Powkiddy X55 Review

Gogamegeek recently sent me the new Powkiddy X55, a handheld that I wasn’t even expecting and has, apparently, been in development for a while.

Unfortunately. this does mean that it’s packing the RK3566 chipset, used in many retro gaming handhelds last year, and compared to what is on the market at the moment, it’s a little underpowered. But don’t let that put you off as the X55 still a fairly decent handheld in its own right.

The X55 looks really nice and is a fairly large gaming handheld. The one I was sent by Gogamegeek is a nice blue colour that came with a 256GB SD card with around 30,000 games included. I love the fact they have released a horizontal handheld again as it feels great to hold and is very ergonomic.

Looking at the stats for the X55, you can see it’s been in development since last year, using many of the specs that most gaming companies are now moving away from, including Powkiddy themselves. The RK3566 is the same chip used in the Anbernic RG353M, which is one of my most favourite handhelds from last year.

  • CPU: Rock-chips RK3566, Quad-core ARM Cortex-A55, CPU Clock Speed: 1.8GHZ
  • GPU: ARM Mali-G52
  • RAM: LPDDR4X, 2GB
  • Display: 5.5-inch IPS RGB Screen 60HZ (720×1280)
  • System: Linux System
  • TF Card: Support double TF card to expand up to 256GB
  • Battery: 4000 mAh, charged for 2 hours and last 4hours
  • Misc: USB-C fast charging, TV HDMI display, OTG-USB, 3.5mm stereo headset, Bluetooth and Wifi
  • Material: ABS (Blue)
  • Dimensions: 21.25 x 9.45 x 1.9cm
  • Weight: 293g

If you read my recent article for the RK2023, you will see that it’s also the same chip used in that too, which, at the time I stated, was a decent handheld, just underpowered, and the same is the case with the X55.

Two things that I really liked were the image quality and the sound. The screen is absolutely stunning at 5.5 inches and sporting a 720×1280 resolution, and the image quality pops from the screen, amazing colours and brightness, as well as great sharpness, you will be impressed with this.

Sound quality from the stereo speakers is very good, and the X55 has to be one of the loudest gaming handhelds I have heard. It’s crisp and clear, and it was so loud that I found myself having to turn it down.

The X55 also has micro HDMI video out, so you can connect it to a large-screen TV and use it as a console. I don’t tend to do this with any of my handhelds as that’s what I want them to be, handheld!! But, I do get that a lot of gamers like to connect them to a large-screen TV.

I would like to see Powkiddy produce more colour variants of the X55 as whilst the blue looks really nice, it may not be everyone’s first choice. More variations provide more choice and more sale opportunities. I would also love to see a metal version of the X55 as whilst the plastics being used here are of good quality and feel nice, a metal version would definitely feel more premium.

I also like the quality of the buttons, and they are a nice size for the actual size of the handheld itself. Triggers are similar to what you would find on a switch handheld, which are stacked and feel responsive. As do the facial buttons, they are very responsive and not at all clicky, though they do have quite a bit of travel due to their height, but overall, they’re very nice to use.

The X55 can play up to PS1 and PSP games, though I found PSP to be hit and miss with some games. Strangely enough with God of War: Chains of Olympus, if I pressed the Y button during cutscenes, the image would disappear. I could still hear the sound, and pressing the Y button again made the image re-appear. But the actual game played quite well during my play sessions.

The X55 is a Linux handheld, with a simple OS allowing you to get straight into the action whilst still being able to tinker with things if you want. I always test any handheld with a straight out of the box setup as not everyone is technically minded will want to mess about with the settings just to get the games to work. I’m pleased to say that the X55 is fairly decent straight out of the box.

If your content with just playing Super Nintendo, N64, PlayStation, PSP, and arcade games, then the X55 will be just fine and an enjoyable purchase. But if you want to play PS2, GameCube, etc., you should look elsewhere.

The X55, in my opinion, is going to be ideally aimed at those people new to retro gaming. It’s a pick-up and play device with a ton of games included, and at such a decent price (Gogamegeek $151.99 256GB version), it’s hard not to recommend it.

 

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