The reason they use these outdated processors is because they get them for super cheap from phone manufacturers. These chips have been sitting in storage for years and were basically considered as e-waste. No Miyoo or Anbernic devices would exist if not for that.
Miyoo definitely underestimated how much of the Mini/+’s success was due to the community software work with OnionOS, rather than their own work on the hardware of those devices
Honestly, I Iike the A30 in spite of not having Onion. The quick menu, the membrane controls, the dpad pivot. It’s a snack sized comfortable handheld. And my screen is plenty bright. It does get warm, retroarch needs tweaking, and Onion would truly level this up.
Absolutely. And I would go as far as saying I prefer it over the OG MiyooMini, since its horizontal form factor is far more comfortable to use, and MinUI easy to use and enough for what it can do!
Great video bud👍🏾 I believe that released this a little too late. I do like the controls and the case. But to me, it does feel as if they developed this device on the cheap.
I got the A30 with the help of the link you sent a couple of weeks ago on twitter. I immediately installed MinUI on it and I lOVE IT. The controls are perfect for its size, it’s comfortable to hold, and I even think it doesn’t need OnionOS at all, as for such a small devices Onion’s features are mostly overkill. In short: redemption arc is already here!
Great review! I picked one of these up for $35 just for pick-up-and-play use during downtime at work. I just wanted a simple small device to play for a bit then put down, and this one looked good. I'm not expecting it to be a killer device, and definitely not going to be my primary handheld, so I'm willing to accept the compromises. We shall see what turns up!
I believe the new improved chip was used on this model so they can put it out there with the horizontal form factor and the analog stick as a test run to gain feedback on it and use it to see how they can improve the issues for the upcoming Miyoo Flip GBA SP clone model with dual analog sticks they have yet to announce. Seeing how Anbernic beat them to the punch and made a product that's hard to compete with at their level, Miyoo has to punch well above their weight to meet that standard to make a strong first impression and meet consumer's needs. So this is how I think they were trying to go about it.
This theoretically is exactly the kind of device I always wanted, something super pocketable that doesn't skimp on controller inputs and at a cheap price. But the performance is shockingly bad, and it seems purely due to software issues. The trimui smart is older, lower specs, and smaller than this and somehow plays better (downsides are no analog or L2R2 buttons and mid U.I). Maybe when the community gets onion OS on it it'll be better; but that'll take forever if it even happens. I have no clue why these companies rely on that kind process constantly as it just decreases sales for a long time.
Great review. Had this simply contained the same chip as the MM+ and run OnionOS I would've bought one for sure. Now I'm not interested. Same probably for the Flip if they ever actually release it, which is a shame.
The A30 is ok. But when you consider all the other options we have now for small retro handhelds, at its current state, i rank it as one of the worst options.
@@dariovargas9477 objectively, it is both the RG35XX H and the RG40XX H, with mostly only size separating the two. BUT, if you have a strong nostalgia with the game boy's vertical design or the GBA's flip design, you can never go wrong with the RG35XX Plus and the RG35XX SP.
There really is zero reason to pick this up over the RG35XXH. If you want a horizontal retro emulation handheld for less than $70, th Anbernic is the best choice.
Another owner of both, and for what you are going to play on this size screen, the a30 is definitely more enjoyable to carry around. The rattle of the 28xx that can not be fixed with any amount of dampening mods is a nail in its coffin.
Looks like the "analog" stick is an 8-way joystick... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-YccB8ji83Lc.html At least in this calibration tool it looks to jump to max levels. Boo. That so disappointed me about the 35xx-H. Why?! WHY?!
Why complain about it not performing better than the Og miyoo when it's so cheap? I literally just bought one for $33, absolutely incredible at that price point!
Great video,thanks! I'm saying nothing new here but I really wish it was possible to smash the a30 and rg28xx together and get aesthetics and controls from the a30, internals from the rg28xx, keeping the HDMI from one side, the wifi from the other, and adding Bluetooth... Well... Theta how these people get us buying multiple devices in most cases, or none as for me in this specific case
The reason usb storage mode is failing for you will be that youre not safely ejecting it on the PC side before leaving that mode. It acts like a usb storage device in that mode meaning filesystem corruption if you don't cleanly unmount, and the most common manifestation of that will be that the files you most recently copied to it won't appear, but at worst, new files will become corrupted too. If you've become used to the way current smartphones mount by usb (which uses MTP instead) you could forget that the old USB mass storage mode used to do that.
This will also explain the corruption you're experiencing in retroarch! Including the issues when saving configs and corrupted text! You need to reformat or at least chkdsk that card. It's been uncleanly unmounted.
This is one of if not the best RH review I’ve seen for any device. You point out the A30’s flaws without resorting to attention-grabby hyperbole, focus a lot on the strengths of the device, contextualize its release and reception based on the company’s history, and really go into why someone might want this or want its direct competition. Well done, this was a pleasure to watch 👍
This review is very outdated, because suddenly games on the N64 turned out to be playable thanks to the better chip. Just compare Mario Kart 64 on stock firmware and on Spruce. This is simply another device released with alpha software
No idea what all the fuss is about. I was expecting garbage after my research. This thing is a joy out of the box (In my case). $50 Cnd with a 64Gb cart. I got this to play GBA, was surprised to play N64 Smash Bros so satisfyingly with included thumb stick. The performance is great for what you pay
Hey man I really enjoy your content especially about the gaming console you were making, are you planning on continuing the project? Or did you just give up?
Hi there! Actually I did kind of give up on it for a while, but I've improved my 3D CAD skills and have made a lot of good progress on it recently and will definitely finish it really soon and make a video! Actually I have three DIY gaming projects right now: the RB-2H handheld from before, an 8-inch tablet-based handheld, AND a 5" all-in-one desktop games console. That last one will have a video releasing this week!
If they ever revisited this design and addressed the issues, I'd be stoked to own one. The fact that the brightness issue got resolved maybe gets my hopes up
I agree with all your points. Playing devil’s advocate here if they hadn’t tried to upgrade the device they’d fall under the same criticism anbernic does for releasing the same thing over and over again. Props to Miyoo for trying to innovate. I’d also like to point out that I don’t feel like this thing will break when the wind blows. I went through 3 Miyoo mini’s because of how fragile they were. You know this already but the custom firmware fixes a few of your points as well. Great review!
their biggest mistake was competing directly against the 28xx, have they launched this at a lower price so people wouldn't have compared it, for the full price is not great, but if you think of it as a horizontal micro r36s is actually not bad
People like to hate on this device but after using it for some time, I now carry it everywhere. It’s smaller and more powerful than the Mini and it’s lighter which begs me to take it with me at all times in my pocket
To sum up. A great device with "alpha" software which, after being repaired by the community, will be as iconic as the Miyoo mini. I didn't expect anything else. Spruce is the answer to most software flaws
Knulli is also working on a cfw for this device. If that happens, a lot of people will be happy. I also agree about the 28xx completely. I'm reaching for the a30 while my 28xx stays in its case.
the device is not great, but is far from being trash like most people said. This "miyoo vs anbernic" thing is becoming so awful as the "apple vs samsung" debate
