GKD Mini Plus Review: Expandable Mini Handheld

[@RetroGameCorps]

Correction: this device has the same chipset as the Anbernic RG503, not the RG505. I’m obviously still in vacation mode 😊

[@GameTechTalk]

Did you visit a place for vacations? Or was it a staycation? Tks for the video, great review as always!

[@RetroGameCorps]

@@GameTechTalk we went to Los Angeles to visit family and friends. We had to pack all our winter clothes because it was so cold compared to our home in Hawaii :)

[@GameTechTalk]

@@RetroGameCorps That was exactly what I was wondering ahaha! I go to Hawaii-type places for vacation, where does Russ go? 🤣 Cheers, welcome back bud and glad you got to see family!

[@jeffreypeters5578]

NJOY IT BROTHER.lUV YOUR CONTENT NEVER STOP

[@yongyea4147]

The video is 11 hours late.....

[@shreedharhegde8299]

I am going to leave this comment for anyone planning to purchase this in 2024. I bought one from Amazon and most of the issues discussed in the video are fixed in the subsequent software updates. Scraper works fine, NDS doesnt crash, the button combination issues are fixed, you can save game states for PSP and so on. And there is no default gameboy overlay on GB game or in any other emulators. Also other issues with charging cable seem to be fixed. I was able to connect the device to my laptop for file transfers. Im able to login to retroachievements and it works well

[@TheFps12]

MVP thank you, VERY helpful.

[@trevorwiant8838]

This is exactly what I needed to know! Thank you for thinking to do this. Are you able to save changes to your Retroarch configuration or is that still locked down?

[@gerardofacundo6721]

Thanks bro

[@bajisaiho]

How to do the software update? Thanks

[@loganb6568]

Did you ever get bluetooth working?

[@mattb6522]

Great review! I actually look forward to 2023 to see what new devices will be coming out and how they will stack up to the current market of devices.

[@peejae082004]

Same. Hopefully a horizontal RG35XX comes out at the same price point 😀

[@kevinramirez1668]

@@peejae082004my mindset rn! I want to dive in and buy a handheld rn, but a new year means new devices, and we all know how quickly new/ updated handhelds are released

[@rkornilo]

Thanks for the late edition addition, Russ. Happy New Year to ya.

[@zyxyuv1650]

I'm really glad to see that finally someone included stereo speakers. GKD Mini Plus' speaker configuration is not the best though, pointing downwards into the palms of your hands, I wish they were on the face of the device. I make chiptunes and video game music and I make music on these handheld devices, so the mono speaker ruined almost every small handheld for me so far. Half of the reason I even play retro games is for the video game music. Sometimes I like to lay in bed and work on music without headphones while hearing nice audio. If a company actually puts effort into it they can make a device sound really good, I've had a few phones that worked well for music like that. Stuff like the RG353 and the Miyoo Mini aren't an option for me and I get mad every time I see them in a video because there's a big dumb mono speaker staring me in the face and saying, "Hi, we think you can't hear the difference between mono and stereo and you're not perceptive enough to need stereo for anything" which just makes me mad.

[@DarrellBell]

Great vid. I was hoping this product would be better than what your review shows. I already feel like I spend more time tweaking emulators than actually playing the games, so software in this condition out of the box is a no-go for me. Thanks again.

[@StraightToThePoint217]

Thats a pretty cool way to give the system/player analog sticks smart

[@A_d_e_k]

Wow... that's a very pretty looking device.

[@dududu5189]

I have the original *GKD Mini* as the *Anbernic RG280* & *Miyoo Mini* are just too small for my large hands _and_ 40 year old eyes!

[@BassManJosh1140]

Near sighted I am but giving a miyoo mini v2 a try lol. Also have an anbernic rg351v

[@Godzillarex]

Man, here I was thinking they recreated the PSP Go only to see it's a peripheral :/ Random question too, are you left handed?

[@bluebird8004]

Dock could also have been used to add more bass to audio, which I think I did pick up slightly, even though high end was muffled slightly. Bigger holes could fix that

[@dragonball3166]

Good review thank you for sharing always enjoy your videos

[@wizzel22]

Thanks Russ for showing us all the shortcomings of this device, usually from Companies with "Kiddy" in their Name. Avoid those and choose Anbernic, Retroid or another renowned brand.

[@crktritual]

Still rocking with my Ambernic 351p.

[@IanDangerfield]

Thank you, I was keeping tabs on this one. Appreciate the detailed review

[@chedhead3278]

Thanks for the review Russ. There's something about the way GKD does the hardware, design and controls that's really appealing, not suprised the firmware is undercooked, sadly. With the same attention on both sides it could be a nice, if niche, premium choice. As is, too much irritation for infatuation.

[@jakehooker]

I agree that the hardware looks great. I was hoping this would be closer in size to the Miyoo Mini, personally. I knew not to expect better performance than it has, which makes it seem really late to the game. That said, it might be a good choice for someone's first handheld emulation device.

[@mathisblair2798]

Are you kidding me? It looks like a McDonald's Happy Meal toy. I mean respectfully; it's not that strong and the conpetition literally has dozens of devices to choose from that lack any of the flaws/bugs that seem rife with this product. Why would I buy this over a miyoo mini? Or an RP3+ or honestly an RP2+ even? They make ambernik even look like geniuses by comparison. I do not expect this to sell or make any kind of spot for itself amongst said competition honestly. If it does I'll be very surprised and confused as I don't understand the appeal behind this device whatsoever.

[@ThunderDragonRandy]

I'm really digging the analog sticks being an optional add-on to the device. It's unfortunate that its software like wifi is a bust.

[@Topbeehler]

Sounds like a pretty solid system once we get some better firmware because for now this didn't sound fun once you got into the software side of things

[@sifter224]

I keep waiting for another vertical handheld that will be "better" than the 353v, as I just got mine earlier this month. Glad to know I'm still waiting though lol. As my first dedicated emulator device, I'm truly pleased with it.

[@SWPLGAMING]

Edges! I can't like I really like those rounded edges to this device.it must feel so smooth. So the dock doesn't look fantastic but I like the uglyness to it. I can see this being a brilliant feeling and holding device,thanks for sharing bud👍🏾

[@spiritualED]

4:34 👏👏👏 Kudos for this. Because, you know, these things can be dropped. All these devices NEED this!!!

[@martymcintosh5026]

love the look of it without the dock, would get it if the software was better

[@Bendilin]

I thought by "expandable" it was going to have the bottom half slide out, like those old slider phones with the keyboards. The fact that it's a bulky add-on killed my interest instantly.

[@johnjennings7999]

Same here! I'd hoped it was like the Xperia Play!

[@TheFps12]

Absolutely love the looks of this thing and the performance is good enough for me. Software is concerning though...anyone know if it can replaced with better firmware?

[@DiscMilk]

I really like the look of the device, even with the dock. The price for the performance is a bit steep, though.

[@Dracossaint]

Thanks for the video.

[@johnsducks9816]

Can we get a video re visiting this handheld and testing some of the firmware improvements?

[@Trimint123]

17:19 On Retroarch, you are supposed to save the settings after turning off the borders entirely from the setting itself before leaving Retroarch (exit the emulator entirely while picking another game). That way it'll be saved with borders turn off. Yeah, Retroarch's kinda complicated when it comes to settings, and this applies with controller settings as well.

[@tking2199]

Eh, for the price with the "dock" this doesn't look bad. Sure we can talk about more powerful devices and value but the look with the dock reminds me a lot of the GameBoy Color and seems very fun to pocket it and travel.

[@mathisblair2798]

"We can talk about the competition's better value and features but instead I'll just say that it looks like a gameboy and is pocketable".... Considering this thing can't even run n64 and has issues with ps1. Why would I buy this over a miyoo mini? Or an RP3 or +?

[@tking2199]

@@mathisblair2798 well looks are important. The argument of a phone with a controller is not that great. Yes that route has always clearly shown benefits but many are shallow, most controllers to pair with a phone don't give comfort to hold, and clip ons are not that great since most phones with case won't fit or will risk sliding off and breaking not to mention new phones at that price point will also have major flaws like poor battery life, clunky android build, horrible screen ratios for some systems you wanna play, no proper cooling, ect. Having a device with built in controls and a dedicated UI is not even just a preference nowadays, it's sometimes a necessity to not break the immersion. And when talking about the price, did you ever buy an rg350 or 351p at retail? Because they didn't play N64 either and the joysticks felt kinda useless for most systems yet had an egregious price. So yes there are better devices out there, but if I go out for errands or to go on a walk and wanna take a device for downtime I'm not taking my rp3, I'll take this cuz the rp3 feels fragile and I don't wanna break it. Looking like a real GBC with analogs is just a topping to this cake. If you don't like it that's fine, but don't pretend your subjective is fact. If I did the same thing then this is worthless and so is the rp3 because the Odin pro mops the floor with almost every device at price and performance, but that would be ignorant of me to say.

[@mathisblair2798]

@@tking2199 I have legit never purchased a single hand held device. I have a fascination with them. (steam deck kind of seals the deal as far as what I'll eventually purchase) (I respect the retropocket series out of most of the hand helds shown) ( I respect the miyoo mini too) But I go out of my way to use what can be used. I have an LG stylo 5 that can play up to psp pretty much. an 8bitdo blue tooth. I prefer to play most games on pc on a big screen. I also have an old ZTE blade max that I use for GC up to GBA/SNES. But this device shown off here? Looks like a mcdonalds toy.

[@ZwickTheEditor]

This looks like the closet I will get an Anbernic RG280V that I can use w/ Bluetooth I can use my headphones. When the OS improves I might pick this one up. ^_^

[@fryke]

It's in direct competition with the RG353VS not the RG353V, I'd say, because of the OS choice and non-touchscreen. So it's basically a much more expensive, worse device. Easy choice.

[@budgetking2591]

it costs 24 euro

[@AmazingSpanoMan]

Meanwhile everyone that backed the kickstarter for the GKD Plus Classic which is just this unit with the joysticks perm attached are still waiting. I'm sure I'll get it but now looking at this unit I kind of wish I ordered this one straight from retail.

[@bullymaguire243]

Are you going to do a gpd win 4 review?

[@ChadWSmith]

Thank you for the thorough review. This is one I will easily skip. I love the idea of an add-on to the device, but the software makes it sound completely useless.

[@ludotoyhunter8492]

So is it just me or is the new edition of handheld consoles MORE complicated and less user friendly than the old ones? The retroid 2 was pick up and play and it had an internal system boot up launcher that was just INCREDIBLE. The last gens had it so you did not need a computer to hook up to it, you could download right to the system itself using your Wi-Fi and the system memory. Now, these things cost more, don’t come with any way to access the games without a computer and they haven’t even updated the systems that you can use to play new games like the post 64 bit ones. I’m so SO MAD I bought that retroid 3+ and there’s nothing new but a touch screen basically. I’m not into paying for nostalgia at the same price as modern gaming (some emulation handhelds cost the same as a PS5! You’d do better just buying the system you want and the games you like at a secondhand shop or something. I’m real upset about that one!) and the only systems that I have seen that are able to work well playing new emulators are those with the highest price tag like the Odin and the steam box and the like. My retroid 2 plays everything that I have played with the newer version, the 3+. If you have a system of the older variety I would suggest you keep it and don’t upgrade unless you’re wanting to put the money and time into it.

[@LadyReese]

2:52 sir, RG505 doesn't have a rk3566, it has an unisoc tiger t618!

[@RetroGameCorps]

My bad, I meant to say RG503.

[@realdreamfootage]

Are those gameboy overlay bezels seen around 17:30 (with the rotated logo text) available online anywhere?

[@andikahakim8353]

hi Russ, waiting for garlicOS installation tutorial for RG35XX 😍😍

[@dm.3145]

14:47 Could you tell me what Emulation Station theme that is?

[@Opebin]

a mini handheld that can do PSP and DS is pretty crazy, but from the sound of it DS doesn't work still?

[@3ractnodi]

I love the shape when docked! Bummer about the firmware/OS. I also have to remind myself that I already have 2 vertical handhelds.

[@ralphmcmahan2139]

Dock could have had a second battery.

[@RetroGameCorps]

Great point!

[@RetroBreezeYT]

I'm wrapping up my review of this right now, and I have to say I think it is one of the worst handheld gaming devices I have ever used 😅 I really can't believe just how bad it is in terms of software and ergonomics. By the way, did your analog dock scratch your actual device? Mine is completely scratched up after just a handful of uses!

[@MegaBaconator77]

Great review! I've been curious about this device as a slightly larger miyoo mini. Do you think playing RPGs one handed with it is doable?

[@yanli1944]

yes if you have lager hands

[@justBri123]

Hey Russ, have there been any good updates for this? I know it's a bit older and it had some OS issues at launch etc. I'm still interested in this, and would definitely buy the dock for rare occasions.

[@KyleRuggles]

Not bad, surprised the dock doesn't have a battery to boost, 2000mah or something at least. Another half assed device, like many Anbernic ones. This might be acceptable a year ago, but not now.

[@zmielonyrzuf]

find your voice so soothing ;P

[@thanhclips]

I was about to bite on this but glad I went w/ Miyoo Mini instead.

[@spyspider01]

Reminds me of the days of the circle pad pro

[@joeyjojojunior4886]

Jumps directly to 17:51 to get to the meat of the video.

[@DeathMetalThrasher]

The analog stick dock is only available in white and pink?

[@yongyea4147]

10:09 THE DEVICE WE CAME TO SEE. ALL HAIL THE GREAT AND POWERFUL MIYOO MINI

[@whtiequillBj]

when you demoed the sound I felt it was very tinny sounding. Maybe that is part of having a small speaker.

[@estylegreesye4384]

What a garbage! Sorry to say that but I really don't understand why companies bring out such devices which seem pretty much unfinished with not working or only 50% working software. Especially now where a new handheld gets released every month. Then to make this even worse the price is too expensive, also. Who wants to buy such devices? Thanks for the great review once again!

[@Armored_22]

The thumbnail made it look like it was going to slide out, that would have been cool imo.

[@yanli1944]

i get the first batch, that was a deal. it was about 60 dollors with the dock when i got mine. i live in china

[@MJAY_NFFC]

Love it

[@ineedyoutostop]

The Nintendo Switch has permanently put me off of devices with detachable controllers, even if they're just analog sticks. It NEVER feels as good as just having a unified device, it adds more points of failure, it's more annoying to travel with, it adds cost, and it feels cheap. I would happily take a switch lite over a normal switch if it could dock, and I'd happily take pretty much any handheld with built-in analog sticks over one with detachable ones. The device itself looks pretty decent it's just not for me.

[@DiceRobo]

If you want something more solid than the joycons you can get the hori split pad compact. They're more comfortable and are much more solid than the first party

[@ineedyoutostop]

@@DiceRobo I've owned them, they don't solve the problem. The rails themselves and the sliders on the controllers are added points of failure. Because the rails don't have perfect specs there will always be a bit of wiggle, which makes things feel cheap and flimsy. It's adding cost thanks to requiring separate boards, batteries, the whole works. I could go on but you see my point. The only problem the hori pad solves is ergonomics, and even then it's at the cost of pretty much all portability.

[@glennshoemake4200]

The Retroflag controller for Switch is a single piece and makes the Switch so much better with the hall sensors. It's actually fixed everything that I have disliked about the Switch.

[@Gomezli16]

dweeb

[@brosplit]

Opposite for me. Especially gaming on the local coop mode is so much easier to access. + I can detach my joycons and put them into smaller footprints inside my bag. +If the controllers are broken, i dont need to disassemble the whole device unlike if it was unified. +Plenty of cheap & good third party joycons. +Switch is a godsend. AND YOU CAN JUST BUY LITE SWITCH IF YOU DESPISE detachable controllers 🥴😂

[@PongbyAtari]

The appeal to me is the gimmicky side of the device which once docked you said it was the most comfortable vertical handheld you had tried. The only thing making this a non pickup at this time is the software if they can update that to the point its easier to add your own roms & boxart plus open features that are not available I would buy it with dock of course.

[@sakuyamibu09]

Do these portable retro game devices (anbernic,retroid,miyoo,etc) have good quality for being played long terms? At least for two years

[@dyeLucky]

Just got mine and the OS was corrupted, however I can't find a way to reinstall the OS, nor can I get Game Kiddy to respond to me via email. Any suggestions?!?!

[@erlingqiericyice1977]

ask them on taobao or aliexpress

[@baddabaddabaddaswing]

I think I've come to conclusion that analog sticks on a vertical handheld just doesn't work.

[@ozzy9226]

Is there any of these handhelds that come with a micro SD card loaded up already for ppl like me who have no idea how to get them on the card I just want one with every ps1 game on it

[@okarowarrior]

Yes but they use chinese romsets with many roms corrupt, badly named/organized, from Asia regions in their respective languages, romhacks, etc. Many times they are cumbersome to deal with. Even ignoring that, they usually come in SD cards that are really, and i mean REALLY prone to go corrupt. I bought two miyoo minis and the card that they came with started failing after a month of use. Thankfully I bought new ones and bakced up everything before they got completely corrupt. But yea, those are the two big shortcomings: Bad roms and bad quality cards that get useless when they finally fail. It's a pity because you probably won't be able to ask for a already configured files with roms in forums because on most of them it's against their rules (to cover their asses of being sued). So you will really have to invest some time to get into them... maybe you even find fun in tinkering with the device. Most of us do!

[@yanli1944]

i have the docked version. it is a get and play device if you use the lovechild os. ee is too complicated. they also provide resouce in qq group, once download, everything is setup ready to play. i also do not have broken issues. the os is still under development with update, but it might be hard for nonchinese .

[@SoldierBoy3064]

I just bought a RG353V Retro Handheld and it has 34000 games It's so wild

[@mickeymickey9914]

Pre loaded games are always just a mountain of trash

[@bluebird8004]

Lol. Seriously dude. How many are repeats/unplayable. You're new here

[@dargfox_]

What is the game in the first minutes with Bart from The Simpsons?

[@adventureFAN]

What is the best smallest handheld with real and good stereo sound?

[@Garthasaurus]

My initials are GKD so I feel an odd obligation to seriously consider this purchase.

[@shnoo8900]

Great video!! Anyone ever tell you that you sound just like Jesse Eisenberg in the social network?? Once I heard it, I can’t stop hearing Mark Zuckerberg reviewing stuff haha. It’s one of my favorite movies of all time

[@EnjoySynthSounds]

I'd prefer yellow and blue buttons instead of the 2 black buttons. The gui and software usability is just as crucial as the ergonomics.

[@AsiaDavirro-m4y]

Leonardo Shores

[@maguinhored]

Oh my god! That product is so bad. I found the appearance so nice and with the dock it looks really comfortable. The Wi-Fi bugs, the USB not being recognized, that should be unacceptable. You shouldn't sell a product if does not do what you say it does...

[@rubensilva2983]

In 2:45 you said that the RG 505 have The same chipset...sorry but its not true ..its a unisoc tiger T1618 it can run GC and PS2 that one cannot

[@RetroGameCorps]

Ah crap, yeah I meant to say RG503. Even I have a hard time getting all the Anbernic numbers straight!

[@rubensilva2983]

@@RetroGameCorps of course 👍

[@vornach5216]

What game is shown at 18:28?

[@RetroGameCorps]

Alien Hominid for the GBA (all games are listed in the top left of the screen during gameplay!)

[@moosq]

can you do a 2023 version of ur favourite handhelds. Also i've been looking for a small handheld similar to this and was wondering which is the best for its price and offers a wide variety of games

[@colindunham5717]

Mine refuses to connect to any wifi.

[@pingingspace976]

Brand new Fresh video

[@Bugside]

Pretty though

[@AzureStarline]

Did better firmware happen?

[@RetroGameCorps]

Nope :(

[@AzureStarline]

@@RetroGameCorps no worries and thanks for the reply - funny I just commented elsewhere how you are top tier.

[@ShadowW0lf1]

There's so many handhelds. Which one do you even choose at this point?

[@okarowarrior]

My nokia 1100 still plays snake like day 1. Just adding one more unit to your list

[@Cyko..]

Did you ever get WiFi to work properly? I wonder if there was a loose connection inside? Without WiFi this thing is D.O.A. to me, and the software doesn't help matters either.

[@RetroGameCorps]

The WiFi worked fine, it was the supported software that wasn't working properly.

[@abdulhamza172]

Imagine of the dock had a battery. Double the device battery when plugged... What a missed opportunity

[@Baby_boodle]

Honestly I think I'd get one of these if there's enough work done on the OS.

[@mathisblair2798]

Can you tell me why you would buy this over a miyoo mini or even an RP2+? Or one of the reliable ambernik devices that didn't completely suck.

[@BABY-tp2vt]

Where can I buy it?

[@omarguerrero6417]

How much is the whole thing for?

[@lisov4575]

saw the $110 price immediately left.

[@rcc019]

Yeah get your broke a** outta here 😂😂😂

[@KevinSalas182]

What about DS games on this?

[@azshorty2003]

This thing looks like it should have Fisher Price stamped on it. Especially that back portion. Babies first handheld.

[@taimoorsohal]

Expensive

[@NotHeresrsly]

I wish this was smaller! These are the kinds of specs I want on a new Miyoo Mini (to give more clearance for games/systems with the CPU and really helpful with the additional RAM)

[@Kanon666]

Thanks for the Review , sounds that this hardware and specially the software sucks hard

[@wolfredstorm4878]

I think it's looks really cute, what a shame it's so average

[@jasonshiers5771]

Looks a decent handheld , just needs better firmware.

[@ulmwurttemberg1682]

Go-Kiddy Fun-Kiddy Display-Kiddy Retro-Kiddy Power-Kiddy NotAdult-Kiddy Kiddy-Kiddy i'm fine..

[@malachi1120]

20:27 pcsx2 ??

[@obvious_giraffe8386]

Lol

[@higherconsciousness181]

I wish it had a dual screen and more power to play 3ds

[@Covnam]

Annoying that so many of these recent handhelds need a custom firmware to really work well

[@Blaklyon0]

Well... According to that thumbnail it can play Sega Saturn but still can't play GameCube... Is the GameCube just too difficult to emulate perfectly?

[@RetroGameCorps]

Yes, GameCube and PS2 are at a level above this. Even though Dreamcast was technically the same generation, it's much easier to emulate than those two.

[@carlos2004]

oof, it seems a bit expensive and gimmicky in the current market for what it offers. with retroid offering the rp2plus, and rp3plus at the their current prices, this one seems like a tough sale, unless someone really likes this form factor.

[@sonicsega1699]

emulation companies: lets put together a cheap emulator handheld and sell it as "nostalgic handheld". emulation companies: crap, our product isn't selling.....lets re-package it and call it a "version 2" emulation companies: they're catching on to us billy.....quick throw in attachments!!!!

[@JadeAuditore-u6e]

Tremaine Mountain