1. Intro

Hi, there! Anbernic has been pouring out handhelds the last year and I have tested most of them here on my channel. However, something that I haven't had time to do yet is a comparison between two of the models. In this video, we're taking a closer look at the RG 353V and the cheaper RG353VS. What are the similarities, what are the differences and which one should you choose to buy if you're into vertical handouts. Let's find out!

2. Unboxing Experience

In terms of unboxing experience, it's completely the same for both devices, with the only difference being that the RG353V comes in this plain white box and the RG353VS comes in a bit more graphical box. If I open the box we get the device itself, a USB a to USBC charging cable, a screen protector, a user manual or quick start guide that will get you going and some wipes for the screen protector application. And as I said unboxing the RG353VS will be exactly the same the device on top. 

3. Physicals Differences And Color Variations

From a physical stand, there is nothing at all that differs apart from the sticker on the back. That will tell you which model you are using. And as you can see my models come in these gorgeous transparent purple and transparent black. But there are a few other colors to choose from, as well. And strangely it depends on which version you decide to get now. 

4. RG353V vs. RG353VS Boot Time

Both of these devices have been booted a few times. And now I'm gonna reboot them at the same time just to give you an understanding on how fast they boot and bear with me. This will take some time. So as you can see, the RG353VS took more than double the time to boot. And this could be due to having one gigabyte less Ram speaking of ram. 

5. RG353V vs. RG353VS Specifications

What differs in terms of specifications, the RG353VS that you see here comes with Linux OS. It has a rk3566 quad-core CPU and one gigabyte of lpddr4 ram. The screen is a 3.5 inch IPS display at 640x480 resolution. It has one micro SD slot for the OS and one for the games. It has a single horned loudspeaker between the analog sticks and a 3200 milliampere battery, that will last up to 6 hours depending on what you play. The RG353V has almost the same internals. But the big difference here is the implementation of a dual boot system, where Android 11 can be accessed. If you start the device without a Micro SD in the OS card slot, apart from running some emulators better. Thanks to the Vulcan support, Android also of course means that you can download apps and games, that you normally could do on your Android phone. It also has one gigabyte more of lpddr4 ram to be able to run Android. And it has a faster and slightly larger internal storage. 

6. RG353V vs. RG353VS Gameplay Comparison

When it comes to gameplay in Linux on both devices, you won't notice any difference at all during my tests. I even lost track of which device I was actually using, even though they are different colors. Something that did surprise me. 

7. RG353V vs. RG353VS Ocarina of Time (N64)

However, the cheaper RG353VS to the right here actually booted into some emulators slightly faster than the RG353V. But I don't really know why it could be. It has a faster micro SD with all the games. Though something else that I noticed, while editing this video, was that the RG353VS to the right has a wider white than the image. But that was nothing. What I noticed while playing and performance wise in N64 both of these devices performed equally great. 

8. Conclusion Which One Should You Buy?

That's been it for my short comparison of the RG 353V and the RG353VS from Anbernic. Ultimately it's gonna come down to whether you want Android or not on your device. Remember that with Android more tinkering is needed as well, whereas Linux is basically pick up and play. Personally, I would rather just spend my time briefly setting up Arc OS and running that only on the RG 353VS. Let me know what you think and which device you would buy in the comments down below.