R36S vs Anbernic RG35XX (Plus, H, Pro): The Honest 2026 Comparison

This is the comparison we get asked about more than any other, and most of the answers online are written by people who have never had to buy either device in India. So let's do it properly: what the hardware actually is, where each one genuinely wins, and what the real landed cost looks like once you account for how you'd actually get one.

Short version up front, because you deserve it before 2,000 words: the Anbernic RG35XX family has the faster chip. The R36S has the better price and the better ownership experience in India. Which of those matters more depends entirely on what you want to play — and we'll show you exactly where the line falls.

First, which RG35XX are we even talking about?

Part of what makes this confusing is that "RG35XX" isn't one device. Anbernic has shipped at least five things wearing that name, and they are not equivalent:

They all run the same chip. That's the single most useful thing to know about the range: choosing between an RG35XX Plus, H, Pro and SP is a choice about shape, battery and whether you want analog sticks — not about performance. Anyone telling you the Pro is "more powerful" than the Plus is selling you something.

So for the rest of this article, when we compare performance, we're comparing the R36S against the H700 — and that applies equally to every model in that table.

The chip comparison, honestly

Read that GPU row again, because it's the row everyone skips: both devices use the same Mali-G31 MP2 graphics. The difference is entirely on the CPU side — A53 cores versus A35 cores.

That difference is real and we're not going to pretend otherwise. The A53 is a meaningfully stronger core design, and it's 64-bit. In practice the H700 gives you roughly 20–35% more CPU headroom, and that headroom shows up in exactly one place: the systems that were already at the edge.

Where the extra power actually changes something

• Everything up to PS1: no meaningful difference. NES, SNES, Genesis, GBA, Game Boy, Neo Geo, arcade, PS1 — both devices run these at full speed, and have done since day one. If this is your library, the chip comparison is irrelevant to you. Truly irrelevant, not "technically irrelevant."
• Nintendo 64: a modest edge to the H700. A handful of mid-tier N64 titles that need patience on the R36S are a bit smoother on the RG35XX. Both devices still fail on the same hard cases — GoldenEye, Perfect Dark, Conker. Neither is an N64 machine.
• PSP: the clearest gap. This is where the A53 earns its keep. Heavier 3D PSP titles that need aggressive frameskip on the R36S are more comfortable on the H700. Both still need tuning; the RG35XX just needs less of it.
• Dreamcast: neither, really. Both will boot a few titles and disappoint you on most. Don't buy either device for Dreamcast.

If you want to see how far the R36S actually goes on the hard systems, we've documented it honestly in our N64 and PSP settings guide and our PSP performance breakdown — including the games we tell people to skip.

Where the R36S wins

1. Price — and this is not a small gap

The HN-R36S-WiFi 64GB is ₹4,899, GST included, delivered free anywhere in India, dispatched in 24–48 hours from Indian stock. The base R36S starts at ₹3,599.

There is no official Anbernic retail presence in India. Getting an RG35XX means either importing it yourself or buying from a reseller who already has. Either way, by the time it's in your hands you are typically looking at ₹8,000–₹12,000 for a device whose sticker price abroad is far lower — because customs duty, IGST, shipping and the reseller's margin all stack on top. We wrote about that maths in detail in our guide to import duty and clones on Indian retro handhelds.

So the honest framing isn't "R36S versus RG35XX at the same price." It's one RG35XX versus an R36S WiFi plus a spare battery plus a carry case plus a year of not worrying about it — and still having money left.

2. What happens when something goes wrong

This is the part that never makes it into spec tables and matters enormously six months in.

• Warranty you can actually use. A local replacement versus shipping a device back to Shenzhen at your own cost.
• Spare parts that exist. The R36S battery is a standard 804068 cell — we stock a 3500mAh replacement at ₹699, delivered in days. Sourcing an Anbernic-specific battery in India is a project.
• Support in your timezone. WhatsApp support, and a free 10-minute video call before you buy if you want to see the thing running first.
• Payment that works. UPI, COD, GST invoice. Not a foreign card and a customs SMS three weeks later.

3. WiFi that does something specific

Both the RG35XX Plus/H/Pro and the HN-R36S-WiFi have WiFi. On the R36S, ours drives two things we actually use: NetPlay multiplayer over the internet, and wireless game transfer so you're not pulling the microSD card out every time. Our WiFi setup guide covers getting it running in about ten minutes.

Worth noting: the base RG35XX (2024) has no WiFi at all. If you're comparing against that model specifically, the R36S WiFi wins this outright.

4. Custom firmware is a genuine strength, not a workaround

The R36S has an unusually healthy firmware scene for its price — ArkOS, DarkOS, MinUI, Arch-R and PortMaster all run well on it. That's the community voting with its time. Our OS comparison guide walks through which one suits which kind of user, and PortMaster adds native ports that no emulator could give you.

Where the RG35XX wins

Being straight about this matters more than winning the comparison:

• Build quality. Anbernic's shells, buttons and hinges are better finished. The R36S is a well-made budget device; the RG35XX is a well-made device.
• Form factor choice. Want a horizontal grip? RG35XX H. A GBA SP clamshell? RG35XX SP. The R36S comes one way.
• PSP headroom. Covered above. If PSP is genuinely the reason you're buying, the H700 is the better chip.
• Battery on the H. 3800mAh beats our 3500mAh, in a chassis that has room for it.
• First-party firmware support. Anbernic ships its own updates. The R36S leans on the community — which is a strength for tinkerers and a mild friction for everyone else.

So which one should you buy?

The comparison nobody runs, but should

Here's the question we'd actually ask in your position. For roughly what one imported RG35XX H costs you in India, you could have:

• An HN-R36S-WiFi 64GB — ₹4,899
• A 3500mAh spare battery — ₹699
• A protective carry case — ₹499

That's ₹6,097 for a complete, supported, warrantied setup with a spare — against a single device with a somewhat faster CPU and no local safety net. For the library most people actually play, that's not a close call.

If PSP is your whole reason for buying, though, we'd genuinely rather you got the RG35XX and enjoyed it than bought an R36S from us and felt short-changed. That's the honest answer, and it's the one we give on the phone too.

Common questions

Is the R36S just a clone of the RG35XX? No — different chip, different chassis, different firmware lineage, different manufacturer. They're competitors at different price points, not copies. There are fake and downgraded R36S units in circulation, which is a separate problem we cover in R36S original vs clone.

Is the RG35XX Pro faster than the RG35XX Plus? No. Same H700 chip. The Pro adds analog sticks and changes the battery slightly.

Can the R36S run everything the RG35XX can? Up to PS1, yes, at the same quality. On N64 and PSP it runs a smaller subset well and needs more tuning.

Which has better battery life? Real-world, they're close. The R36S's 3500mAh against an A35 chip that draws less power lands around 6–8 hours on lighter systems — comparable to the Plus and Pro, a little behind the H.