Is the Powkiddy X39 Pro a $40 hidden gem? | Unboxing Review

The Powkiddy X39 Pro addresses one of the jarring issues with the original X39 by placing a slightly larger screen with a better aspect ratio allowing more systems to scale correctly. Mostly forced to play stretched because scale makes the screen too small (game boy and GBA are the exception) gameplay still operates fluently on the Retro Emulation Handheld.
Have you tried the Powkiddy X39 or X39 Pro? What do you like and dislike about the handheld?
Checkout the Powkiddy X39Pro at Powkiddy:
powkiddy.com/products/powkidd...
Checkout the Powkiddy X39Pro on AliExpress:
s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DdV...
Brand: Powkiddy
Model: X39 Pro
Screen: 4.5Inch IPS Screen/ 854* 480 resolution
CPU: ATM7051 Quad core arm cortex-A9 clocked at 900 MHz
RAM: LPDDR2 128M
TF Card:support extend 64GB
Battery: Polymer 3000mAh
Type-C Charging: Support
HD Output: Support
Earphone: Standard 3.5mm
Brand: Powkiddy
SKU: X39
Color: 32GB
Screen: 4.3Inch IPS Screen/ 480*272
CPU: ATM7051 Quad core arm cortex-A9 clocked at 900 MHz
RAM: LPDDR2 128M
TF Card:support extend 64GB
Battery: Polymer 2500mAh
Type-C Charging: Support
HD Output: Support
AliExpress Affiliate:
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Temu Affiliate:
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#X39Pro, #PowkiddyX39Pro, #RetroHandheld, #RetroGaming, #Emulation, #EmulationHandheld, #Powkiddy, #Gaming, #HandheldGaming, #X39, #BudgetHandheld, #BudgetGaming, #PS1, #NES, #Genesis

[@ramakambing7991]

Here's my two cents, i have the x39, (not the pro version mind you ) I find the ios quite bad. Secondly it emulates Genesis, Neo Geo and Playstation and GBA games quite well, although you can only play PS1 games that are one disc games , so thats a real deal breaker. The ios doesnt emulate a virtual memory card and so you can only save your games on save states, which explains why you wont be able to play multiple disc Ps1 games. Thirdly, if your looking to play Snes and Nes forget about it. the screen ratio is too stretched and just ruins the whole experience. The build quality's cheapness would be pretty evident a fter a few weeks, but hey considering the price its a given. Still i've played certain games for hours and its not too bad. My take is that if you were to use it to play Neo Geo , Genesis and GBA the x39 woyld emulate these perfectly albeit with some minor issues (sound, control scheme etc). I would say keep your money and hold out for other retro consoles

[@CellPhish]

So a lot of the is accurate especially with the non-pro version when I looked at it. The biggest updates were to the screen and the battery. In some instances it seems like the clock speeds have been turned up in the back-end. I honestly thought I would hate it after the X39. I found myself enjoying this more than I normally would partially because it runs a bit better but Moseley because it’s been so simplified you just play it the way it is because you can’t make changes if you wanted too (found it refreshing with the stack of handhelds I’m setting up almost daily). That being said it’s not making any of my device of the year lists. But it’s a decent device for a novice who hasn’t used the more powerful systems yet. I appreciate your input you’ve obviously spent more time with the X39 than I have. I’ll take your feedback into consideration when making recommendations.

[@marcusgreer2005]

Just ordered one.

[@CellPhish]

Awesome. Gotta love that discount

[@johanneshainer3460]

Weird screen resolution, makes proper scaling for many systems impossible. And the ATM Chipset drivers seem to be not very well optimized for emulation devices and they are a lot of work for developers as I have read. I don't get why they don't use the older Rockchip or Amlogic Chipsets which have tested drivers and proper Linux integration.

[@CellPhish]

Solid observation. Most the parts in handheld emulators come from phones or tablets a couple generations behind. Holds true to the X39 Pro as well. If there is an advantage on the screen it falls between multiple resolutions so when they stretch or shrink the screen to fit its kind of a middle ground. Doesn’t make it right but that’s what it is. I would like to see this stay the same size with even an RK3326 with a better optimized screen. But then it would start at $50

[@OtomoTenzi]

I have a question... 🤔 This device will only save SNES games in .prg format. The problem with it is that it cannot save natively, as like in battery backup saving on an actual cartridge. It doesn't support RAM dumping. I want to be able to load the savestates on PC emulators such as Snes9X. But it cannot recognize the .prg format. How do I go about fixing this?

[@CellPhish]

I might be wrong but I’m assuming you haven’t changed out the SD card that came in it. File type aside the cards that come in these are mostly read only. The other cause may be the specific core you are emulating with in Retroarch. Some cores won’t write save files correctly.

[@OtomoTenzi]

@@CellPhish No, the SD card it comes with IS rewritable and formatable. I can load whatever game roms, videos, music, or pics that I want onto it. I can pull the .prg files saved from the SD card directly into my PC, but there's NO WAY that I know of (or can) on how to make it compatible/loadable on Snes9X. The Snes9X uses .SRM files which is a 'simulated' battery RAM backup save. I have also heard that ZNES uses its own different save file format that might be compatible with the Retroarch supported formats. But this device does NOT have any type of battery RAM backup feature in it (whether actual or simulated). Therefore, I cannot get a readable/loadable save image outta it so that I can hack or patch any save states on my PC's other SNES emulators. Any clues? 🤔

[@ceruleancloud]

I'm new to these devices and emulation, so I have a question: Can I put Nintendo DS games on this device?

[@CellPhish]

Not on this device. Minimum I would probably go for a Anbernic RG35XX-H. They have been on and off promo on AliExpress for the same price

[@buaxua6923]

what happened when start with no sd card or sd card corrupt ?

[@CellPhish]

If you pop a card in it should populate the folders for you to put your rims in. You also have the option to do a load of the SD card on powkiddy’s website, though I think it’s easier to build my own SD.

[@aemonwarrick4654]

I like it but that OS can it be changed?

[@CellPhish]

There isn’t any other firmware currently

[@redleiin4893]

and apparently there will never be @@CellPhish

[@Pyro_manic]

@@redleiin4893 do u know why

[@OtomoTenzi]

@@Pyro_manic Cuz it's CHEAP, and they also want the more advanced/expensive models to sell... No low-end $40 budget handheld is ever gonna get any kinda firmware updates anytime soon.

[@erne5tom72]

I have it. I only have two Chinese consoles. This is the cheapest and it plays GBA and Arcades well, also some PS1. The other systems are not worth it. So I don't recommend it. Positive point: the big screen for GBA and little else. Greetings.

[@CellPhish]

I mostly use this for gba as well. I really hoped someone would have come out with firmware for it

[@marcusgreer2005]

$34 with discount code