Ayaneo's Konkr Pocket Advance sells for $109 with a MediaTek Helio G90T processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage and a 3.5-inch 960x640 touchscreen — a spec sheet the company bets will displace Linux-based rivals like Anbernic's $69.99 RG34XX as the default choice for Game Boy Advance fans.

The handheld runs Android 12 rather than the Linux variations common in this size and price class. Ayaneo ships its custom AYASpace launcher, which simplifies installing emulators, and the device has full access to the Google Play Store plus sideloaded Android apps. Users can replace AYASpace with alternative launchers; the reviewer installed Cannoli, which replicates the clean aesthetics of the popular Linux launcher MinUI with several emulators preinstalled and preconfigured, and can jump between launchers at will.

Hardware details

The Pocket Advance measures close enough to the original GBA to fit 25-year-old original cases, according to the reviewer, though it diverges from Nintendo's design with eight additional controls: X and Y action buttons plus four extra shoulder buttons on the top edge. A larger D-pad, a cooling fan for the Helio G90T and a 4,000mAh battery give the all-plastic chassis a satisfying heft the reviewer rates as on par with Nintendo's hardware. A $129 variant bumps the configuration to 4GB of RAM and 64GB of built-in storage, and the cheaper model's storage expands via microSD.

The 3:2 aspect ratio display serves GBA emulation specifically: the 960x640 panel scales the GBA's native 240x160 resolution at exactly 4x with no interpolation. The trade-off is visible when emulating other systems — non-3:2 content letterboxes, pillarboxes, or shows scaling artifacts when the math isn't clean.

Performance envelope

The Helio G90T is a seven-year-old chip, and that sets the performance ceiling. It handles many PlayStation 2 and GameCube titles, but the reviewer identifies the PlayStation 1 and Sega Dreamcast as its sweet spot, with the best experience on older consoles like the Super Nintendo and Genesis. A quick-settings menu slides in from the right to boost performance at the cost of battery life. The absence of analog thumbsticks also rules out more modern games that need them.

Native Android performance varies. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge runs well, Netflix streaming is passable, but the Disney Plus app crashes outright on the device.

Button feel is the compromise

The buttons are soft and squishy — retro purists may object. The reviewer had to mash action buttons slightly harder to guarantee registered inputs, though the same softness makes the controls satisfyingly quiet.

Against the RG34XX

Anbernic's RG34XX undercuts the Pocket Advance by roughly $40, but the reviewer considers Ayaneo's device worth the premium: more processing power, a higher-resolution display, a preferred D-pad and shoulder button layout, and more consistent build quality. The reviewer reports intermittent D-pad responsiveness issues on the RG34XX — problems also reported by other users on Reddit — and says the Pocket Advance has effectively retired the Anbernic device from their collection.

The reviewer's history with GBA upgrades frames the verdict: from the frontlit GBA SP, to aftermarket backlit LCD and rechargeable battery mods, to the RG34XX purchased two years ago. All have now been replaced by the Pocket Advance, which the reviewer calls one of the best retro handhelds currently available — provided buyers accept its limits on what it can emulate.