XU10 Review: Surprising $70 Retro Handheld!

[@RetroGameCorps]

Today I learned that you are not supposed to use diagonals when going up the stairs in Castlevania III, you just press up on the d-pad. Took me 30 years to figure that out, thanks to everyone for the feedback!

[@ocha-time]

Always great to find out your previous successes were contingent on poor controller reads

[@Pridetoons]

Bruh

[@panickynarwhal6729]

Wait, really...? Man, did i goof that one.

[@andrewanderson2975]

Love the videos can you do XU10 vs R36s compassion which is better

[@rolen47]

Oh my, that's a little embarrassing, but the Contra tests and Hadouken tests are still applicable. Keep it up Russ you're doing great! Your videos are always helpful even when they aren't perfect.

[@WickedGamerCollector]

XU10 is one of my favorite budget handhelds now. Specially the D-pad on this thing is so amaing compared with the R35 or R36. Screen is maybe not the best still find it comfy to look, hold and play for hours on this thing.

[@Pridetoons]

Same here, I can't wait to experiment with this Handheld. 😁

[@RetroGameCorps]

Yeah, the R35S d-pad was really bad, that and the shoulder buttons prevented me from making a video on it. I have the R36S but haven't tried it yet!

[@mihai96z3d]

​@@RetroGameCorpsthis breaks my heart 🤣 bought the 35s as my first HH, guess the community wont take off too far with all the negative feedback.

[@j.r.h.9265]

Taki already made a video on how to make the d-pads and the face buttons better in the r36s.

[@j.r.h.9265]

@michaelgronn4351 rg505 or 405v

[@Kaspergrovenielsen]

If you hold down the 'volume down button' while booting up, you eliminate the start up sound 👍

[@JochenSteglich]

Do you have to do this every time for the device to start quietly? Or is it enough to do it once, and then it will stay quiet forever?

[@decarlotti]

Comparing this review to older ones of devices with similar/matching form factors it’s amazing to see the leaps and bounds Russ has made in becoming such a pillar of the community. He goes so in-depth on the current device I end up learning even more about the devices I already own. He has a way of renewing excitement both for the devices I currently own and for the near future of retro gaming. Much appreciated as always, I love the skeptical optimism with these cheaper devices

[@lockonandfire]

I'm a big fan of that Spanish PS1 game, lovely to hear it get mentioned with correct pronunciation.

[@RetroGameCorps]

Yes it took me years to figure out how to properly say that mysterious game!

[@thesidneychan]

Dammit

[@heaven_10.9]

KZbin: "Are you sure you want to thumbs up this video during the intro?" Me: "Yeah man, I wanna do it!

[@tmgunter]

The reason you can't climb the stairs in Castlevania is because you need to press directly up/down, not diagonally. Once you're on the stairs you can press diagonal and it will work, but if you do so while on the ground you'll just keep walking.

[@lesscubes]

Regarding performance- the spec sheets say this new one has DDR4L ram instead of DDR3L, still 1gb but the clock speed on that RAM is probably *double* what the DDR3 was. That might play a part too.

[@FromWitchSide]

Not likely, it is certainly a nice to have upgrade, but when it comes to system memory N64 runs perfectly on SDRAM 133MHz, while in the Dolphin (Wii and Gamecube) FAQ it is stated that RAM speed does not have any impact on emulation which likely means we were already past the requirements with DDR2 (6.4GB/s). Perhaps it could affect GPU VRAM side of things due to the shared memory nature of ARM SoC's, again N64 ran perfectly on TNT2 with 2.65GB/s VRAM, but DDR3L should generally be around low to mid level desktop GPUs we used around Dreamcast emulation (say above top DDR2 VRAM cards, but considerably below GDDR3 ones). So if anything, from the systems that can be ran on the RK3326, it could only have a minor influence on Dreamcast, and that is probably a big stretch.

[@Ganimoth]

@@FromWitchSide yet its the only major difference you can find, because you can easily overclock some baseline 3326 devices to match this and still they wont perform as well.

[@GeorgeWeeman]

It's worth 70 bucks to me just for playing PS1, and Dreamcast games. You are right though, there are a ton of options in what to buy, but I don't think there are too many options. I love the variety of handhelds out there, and it's just nice that it's not jusy one, or two companies monopolizing the handheld gaming industry.

[@richard_franks]

@13:00 - this startup video can be bypassed by using a Linux terminal to unsquash the SYSTEM file on the SD card, delete /usr/splash.mp4, and resquash the files. I'd recommend backing up first. Thanks for this in depth review, it's what made me decide to purchase it. I love the ergonomics of the device.

[@frankbaker7470]

I'm getting this for Christmas. Definitely looking forward to adding it to my collection

[@ZeroScore]

Those ridges at the top are the handheld's Eugene Levy eyebrows.

[@Wajang1]

Would have loved to own this 35 years ago. Would be king of gaming.

[@jeff____]

If this thing gets some real custom firmware it will be incredible Im very excited about that

[@shto4782]

Onion os 👍👍👍

[@WickedGamerCollector]

custom firmware would be even making it better indeed !

[@Luna-ts1ob]

@@shto4782can it be download to it or no?

[@HSLSENG]

Apé Escapé is also my favorite Spanish game

[@jc30081983]

Dudeeeeee you keep delivering!!! When do you rest??

[@jakontolovsky]

This is an amazing handheld. They already even put holes and copper shims to prevent overheating.

[@dajackalz]

Now that there's JelOS support would you change your opinion on the XU10?

[@angelsilveren8782]

I bought the R36S over the XU10 because it was on sale. But I’m still waiting for Russ review cause he’s the only one that give viewers 💯 % detailed information.

[@angelsilveren8782]

@@dcents5458Yep that’s why I bought mine, I followed a guy named Jacek Rusin he made a lot of videos about the R36S playing Dreamcast, NDS, N64 PSP and more after watching all the videos I decided to buy it. And the screen is way better than the XU10.

[@renzler3534]

I think that because of the way this handheld is sort of locked down as far as menu options are concerned it makes for a very good starter retro-handheld for a child. Very little room for them to accidentally break the system. The only changes you would need to make is possibly trimming down the game list so they are not overwhelmed.

[@ArmandXPS]

Just picked this up for $25 on AliExpress and excited to try it out. My first retro console. Thanks for the review info. 🎉

[@eric4903]

Same. I have a SteamDeck that is more than capable, but this will be my first pocketable since my old Sony Xperia Play, or maybe OG PSP.

[@pendantblade6361]

Featuring Coded Arms is like an injection of nostalgia.

[@-Brunnen-G]

Were the SD card slots labeled correctly on the white one? If so, I wonder if the white one was the new corrected version and the purple is the old version and maybe that's why the white one came with the added the bag and adapter.

[@PinkDan12345]

Wow, seems like there’s a new device every day

[@thenonexistinghero]

Well, this kind of market is kinda booming at the moment. Bought a Miyoo Mini Plus myself when it came out. Probably gonna take a while before one of similar size comes out that is capable of running almost all PS2 and GC games properly, so I'll stick with my MM+ until then.

[@trashpandacus]

​​@@thenonexistinghero I'm also waiting for full PS2 & GC. The 405v is almost there so it's safe to assume that next year's model will probably be decent for that. For now I have my Plus and modded PSP to hold me over.

[@feelsbard]

Taki Udon did a review of the device as well and did some modifications to the boot sound, menus, and some more during it. It's definitely possible to work with it to some degree.

[@FunkySpaceDude]

I saw Taki's review and I'm waiting to see a tutorial on what he did. I'm getting my xu10 in a couple of days and I'd love to have it set up like he did. If anything, I just want to get rid of that loud start up sound I'll be dealing with till a fix shared.

[@toddgattfry5405]

Me too!! I'll be keeping an eye out for any tutorials on how to improve the boot sound etc.

[@kevinb5417]

Here's hoping you'll take another look at this device with the price having dropped as well as the availability of AmberElec and JelOS.

[@fredrodnick2881]

It's nice to see a solid purple one rather than those clear purple ones, or any clear colored ones.

[@Neon_Surge]

If you do a hand held round up before Christmas I would love to see a segment or category for best hand held to gift to kids or someone who knows nothing about computers or emulation. Even if it's like a you set it up for them before you gift it to them thing.

[@thesunkendream]

I like the intro, it reminds me of an old console. Like the PS1 dropping the bass when you turn it on.

[@bruceisley3323]

Maybe those ridges are additional protection for the screen from damaging when falling down.

[@karikora8279]

Exactly what I thought lol

[@Warboss777]

But they don't pop out against the screen

[@Bassote97]

2024 is gonna be an amazing year for budget handheld, I can feel it

[@romuztek]

If custom firmware can provide an overall polished experience while also ironing out the n64 experience, it'd be a pretty solid unit for most use cases and we could definitely say the chipset has enough grunt for this form factor. We're definitely in a good place for ~$70 4:3 handhelds that can do most things very well. I am not too hung up on PSP playability personally, as the experience is far too compromised on a 1:1 or 4:3 display regardless of how good the chipset is. The next big stride with these budget-ish handhelds would have to be a 16:9 horizontal unit that has enough raw power to run PS2/GC/Xbox emulation smoothly. Probably a few years away from that though.

[@Patrick-bn5rp]

You kinda don't need 16:9 for PS2 and GameCube, though, imo.

[@piodelgado2890]

To go up the stairs in Castlevania you just press up, this is not a D-Pad's issue in any way.

[@ElementalTJ]

Very impressive! Thanks for the video!

[@doubleabattry]

Im gonna be honest i think this might be the best handheld in this pricepoint 🔥 (assuming software gets improved over time)

[@FuturamicR88]

Great video. Enjoyed the breakdown. You had mentioned loading your own roms. Where is a good library to pick up any roms of my choice? Looking forward to seeing more of your content, take care.

[@denysrocco]

Russ will never tell you exactly where to go get the roms. Just google it and you will find it. There are several sites you can get them.

[@colinmartin9797]

That intro audio is literally the only thing holding me back. Please keep an eye on whether or not they make a cfw. Because this seems better than the 353v in performance, and I'm just waiting for something exactly like this to upgrade from my 35xx to. So if the community puts together a custom firmware for this, I'm all over it. The only serious downside is that slow and loud intro, imo.

[@lazyhominid]

This now runs JELOS. And the original firmware can be modded to be full on AmberELEC. It was $42 shipped to the EU during the spring sale on Ali, so it was a really nice deal. Superb hand held with good performance. I really like being able to play Ikaruga on a cheap pocket size device.

[@OGTechNick]

I’m glad I got mine before Russ’ video went live. Watch the prices go up as the demand increases. Russ, you’re the man!

[@jamesethan3749]

I clicked on his link and its actually now cheaper, 49.99 instead of the $70 he says in the video 🤷‍♂️

[@nunits]

I have it and there are important details to consider -The screen has a greenish tone. If you put the two consoles (r36s) you will notice what I say -The crosshead has problems when pressing 2 or 3 diagonals at the same time... it locks until you release it. -the cpu and ram are not what they are. scb13h4g160 is ddr3L memory and if you remove the copper sheet you will see that the cpu is RK3326... not "S" The system is totally blocked. I really look forward to seeing arkOS here soon.

[@KrazyShark]

Powkiddy Stalker GF acquired. Hope they make a new version with a different firmware or can be changed in the future cause that intro would drive me craaazy. Super interesting that they put a PS4-PS5 style D-Pad as well. Been playing Super Mario Wonder with my PS4 controller and I loved using the D-Pad for it so hope new devices try it out.

[@EricBrado]

I recently got the R35S+ which looks very similar to this one(I got the purple transparent color) & was $50 I wasn’t expecting really much because it was so cheap but I was honestly so blown away at how well it is made,the buttons feel quality and the whole device feels quite quality. The volume actually gets pretty loud and all games I’ve played so far works great n plays good. I even played GTA:Vice City Stories and that game kinda had some frameskips/lags/glitch buh it’s not bad to the point where it’s not playable just a little slow and lasts about 6hrs. I do wanna find a emulator or handheld with GameCube & ps2 games buh maybe I’ll end up getting a steam deck so I can play everything

[@liesdiebibelbruder420]

I get only 30fps on PSX on R35S+ do you know why that is?

[@smudgey5000]

If you have a decent android smartphone like Samsung Galaxy 20 5G you could get a razor kishi controller which turns it into a nintendo switch like handheld that can run PS2 and Gamecube games fine.

[@saqqawattuhb7505]

Too many of these vertical handhelds in the market. I want clamshell like GBA SP canr wait for it from Anbernic and miyoo. Hope they get made soon.

[@ramy8700]

Anbernic already has one but it's almost 2 years old. So your power is limited to SNES and GBA

[@KesSharann]

A new clamshell might be announced before the end of the year. There's a spreadsheet floating around of rumors.

[@BradPort]

Love your reviews, RGC. Do you think there’s any way you could take an EmulationStation based image and put it onto the system card? Or is the limited system card the issue? Running ES and retroarc on this machine would be a nice turn. Or even pushing a Batocera image? Probably not enough power…I am kind of a newbie on this, so just throwing stuff out. You are one of my favorite KZbinrs to watch. Maybe a verticals top 5 from you?

[@joehernandez11]

I think you should assign a score from 1-100 Then put them on a table for us to compare I mean, there are a ton of devices like this coming out every often. Now with the holidays it would be nice to have a list to help us decide based on our budget. Great content Thanks a lot

[@iTheBeep]

Scores don't provide enough nuance. Even if a handheld had a high score, it wouldn't mean it would fit your usecase perfectly. There's always compromise with these things. Just wait for another one of Russ's videos that talk about his favorite handhelds of the year, or watch more of his reviews.

[@PastaLuke]

Loved that the first bug you saw was in Bug's Life 😂

[@Radalku]

Combined with 351elec or today amberelec, this one is my favourite vertical handheld. Add your own background music and games on a new sd card and you will have a superb time with it - offline

[@pinkandbluebloxplayers3320]

Hey, Russ this device that you reviewed in your video is a clone of the rg351v meaning there's an image for the xu10 handheld devices that you can flash to the micro SD card. Edit: you can use any images of the operating system.

[@roguegeek]

IMO, there just isn’t enough uniqueness here to stand out in a sea of devices. I’d rather spend a little more and get a device that’s well supported with better software and WiFi/retroachievements. Honestly, the RGB30 is such a standout device that I don’t know why you’d get anything else for around this price.

[@Pridetoons]

Personally I've bought the RGB30 and the XU10.

[@radical_dog]

@@Pridetoons How do you expect to use them in different ways?

[@TokuPonii]

when will we have a vertical handheld with stacked shoulder buttons instead of the horizontal ones?

[@Topbeehler]

The little bumps on the top could be for protection? like when sliding the system into something by mistake? Other than trying to keep the screen safe from bumps along the top I can't see why else they'd have that. I will say however it looks pretty cool

[@joelobozzo]

This and the r36s are close to the same price on AliExpess now so which would you recommend?

[@kevinbayas7869]

When are you going to review the r36s? I heard a lot of good things about it!

[@newrez]

Just FYI for anyone looking to purchase one of these - The AMPOWN branded ones are shipping with the RK3326 and DDR3L, not the stated specs of RK3326S and DDR4. I cannot speak for the PowdKiddy branded units. I opened up my unit and it does indeed have an RK3326 and DDR3L.... misleading given the specs listed on the box... It actually looks like the unit he opened up in this video has DDR3 judging by the markings (should be SCB13H4G160AF-11MI which is DDR3L 1866mhz). I bet if the copper shim was removed it would show an RK3326. People need to be made aware of this as it seems the stated specs have never been correct.

[@alejandroperez9855]

Would you choose this one or r36s?

[@georged7627]

For some reason i put the SD card in my rk2023 then put it back in the xu10 and now the load and save feature doesn’t work

[@CFWhitman]

You don't need to hit a diagonal to go up the stairs in _Castlevania 3._ You just need to press 'up.'

[@sayonqlo]

the engineering on this is creatively great

[@jedewitz]

So sorry - they definitely know its you and asked me if they should send you one 😂. We might have more firmware available soon but no promises.

[@RetroGameCorps]

Haha, mystery solved :)

[@RedHotBillyPeppers]

I like the way you edit your speaking in your videos. I can never hear you pause to take a breath.

[@soaremicheledavid6020]

We have official Jelos now!!

[@FromWitchSide]

Thank you for the review (some suggestions in second paragraph at the end). I learned about XU10 some time ago, like a day after ordering Miyoo Mini Plus, and it was my first "perhaps I should have bought it instead" before the ARC release. The usual reason was possibility of dpad being better based on the look (btw. original PS1 dpads also were single piece with pivot, I still run SCPH-1080 for emulation). I didn't know about the higher clocked chip, that is a nice addition cause I certainly would like to run N64 since the sticks are there, and I was actually surprised to learn the stock RK3326 had some issues there. I usually just look at core's architecture and clock, but I guess power limits/sustained clock/SoC design are important and can skew theoretical capability of CPU, especially in handheld implementation. In my case the lack of extra features doesn't bother me, I mean the 2 card slots are an extra already, and while I would like to see CFW, the stock software looks surprisingly usable for me. I got into emulation like 2 and a half decades ago, actually first emulated game I played was 3 decades ago on Amiga, so RetroArch can be overwhelming to me, and I just find it a pain to deal with compared to dedicated emulators with Windows interface. About reviews, I'm really happy you are now always including a closer look at dpads, I think you overtook other reviewers in that regard, but I still feel like it is not fully conclusive at times. I guess running a gamepad tester of sorts isn't always possible, but some fighting games have inputs display in practice mode, so perhaps adding more of that with you trying full circles in both directions, and fast switching between cardinal directions, or your contra test, would actually be helpful for picky dpad viewers like me :P Another thing is a possibility of further expanding handheld reviews standards beyond what any reviewer does - measuring headphone output (power in mW and voltage). This is certainly a bit of a hassle to do, but with Miyoo I've run into an issue where headphone output is very low and I'm not getting enough loudness to play outside using earphones. Interestingly I also found that volume increased with increase of impedance of earphones, which would suggest that Miyoo might have adaptive output - increases output power/voltage limitation depending on impedance load. This is how some Android phones, as well as modern Macs work. So it would be super helpful to measure the output of reviewed handhelds at several impedance points - 32Ohm and 300Ohm is the most important, with 150Ohm and 64Ohm points nice to have. Knowing power at set impedance, and voltage limitation, will allow anyone to use online calculators to learn how loud (SPL) their headphones will be with said device. If you ever get interested in the topic, maybe people at Audio Science Review could provide more information on the measuring process, I can only provide some data of devices which could be used as comparison points (PC onboards tested by youtuber Julian Krause, popular Apple dongle from ASR, and such). This is not super important, because probably no one intends to connect highly demanding expensive headphones to a handheld, nor would think it would be able to handle them, but there might be more cases like Miyoo, gaming on headphones/earphones is important portability aspect, and it is kind of a way to expand reviews beyond of what everyone are doing.

[@FromWitchSide]

​@aWOLtrooper That is not needed. Headphone's impedance is usually in specs provided by your headphone's manufacturer, so all people interested should be able to look it up (there are also media outlets which measure headphones as well). So what is needed is to measure handheld's headphone output at set impedance loads, and then us viewers can use that with our headphone's specs (impedance and sensitivity) to calculate loudness.

[@holiggan2008]

how does it compare with the rg353v? now I'm curious :)

[@BelakorVenator]

Do the N64 games come preloaded on the card, or did you import the roms yourself for testing?

[@HelvisElvis]

RetroGameCorps, you wondered why this handheld had a opening in the top, its simply design, if you look at the console in its whole design it tries to look like an "X" as its brand called XU 10 I dont think its any practical use, maby some kind of a screen protection if you drop it. And this is one of my favorite handhelds btw :D thanks for great vids

[@AxelPironio]

Startup Sound: maybe a video file exists on the system partition. One could edit it to remove the audio track or replace it with silence

[@bigboyanimation3799]

Can you play the Nintendo games that require the gun using the analogs?

[@MrNeosantana]

It's really hard to focus on anything in the review after Apé Escapé. This is gonna live rent-free in my head forever.

[@erickschusterdeoliveira2662]

could you do a refresh on this? it's sitting at 50 USD at the moment and has ArkOS available

[@sicktuna5168]

Are you going to review the R36S?

[@UntrainableWizard]

I was listening to this in the background while working... That Spanish game joke took me about 30 seconds to click in my head, but was so funny.

[@kavenewell72]

It's possible to add more games in the other as card port? Or what is the use for that other slot?

[@joshuabullard7003]

Oh man, I love that Spanish game!

[@loveistruth5713]

Just bought mine on t e m u. $59 before taxes I haven't really seen one really bad review on this. I'm getting it just so I can sit at home and play games and not worry about having to download a bunch of weird stuff since I don't have a computer

[@matthewk956]

Hey rockstar, I've been eyeing off the Temu one too. Has yours arrived yet? Curious to know your thoughts on it?

[@choboutube]

What about Baku baku animal (saturn) please?

[@marckoliver]

These lips above the screen looks like they are impact points to protect the screen from breaking in case of a fall. I always thought the screen from RG353V/VS were too exposed to the side of the shell...

[@davidkelley3890]

Awesome mewithoutyou T-shirt!

[@jefflolson]

From the back the little bit that sticks out look like arcade machine marquee things. Especially the ones in Asia where there's long rows.

[@Crazy_Gamer_OG]

This thing looks like a pretty good deal considering what it can do & it's price.

[@hanksterart3809]

Did it come with sonic adventure 2 or did you have to add it

[@fredrodnick2881]

I like it, but I have to wait probably a long time cause I just spent too much and have to save money. In the meantime there will probably be many more released during the next year or so.

[@chinaman1]

Hello, please make a shopping guide/list for black friday / Christmas purchase. Maybe for different range of products!

[@cutmass]

i have a steamdeck and all my games are set up perfectly but i cant stop watching these reviews like im gonna buy one lol

[@akop87]

My too

[@Boogie_the_cat]

Jinjos The real sell for me regards whether it comes with a tiger sticker or not?

[@strifeedits]

top ridges for screen drop protection? maybe to fit specific case?

[@Sankurot]

Wouldn't it be possible to go into the OS Sd card and delete the boot video/sound?

[@sonomute]

Thanks for the video. I've just got one of these and so far ive found two issues: the G button is veeeery light, like you literally just touch it and it triggers, no click basically, and the headphones jack is weird, it's not 'smooth', like the headphone jack gets stuck inside, and the sound is full of noises like it's catching the interferences from surrounding hardware...are either of these normal or I've got a defective unit? Thanks!

[@Autotrope]

The ridges on the top may help protect the screen against breaking when you drop the device Edit: this is pure speculation I have no actual knowledge of why that's there

[@laius6047]

The plastic protrusions on top i think are there simply to protect the screen in case of it ebing dripped on the top edge.

[@MrBrandonbarlow]

R36s should be considered as well.

[@zwenkwiel816]

kind of looks like the factory right next to Anbernic's was like "we can do that too" XD

[@RetroMannGaming]

Just ordered mine for 32€ just now 😁😁

[@Gamergirlyoshi]

I just got the Miyoo mini, and it's pretty good. I also have another one that is RG353VS I love theses handhelds. I don't like the ridges on top.

[@takwu0]

My best guess for the lip on top is a kind bumper and or structural support. without it the screen glass is very close to the top edge of the device and there would be a very thin bit of plastic protecting it. with this bumper hopefully certain types of impact can be partially absorbed or deflected. and it might also reduce the amount of flex in the plastic. it is a strange design and never really seen used anywhere else, but who knows it might actually work and prevent screen damage. am i just imagining or did i hear some horror stories of certain mini vertical handhelds being particularly susceptible to cracked screens...?

Is it possible to swap discs?

[@degenerate8228]

When is the E6 gaming handheld running gamemt interface and on android gooing to be reviewed?

[@homelesstogreatness6626]

Powkiddy giving a free XU10 was sneaky good.

[@LEGEND4-1]

Can you save the games?bc im planning to buy one

[@Luna-ts1ob]

I just bought it

[@matthewk956]

And what are your thoughts on it? If you've received and played it by this stage? I'm thinking of getting one.

[@ChristopherOSU]

Do the Dual Analog sticks work with Robotron 2084?