ANBERNIC's latest update adds a new launcher, button mapping and more to its gaming handhelds

If you have an old ANBERNIC handheld like the RG Slide from last year, the company has some good news for you. ANBERNIC announced on its website that it is rolling out a new update for its handhelds running on the Unisoc T820 processors, and the update adds a bunch of useful new features to devices going as far back as the RG556 released in 2024.

First, the update introduces the “RG Home” launcher that we’ve already seen on handhelds like the RG557. It replaces the older “RG Launcher” and offers a cleaner UI, integration with Android apps, and custom sorting options and icon styles. Users can also press the R1 button to open the game menu, with carousel menus on the left and right sides of the screen to switch between game platforms and game categories.

The update also brings the RG Control Center to older ANBERNIC handhelds. It can be accessed by swiping in from the right or left side of the screen, and it displays important information at a glance. This includes performance monitoring, quick settings, handheld settings, gamepad options, and button mapping.

Speaking of button mapping, the new update brings an intuitive way to map physical buttons to touchscreen controls. Users can place an overlay on touchscreen controls and assign physical buttons to each control on the screen. The software also supports multiple button mapping layouts for games.

Which ANBERNIC devices are compatible with the new update?

ANBERNIC has released the new firmware for all of its handhelds powered by the Unisoc T820 processor. However, each handheld carries a different firmware version:

• RG 476H: v1.53
• RG 556: v1.16
• RG Slide: v1.50
• RG 406H: v1.30
• RG 406V: v1.39

The new firmware is available as an OTA update, and users can install it using the system update option in their ANBERNIC handheld’s settings. The update can also be downloaded from ANBERNIC’s firmware download page.

It’s great to see ANBERNIC bringing new features to its older handhelds. Hopefully, we’ll see these updates trickle down to even more devices soon.