Miyoo Mini Plus vs Anbernic RG35XX: The Budget King?

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The Miyoo Mini Plus and the Anbernic RG35XX are perpetually neck and neck at the top of the sub-$70 retro market. Both punch far above their price, but they make different design choices. This breakdown covers the base RG35XX (the vertical, Game Boy style model) and, further down, the landscape RG35XX Plus, since the Miyoo competes with both.

Design and ergonomics

The two devices target different tastes. The RG35XX is a vertical, Game Boy Color shaped handheld. It is tiny, light, and the easiest thing here to slip into a shirt pocket. The vertical layout suits 2D systems but puts the face buttons close to the D-pad.

The Miyoo Mini Plus is a small horizontal handheld with a textured grip shell. It is slightly more comfortable for long sessions and feels a touch more premium in the hand, though it is marginally larger.

Display

Feature	Miyoo Mini Plus	Anbernic RG35XX
Screen size	3.5 inch	3.5 inch
Resolution	640x480	640x480
Panel type	IPS	IPS
Aspect	4:3	4:3
Brightness	Very good	Excellent

Both panels are excellent for the price and share the same sharp 4:3 IPS spec. The RG35XX edges ahead on peak brightness, which helps in bright rooms and outdoors.

Emulation performance

Both run budget chips and land in the same tier. For the classics they are effectively identical.

NES, SNES, Genesis, Game Boy through GBA: flawless on both.
PS1: both excel. Metal Gear Solid and Crash Bandicoot run with no fuss.
N64 and Dreamcast: both struggle. A handful of lighter titles run, but neither is an N64 or Dreamcast machine. Buy up a tier if those matter.

There is no meaningful performance gap here. The decision comes down to form factor, connectivity, and firmware.

Connectivity

This is a real difference. The Miyoo Mini Plus has built-in Wi-Fi, which lets you scrape box art and use RetroAchievements out of the box. The original RG35XX has no Wi-Fi, so it is a pure offline device. If online features matter to you, the Miyoo wins here, or step up to the RG35XX Plus, which adds Wi-Fi.

Firmware

Both devices come alive on community firmware. The Miyoo Mini Plus runs Onion OS, which is one of the most polished firmware projects in the hobby, with a beautiful theme system and years of refinement. The RG35XX runs muOS or GarlicOS, both excellent and clean. Onion OS has a slight edge in polish, but all three are a huge upgrade over stock.

What about the RG35XX Plus?

Anbernic also sells the RG35XX Plus, a landscape, GBA-style variant that goes head to head with the Miyoo Mini Plus more directly than the vertical original does. The emulation tier and the 3.5 inch 640x480 IPS panel are the same, so the differences come down to feel and battery:

Ergonomics. The RG35XX Plus is slightly larger and more angular, with extra grip area and better placed L2/R2 buttons. For adult hands on long sessions, it is a touch more comfortable than the Miyoo.
Battery. The Plus packs a 3,500mAh cell against the Miyoo's 3,000mAh, worth roughly one to two extra hours of play.
Connectivity. Unlike the vertical RG35XX, the Plus adds Wi-Fi, so it matches the Miyoo on box-art scraping and RetroAchievements.
Firmware. The Plus runs GarlicOS or Anbernic's official firmware. Both are solid, but the Miyoo's Onion OS remains the more polished, mature project.

Bottom line on the Plus: choose the RG35XX Plus for the best battery life and a slightly more premium landscape build, and the Miyoo Mini Plus for the best-in-class Onion OS software experience. Both are slam dunks under $80.