Anbernic RG DS Plus officially unveiled: Larger screens, new hinge and more for $100

Anbernic has officially revealed its next dual-screen handheld, the RG DS Plus, via a YouTube trailer. Intended as a successor to Anbernic's dual-screen RG DS, the handheld stands out from rival dual-screen handhelds from Ayaneo and Ayn thanks to an integrated stylus slot and a microphone built into the hinge, echoing the original Nintendo DS.

As the trailer reveals, the handheld will run on Linux and pair two 4.3-inch, 1024×768 displays with 4x pixel-perfect scaling for DS software, addressing one of the issues associated with the original model. A redesigned hinge is intended to provide smoother and stronger operation. Other hardware details gleaned from the footage include dual USB-C ports, dual microSD slots, four digital shoulder buttons, a single analog stick, a headphone jack and front-facing speakers.

Software appears to based on a new dual-screen emulator called NNDSS, which features screen swapping, touch control on the lower display, dozens of built-in shader options, instant saves, microphone support and cheat codes. However, it remains unclear whether this is genuinely new software or a rebrand of an existing DS emulator project, and reports note that the confirmed chipset (Rockchip RK3568) remains unchanged from the earlier RG DS, which may disappoint buyers expecting a meaningful hardware upgrade.

Anbernic is yet to publish the full spec sheet or a firm price. A company representative has reportedly informed fans in the Retro Handhelds Discord that the device will be priced "below $100," suggesting it may replace the $99.99 original RG DS in the lineup. The RG DS Plus will ship in three colors: pink, blue and black. No release date has yet been confirmed.