Quick answer
Yes, for most people. The R36S is worth it if you want 8-bit, 16-bit, arcade and PlayStation 1 games in your pocket for the price of a takeaway, and you can accept a modest screen and no wireless. It is not worth it if you are chasing PSP, Dreamcast or anything newer.
- Price at GameBro: £34.39, UK stock, free delivery, 12-month warranty
- Strongest point: dual analogue sticks and a 40,000+ game card at a price nothing else matches
- Weakest point: 3.5in 640 x 480 screen, roughly 230 pixels per inch
- Missing: WiFi, Bluetooth and HDMI on the standard model
- Performance ceiling: PlayStation 1, with Nintendo 64 and PSP hit and miss
The R36S is worth it in 2026 if your shopping list is "cheap, pocketable, plays the classics, no faff". At £34.39 it is one of the least expensive ways to get a real D-pad, dual analogue sticks and a library of 40,000-plus games into a coat pocket, and it needs no setup at all. It is a bad buy if you want a sharp modern screen, wireless anything, or dependable PSP and Dreamcast performance — those are all real limits, not nitpicks.
Here is the honest breakdown, including the parts we would rather not have to mention.
What do you actually get for the money?
An R36S from GameBro arrives with the handheld itself, a 128GB microSD card holding more than 40,000 games across over 20 systems, a USB-C cable and a manual. It ships from UK stock with free delivery, a 12-month warranty and 30-day returns.
The hardware is a 3.5in IPS screen at 640 x 480, a Rockchip RK3326 quad-core chip with 1GB of RAM, a 3500mAh battery rated for 6+ hours, and a vertical body in one of eight colours. If you want the full technical rundown before the verdict, read what is the R36S first.
What does the R36S do well?
Value per pound is the whole argument. Nothing else in this bracket combines a pre-loaded card, an IPS screen and two analogue sticks. Rival handhelds at similar money usually drop the sticks, the card, or both.
It requires nothing of you. Charge it, switch it on, pick a game. There is no firmware to flash, no ROM folders to organise and no account to create. For a gift, or for a first handheld, that matters more than any specification.
It nails the systems most people actually want. NES, SNES, Mega Drive, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, Neo Geo and arcade boards all run at full speed, and PlayStation 1 is comfortably within its abilities. That is the bulk of retro gaming's greatest hits, handled without excuses.
The shape suits the content. A 4:3 screen in a vertical body is the right geometry for the era. Games designed for square-ish CRTs fill the display instead of sitting in letterboxes, and the device slips into a jacket pocket in a way that wider handhelds do not.
Battery life is honest. The 3500mAh cell is rated at 6+ hours, which holds up for 2D systems at moderate brightness. Heavier emulation and a bright screen will pull that down, as they do on every handheld in this class.
What does the R36S do badly?
The screen is the weakest link. 640 x 480 across 3.5 inches is roughly 230 pixels per inch. That is perfectly pleasant for pixel art, but the TrimUI Brick puts 1024 x 768 into a 3.2in panel — over 400 pixels per inch — and side by side the difference is obvious. Fine detail and small text in role-playing games are where you notice it.
No WiFi means card shuffling. Every time you want to add a game or back up a save, the handheld goes off, the games card comes out, and a card reader gets involved. It is a five-minute job rather than a hard one, but if you plan to curate a library constantly it will grate.
Build quality is decent, not premium. The R36S is plastic, and it feels like a device at its price rather than above it. Because "R36S" is a shared model name used by multiple factories, finish and battery specification can vary between sellers — another argument for buying from a retailer with a warranty rather than the cheapest overseas listing.
The performance ceiling is real. Nintendo 64 is inconsistent, PSP and Dreamcast run selected titles only, and PS2 and GameCube are simply not happening. If a specific PSP game is the reason you are shopping, this is the wrong device.
Setup returns the moment you go off-script. The pre-loaded card is effortless, but adding your own ROMs means learning the folder names and the right file formats for each system. It is well documented and not difficult, yet it is work the marketing never mentions.
How does the R36S compare with the alternatives?
These are the devices people weigh the R36S against most often. Rival prices move around between retailers and bundles, so the last column is a broad position rather than a quote.
| Handheld | Screen | Wireless | Analogue sticks | Price position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R36S | 3.5in IPS, 640 x 480 | None | Two | Baseline |
| Anbernic RG35XX H | 3.5in IPS, 640 x 480 | WiFi, Bluetooth, HDMI | Two | Typically about twice as much |
| Miyoo Mini Plus | 3.5in IPS, 640 x 480 | WiFi | None | Typically around half again as much |
| TrimUI Brick | 3.2in IPS, 1024 x 768 | WiFi, Bluetooth | None | Noticeably more |
| Nintendo Switch Lite | 5.5in LCD, 1280 x 720 | WiFi, Bluetooth | Two | Several times more |
The pattern is clear enough. The Anbernic RG35XX H buys you connectivity and a better-regarded chassis on an almost identical panel; our R36S vs RG35XX comparison goes through that trade in detail. The Miyoo Mini Plus is smaller and much loved, but it has no analogue sticks and a weaker dual-core chip, so it does not reach as far into 3D. The TrimUI Brick wins outright on screen sharpness and metal-bodied build, and loses on size and sticks.
The Nintendo Switch Lite is not really a competitor at all. It plays modern first-party games at several times the price and does not emulate anything out of the box. If that is what you want, buy one — it is a different purchase, not a better-value version of this one.
Who should not buy the R36S?
- PSP and Dreamcast players. Selected titles work; a reliable PSP library does not. Buy more power instead.
- Anyone who wants wireless headphones. No Bluetooth means wired only, which rules it out for a lot of commuters.
- People with poor close-up vision. 3.5 inches is small, and small text in RPGs is genuinely hard work.
- Anyone expecting modern games. This is a retro device. It will never run a current-generation title.
- Serious tinkerers on a deadline. If you intend to rebuild the library from scratch, the lack of WiFi turns a hobby into a chore.
When is it worth spending more?
Within the same family, two upgrades solve the two biggest complaints.
| Model | What it fixes | Price |
|---|---|---|
| R36S | Nothing to fix — the value pick | £34.39 |
| R36S Max | 4.0in screen and a 5000mAh battery rated 8+ hours | £49.48 |
| R36S Ultra | 4.0in screen plus WiFi and Bluetooth | £58.67 |
If small text or short battery life is your worry, the R36S Max is the answer. If the card shuffling is what puts you off, the R36S Ultra adds the wireless the standard model lacks. Neither changes the emulation ceiling in a way that suddenly makes PSP dependable, so do not upgrade for that reason alone. For the wider field at this end of the market, see our guide to the best retro gaming handhelds under fifty pounds.
Is the R36S still worth it in 2026?
The hardware is not new, and that is the usual reason people hesitate. It is also beside the point: the newest system the R36S targets seriously launched in the 1990s, and a chip that was adequate for PlayStation 1 emulation three years ago is still adequate now.
What has changed is the competition. Sharper screens have arrived at the low end, and several rivals now include WiFi as standard. The R36S has answered by staying cheaper than all of them while keeping the two analogue sticks and the pre-loaded card. In 2026 it is no longer the most impressive budget handheld — it is still the best value one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the R36S still worth buying in 2026?
Yes, for the job it is designed to do. The chip inside it is several years old, but the games it plays are older still, and nothing at the same price beats it for a ready-to-play library plus dual analogue sticks.
What is the biggest downside of the R36S?
The screen. A 3.5in panel at 640 x 480 works out at roughly 230 pixels per inch, which is fine for pixel art but visibly softer than the 1024 x 768 display on the TrimUI Brick. The lack of WiFi is a close second.
Is the R36S better than the Miyoo Mini Plus?
They use a very similar 3.5in 640 x 480 screen. The R36S adds dual analogue sticks and a stronger quad-core chip, so it reaches further into PlayStation 1 and lighter Nintendo 64 territory. The Miyoo Mini Plus is smaller and has WiFi, but it has no analogue sticks.
Can you add your own games to the R36S?
Yes, but only over a card reader. You power the handheld off, remove the games microSD card, copy your legally owned ROMs into the matching system folder on a computer, and put the card back. There is no wireless transfer on the standard model.
Who should not buy an R36S?
Anyone who mainly wants PSP, Dreamcast, PS2 or GameCube games, anyone who needs a large screen or Bluetooth headphones, and anyone expecting modern console titles. Those buyers should look at a more powerful device instead.
The verdict
Worth it, with eyes open. The R36S is not the sharpest or the best-built budget handheld in 2026, and it never claimed to be. It is the one that gives you the most retro gaming for the least money, and for a first handheld or a gift that is still the argument that wins.
Buy it if the classics up to PlayStation 1 are what you are after and you want to spend as little as possible getting there. Skip it if a sharp screen, wireless audio or heavy 3D emulation is on your list, because no amount of goodwill will make this hardware deliver those.
Made up your mind? The R36S product page has the full specification, all eight colours, UK stock and free delivery.
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