Handheld gaming has just exploded in the last year or so with players like Ayaneo, Analouge, ANBERNIC and Retroid catching the pulse of handheld gamers. There’s one for every type of gamer, whether someone who likes things arcade, retro modern, or a demanding nerd who wants to have a compact console to play AAA titles. ANBERNIC has been in the news lately due to their rumoured handheld with a rotating screen, and now things are official.

Their next retro gaming handheld, called RG Rotate, looks somewhat like the Motorola FlipOut phone, which was released way back in mid-2010. The idea here is to emulate classic console titles and also double as a music player since the device can play MP3 files. Designer: ANBERNIC Building on the success of the RG Slide and the exciting prospect of the RG DS, the brand was confident enough to introduce a rotating-screen handheld to its gaming community.

The result is an Android handheld that is compact enough to fit in a pocket yet powerful enough to play demanding arcade classics without breaking a sweat. This device has a peculiar pivoting square display that hides the D-pad and the buttons. This rotating action relies on the proprietary ultra-thin alloy hinge mechanism, which should be durable enough to take on the constant movement that gamers are going to put it through.

After all, it has gone through high durability testing, even though it was an engineering challenge for the brand. The confidence of a successful hinge mechanism and the constant movement on the RG DS should have brought enough input to go with this form factor. The RG Rotate comes with swappable in-line L2 and R2 buttons to toggle the height of the shoulder buttons as per liking.

This handheld also comes with a single USB-C port and a microSD card, but surprisingly, it doesn’t have a 3.5mm headphone jack, given that it has built-in capability to play MP3 files. The only option left is to play music via the Type-C port. The aluminium screen frame handheld comes in two color options: Polar Black and Aurora Silver, which both have different body builds.

One has an aluminum body frame, while the other has an ABS plastic body. There is no word yet about the pricing or the availability of the rotating screen handheld. Also, there is no confirmation whether the two different body frame options will be released together or at different times. The post ANBERNIC RG Rotate handheld with swivelling display doubles as a music player first appeared on Yanko Design.