Anbernic RG DS Plus Is Out: Specs, UK Price and Is It Worth It?

Anbernic announced the RG DS Plus on 3 September 2026, published the full spec sheet in an unboxing video on 9 September, and put it on sale on 15 September. That is a quick turnaround even by Anbernic standards, and it lands in the same fortnight as the Retroid Pocket Duo pre-orders, so dual-screen handhelds are suddenly the story of the month.

Here is what has actually changed from the first RG DS, what it costs to get one to a UK doorstep, and how its DS emulation stacks up against the budget handhelds most of our customers already own.

What are the RG DS Plus specs?

The headline number is the screen resolution. A Nintendo DS screen is 256x192 pixels, and 1024x768 is exactly four times that in each direction, so every DS pixel becomes a crisp 4x4 block with no blurring or uneven scaling. The original RG DS used 640x480 panels, which is 2.5x and never quite looked right. That single change is most of the reason to call this a Plus.

What is new compared with the original RG DS?

• Sharper screens. 640x480 becomes 1024x768 on both panels, with full lamination so the image sits right under the glass.
• A real stylus. The first RG DS shipped without one. The Plus hides a capacitive stylus in the body, which matters for anything from Brain Training to The World Ends With You.
• A better hinge. Anbernic has replaced the stepped hinge with a dual-alloy free-stop design, so the top screen holds whatever angle you leave it at, and a Hall sensor puts the device to sleep when you close it.
• Bigger battery. 4000mAh driving two screens gives a claimed 6 hours. Expect less for 3D-heavy games.
• A new DS emulator. NNDDSS is Anbernic's own, with screen swapping, microphone support, shaders, save states, cheats and RetroAchievements-style features. Early hands-on coverage was positive about compatibility.

What has not changed is the chip. The RK3568 is a capable Cortex-A55 part for DS, PS1, and the 2D systems, and Anbernic showed it running N64, Dreamcast and Saturn titles in its launch footage, but the community reaction was that it remains the ceiling of the device. This is a Nintendo DS machine first, and a fine one for everything up to PS1, not a PSP or GameCube handheld.

How much does the RG DS Plus cost in the UK?

Anbernic priced the launch at $84.99 for the first 72 hours and $94.99 after that. At the exchange rate in mid-September 2026 that is roughly £65 to £75 for the console alone. There is no UK stock and no UK retailer at launch, so you order from Anbernic's own site or AliExpress, pay shipping on top, and UK VAT is collected at checkout for orders under £135. Realistically, budget £80 to £90 landed and two to four weeks in transit.

That puts it in the same bracket as a pair of budget handhelds, which is the comparison worth making.

Can the R36S play Nintendo DS games instead?

Yes, and this is the honest part of the article. The R36S runs DS games through DraStic on its single 3.5-inch screen. You either show one DS screen at a time and hotkey between them, or shrink both screens onto the one panel. For a lot of the DS library that is completely fine: Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, Mario Kart DS, New Super Mario Bros, Castlevania and the Zelda titles all play, and we walk through the compromises in our Pokémon on the R36S guide.

Where it falls down is anything that needs both screens visible at once, anything that leans on the stylus, and the heavier 3D games where the R36S's older RK3326 chip runs out of headroom. If that describes your favourite games, the RG DS Plus is genuinely the better tool.

Who should buy the RG DS Plus?

Buy it if you answer yes to most of these:

• The Nintendo DS is the system you would keep if you could only keep one.
• You want both screens visible and a stylus in hand, not a hotkey workaround.
• You are comfortable setting up a blank Linux handheld and sourcing your own games.
• You do not mind a three-week wait and the lack of a UK returns route.

Skip it if DS is one system among twenty. Every 8-bit and 16-bit console, the Game Boy line and PS1 look better on a single 4:3 screen than split across a clamshell, and a device like the R36S or the larger R36S Max at £49.48 arrives pre-loaded, in UK stock, for less than the RG DS Plus costs before shipping. Our retro handheld buying guide explains how to match the chip to the systems you actually play.

Is a dual-screen handheld a fad?

Probably not, at least not this year. Retroid opened Pocket Duo pre-orders the same week, at $249 for the 8GB/128GB model and from $135 for the Duo Lite, so two of the biggest names in the category now have a DS-shaped device on sale. Anbernic's bet is that a Linux clamshell at under $100 wins on price; Retroid's is that Android and a stronger chip win on range. For DS specifically, the cheaper device is the better value, because the RK3568 is more than enough for that library.

The verdict

The RG DS Plus fixes the two things that held the first RG DS back, the screens and the stylus, and keeps the price under $100. For a DS-first player it is the best-value way to play that library today. For everyone else, it is an expensive second handheld when a pre-loaded budget device already covers the DS games most people actually revisit.

If you are still weighing up which class of handheld to buy, start with our retro handheld buying guide, or compare every model in stock in the GameBro shop.