L35: Cheap gaming handheld offers IPS display and joysticks

The market for gaming handhelds is quite large and can be divided into two subcategories. There are handhelds that can run current video games more or less smoothly. An example would be the Asus ROG Ally X, which we have already reviewed. On the other hand, the L35 is a retro gaming handheld that is now available for under €30 on Aliexpress. It cannot play current game titles but is designed to emulate games for various retro platforms.

That said, emulating games requires an SoC with a certain amount of performance. The RK3326 with its four Cortex-A35 cores running at up to 1.5GHz should have some limitations in this regard. Comparatively old platforms like various Game Boy generations should not be an issue, but emulating Sony PSP games might already be problematic, depending on the specific title.

Either way, the budget-focused handheld comes with two joysticks, a D-pad, action buttons and a total of four shoulder buttons. The back of the handheld is textured, while the IPS display measures 3.5 inches. As usual, an SD card slot is included, and both ArkOS and EmuELEC operating systems are supported. A 1-watt speaker is built-in, and the battery has a capacity of 3,000mAh. Lastly, the L35 charges via USB-C and further comes with a USB OTG port and a conventional headphone jack.