Retro gaming handheld firm Anbernic has announced the RG G01 controller. This is a tri-mode controller with broad platform compatibility, a built-in IPS screen, and a plethora of desirable performance and control features. The RG G01 separates itself from the pack, though, with its built-in heart rate sensor and integrated smart screen monitoring app.
We consider the heart rate monitoring functionality wedded to the 2.5D curved IPS fully laminated smart screen at its center to be the RG G01’s main attraction. However, at this pre-release stage, details about these functions (and other specs) are still quite vague.
In the video, we can see that the heart rate sensor works by placing touch-monitors in either palm when a user grips the controller. “You can track your heartbeat in real time during intense boss battles, enjoying an unprecedented level of immersion,” says Anbernic in its PR. That monitoring is done on the aforementioned 2.5D screen.
Also in the video, you can see a chart being updated from the RG G01’s built-in app. Through the magic of machine translation, we know the display is relaying details like heart rate over time, and there are user settings for history, heart rate alarms, and more. Surely, the retail version of this controller will allow users to switch UI languages.
We don’t know the resolution of the screen, except that it is teased as being ‘HD’, so it should have decent pixel density, and in the video, on-screen elements look reasonably crisp. With that screen built in, and a modicum of onboard processing power, RAM, and storage, the controller is begging to be modded into a self-contained retro-gaming system. Doom anyone? RG name hints at retro, but the controller seems very modern…
The rest of the specs
With the Anbernic RG G01 special sauce thoroughly discussed, let’s ponder over its more general controller-centric specs. Digging through the Anbernic PR and video, other important specs and features of this controller include its:
- 1,000 Hz polling
- Six-axis gyroscope, affording plenty of scope for fast and intuitive movement control, alongside calibrated triggers, joysticks, and motion sensors
- Purple Kirin’s electro-inductive capacitive joysticks – a hall-effect tech rival with similar no-drift no wear promises – but also claimed to be super precise and immune to magnetic interference.
- Macros for button presses
- Rapid trigger settings with two-stage trigger locks – switching from linear to micro-switch mode
- A tactile D-pad
- Dual pendulum motor haptics
- Tri-mode connectivity (wired, Bluetooth, 2.4G wireless)
- Compatibility with PC, Steam, Linux, Switch, Android, and iOS
Anbernic’s RG G01 is said to be “coming soon,” but we don’t have an availability date, nor pricing information, at the time of writing. You will be able to grab one from the firm’s U.S. eBay store when stock starts to flow. The controller has been shown in Black, white, and yellow livery.
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