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Most of the handheld game systems from Chinese device maker Anbernic are designed to run Android or Linux-based software. But last fall the company launched the Anbernic Win600 handheld gaming PC with an AMD processor, Windows software, and a $300 starting price that makes it one of the most affordable Windows handhelds to date.
Now it looks like Anbernic could be working on a new model called the Anbernic Win701.
We don’t have many details about the new handheld yet, but it looks like the company filed for a patent in China on a new design for a device called the Win701. Among other things, that application included some line drawings showing an updated design.
There are still dual analog sticks, a D-Pad, action buttons, and shoulder triggers, as you’d expect, plus four additional buttons for navigation. But the position of some of those items has changed a bit.
There are two USB-C port and what looks like a headphone jack and maybe a microSD card reader on one side of the handheld. And while the center of the system looks reasonably slim, the controllers feel chunkier grips to give you something to hold onto.
A vent on the back of the device and another on top also make it clear that there’s a fan inside the case for active cooling.
And on the left side of the Win701 there are power and volume buttons, while the right side has a mouse/gamepad button and another key that I can’t quite decipher. The mouse button will likely allow you to use the game controllers to move an on-screen cursor and click or right-click.
Unfortunately there’s no information about the processor or other specs. While the Anbernic Win600 is one of the cheapest Windows-capable handheld gaming PCs to date, it’s also one of the least powerful.
The $300 starting price is for a model with a 6-watt AMD Athlon 3020E 2-core, 2-thread chip with Zen CPU cores and Radeon Vega 3 graphics. Prices start at $350 for a slightly more powerful model with an Athlon 3050e 2-core, 4-thread chip with Zen CPU cores and Radeon Vega 3 graphics.
Opting for those chips, which were released in 2020, probably allowed Anbernic to get the Win600 out the door last year, while rivals AYA and AYN have yet to ship the low-cost Windows handhelds they had promised.
AYN, meanwhile, is still taking pre-orders for the Loki Zero and Loki Mini for $249 and $260, respectively, but AYA recently announced that the model it had originally said would sell for $249 and up will actually go up for pre-order soon for $549 and up instead.
Hopefully Anbernic’s next handheld will feature a significant spec bump without also bringing a significant price bump.
via Lei (Retro Handheld Discord, attributed to Dennis on QQ), also available outside Discore via @RetroHandhelds and /r/Anbernic
The first diagram of the device on this page is upside-down
Whoops. Should be the right way around now!
Did they ever officially partner with Valve for official SteamOS support including upstreaming patches? I recall Anbernic and GPD claiming this.
I’ve only looked into GPD and they never did end up partnering with Valve. They’re still claiming it on their Win 4 IGG but it seems to be flat out lie.
I was a little hard on Anbernic for their poor price/performance as well as poor ergonomics and single-channel RAM, but on the other hand, they actually shipped at the advertised price. So, they deserve some credit for that.
Meanwhile Aya just doubled the price for their low-end model, and Ayn has been taking people’s money for a while now, but who knows when they’ll actually ship.
GPD hasn’t said anything about a lower-end device, but I’m still hopeful that they build one sometime soon.
This one looks like it should have better ergonomics than the Win600, and just about any CPU out there would be an upgrade. So, if they can get some improvements in there while still hitting a similar or lower price, then this should be a winner.
Also, as someone on reddit pointed out, it’s kind of hilarious that Anbernic would patent anything 🤣
Exactly this.
I rate these “x86 handheld” companies as such:
Valve >> GPD > Anbernic > OneNetbook > OneX > AYA >> AYN
When it comes to “ARM handhelds” I rate them like this:
Retroid >> Anbernic > Logitech > GPD > AYN > AYA > Odroid > Miyoo > BittBoy > Moqi > PowKiddy > Supbor
These are generalities, a good brand can make a poor product, and a bad brand can have a one-hit-wonder. What makes a device good isn’t just performance, there’s build quality, price, support, and availability. I tried to take all of these into account when making the list, so enjoy : )
This is good news, hopefully they have plans of competing in the $250-400 price range. There isn’t enough competition there.
AYA and AYN have been the only brands showing off products that fit that price range, but AYA’s Loki Mini Pro isn’t going to launch until probably the end of the year (as per their discord Q&A), and the AYA became far too expensive.