36H, low-end handhelds sold under a variety of brand names (BOYHOM is a popular one). Like Anbernic’s RGXX series, there are a number of variations that are all basically just external hardware differences; they’re all running the same ArcOs in the same internals. These all use the RK3128 chip, usually 1 gig of RAM, and whatever battery gets them 4-5 hours of playtime. They play up to PS1 just fine and are usually loaded with N64, NDS and PSP games that they can, at best, do a mediocre job with. And they have a full Retroarch menu so you can use cheats and fast-forward and edit all of your inputs and filters and things. And they all run $30-50 on AliExpress, depending on sales and taxes.
The R36S and the R36H are the vertical and horizonal versions with 4:3 ratio 3.5” screen. The horizontal version doesn’t have a menu button and has left analog stick on top, which were my big complaints about it.
This version, the R46H, has a 4:3 ratio 4.3” screen; it’s basically the RG40XX-H version of these devices. It’s got a rounded, slightly fatter grip that’s pretty comfortable and the left stick is on the bottom, but it doesn’t have a dedicated menu button so you need to use the Select key for your hotkeys by default. It also seems to default all systems to full screen, which means needing to adjust your settings for portable systems so they aren’t stretched.
Other vertical handhelds that are functionally the same include:
• The R36S Plus is a vertical system with a 1:1 ratio (square) 4” screen. The R36Ultra has the same 4” screen and a slightly different button layout.
• Not to be confused with the R36 Pro (3.5”) and R36 Max (4”) which are yet another manufacturer’s version of the same two things with slightly different buttons.
• The R36XX is just an R36S with wi-fi.
• The R36T has a weird d-pad and only one stick, and a weird rounded filter on the 3.5” screen that’s apparently supposed to resemble a CRT (but according to reviews, doesn’t really). It seems to be based on the K36S, which shares the weird d-pad and single-stick vertical layout.
• The Kinhank K36, unrelated to the K36S, is yet another version of the same device, though running a different frontend and with big “butt-cheek” grips.
• The BATLEXP G350 (secretly made by Anbernic) has a better build quality and is otherwise the same device; as it runs in the same price range it’s the best one to get.
Then we have the other horizontal versions:
• The R43S is a horizontal system with a 16:9 ratio 4.3” screen and the left analog stick is on top.
• Not to be confused with the XF43, which has a slightly more ergonomic design but the same 16:9 ratio 4.3” screen and layout. (Reviews seem to think the controls on this one are particularly nice.)
• The R50S, on the other hand, has a 16:9 ratio 5.1” screen and BOTH sticks on top, which I cannot imagine is actually comfortable to play on. (Honestly, the 16:9 screens for these low-end devices are a waste, because the PSP is the earliest system which used that resolution and this chipset can’t really run it. You’re basically paying extra for black bars.)
• The XF40H has the 1:1 ratio 4” screen in a horizontal form-factor with the advantage that it appears to have both sticks on the bottom and a menu button.
Overall: For PS1 and earlier systems, this is a perfectly cromulent device. For not much more money (especially in this era of randomized tariffs), the Anbernic RG40XX-H is this but better.
The R36S and the R36H are the vertical and horizonal versions with 4:3 ratio 3.5” screen. The horizontal version doesn’t have a menu button and has left analog stick on top, which were my big complaints about it.
This version, the R46H, has a 4:3 ratio 4.3” screen; it’s basically the RG40XX-H version of these devices. It’s got a rounded, slightly fatter grip that’s pretty comfortable and the left stick is on the bottom, but it doesn’t have a dedicated menu button so you need to use the Select key for your hotkeys by default. It also seems to default all systems to full screen, which means needing to adjust your settings for portable systems so they aren’t stretched.
Other vertical handhelds that are functionally the same include:
• The R36S Plus is a vertical system with a 1:1 ratio (square) 4” screen. The R36Ultra has the same 4” screen and a slightly different button layout.
• Not to be confused with the R36 Pro (3.5”) and R36 Max (4”) which are yet another manufacturer’s version of the same two things with slightly different buttons.
• The R36XX is just an R36S with wi-fi.
• The R36T has a weird d-pad and only one stick, and a weird rounded filter on the 3.5” screen that’s apparently supposed to resemble a CRT (but according to reviews, doesn’t really). It seems to be based on the K36S, which shares the weird d-pad and single-stick vertical layout.
• The Kinhank K36, unrelated to the K36S, is yet another version of the same device, though running a different frontend and with big “butt-cheek” grips.
• The BATLEXP G350 (secretly made by Anbernic) has a better build quality and is otherwise the same device; as it runs in the same price range it’s the best one to get.
Then we have the other horizontal versions:
• The R43S is a horizontal system with a 16:9 ratio 4.3” screen and the left analog stick is on top.
• Not to be confused with the XF43, which has a slightly more ergonomic design but the same 16:9 ratio 4.3” screen and layout. (Reviews seem to think the controls on this one are particularly nice.)
• The R50S, on the other hand, has a 16:9 ratio 5.1” screen and BOTH sticks on top, which I cannot imagine is actually comfortable to play on. (Honestly, the 16:9 screens for these low-end devices are a waste, because the PSP is the earliest system which used that resolution and this chipset can’t really run it. You’re basically paying extra for black bars.)
• The XF40H has the 1:1 ratio 4” screen in a horizontal form-factor with the advantage that it appears to have both sticks on the bottom and a menu button.
Overall: For PS1 and earlier systems, this is a perfectly cromulent device. For not much more money (especially in this era of randomized tariffs), the Anbernic RG40XX-H is this but better.
