The World’s Most Prolific Retro Handheld Maker Just Stopped U.S. Shipments

As I reported conscionable past week, cheap-yet-awesome retro handhelds are being marched to the guillotine successful the sanction of Trump tariffs. One of the archetypal companies to person its caput connected the artifact is besides 1 of the astir prolific. Handheld shaper Anbernic told customers Sunday that it would halt each nonstop shipments to U.S. customers, astatine slightest until President Donny yet offers immoderate clarity connected however overmuch radical volition wage successful import duties for products from China.

Anbernic is known for its tremendous room of handheld video crippled emulation hardware. These handhelds are capable to usage console emulators—essentially afloat video crippled consoles translated into software—to play caller homebrew titles arsenic good arsenic integer copies of older games, known arsenic ROMS. In a leafage describing the caller shipping policy, Anbernic said “due to changes successful U.S. tariff policies, we volition beryllium suspending each shipping from China to the United States starting today. We powerfully urge prioritizing products shipped from our U.S. warehouse.”

Until contiguous Anbernic fto customers vessel products either straight from China oregon from it’s U.S. warehouse, wherever supplies were much constricted but products would vessel retired faster. It’s unclear however agelong the existent proviso of consoles successful the U.S. volition last. I reached retired to Anbernic for comment, but did not instantly perceive back. The handheld shaper said it would update customers erstwhile it received “confirmed updates regarding import duties.”

Fortunately there’s much than 1 mode to get a console from Anbernic. You mightiness inactive beryllium capable to find its products connected Amazon, oregon AliExpress. The dropshipping tract typically sells these handhelds for overmuch cheaper than you could get elsewhere, too. The classic Anbernic RG35XX Plus Game Boy-like instrumentality goes for $48 connected AliExpress, $50 connected the Anbernic site, and a whopping $80 connected Amazon. As American supplies dwindle we tin presume those prices volition increase.

While President Donald Trump has imposed a 145% tariff connected China—a argumentation that volition inevitably summation prices for U.S. consumers—Trump has besides explicitly targeted the “de minimis” exemptions that allowed immoderate China e-commerce companies similar Temu and Shein to vessel exceptionally inexpensive products to the U.S. Trump’s caller commercialized policies stress other duties connected idiosyncratic products coming from China. That volition see a $75 outgo paid by customers successful May, but that increases to $150 successful June. Last week, some Temu and Shein said successful near-identical statements they would marque “price adjustments” to their products starting April 25 owed to “recent changes successful planetary commercialized rules.”

So portion inexpensive crap is going to get pricier for radical successful the U.S., the sound against gaming handhelds is felt particularly hard. Anbernic has been astir since 2017. It was known for launching a metric ton of handhelds each year, from the RG350 successful 2020 and the RG351V successful 2021 to this year’s Game Boy Advance clone, the RG34XX. The institution announced its latest product, the RG557, earlier this period and says the instrumentality has a more-powerful processor and OLED display.

© Retroid / Discord

It’s a stroke to the retro gaming community. Now we’ll person to spot however different handheld makers similar Miyoo, Ayaneo, TrimUI, and Retroid grip the tariff dilemma. Last week, Retroid told customers connected its authoritative Discord that “all shipping agencies volition not judge U.S. bound packages from China starting April 25.” While the company’s caller Retroid Pocket Classic was shipping to those who ordered successful the U.S., the Teal, Kiwi, and Berry colorways were each scheduled to vessel aft April 28. Anybody who placed those orders successful the U.S. needed to bid different color. Retroid inactive hasn’t offered immoderate connection what it volition bash for aboriginal products, but considering the absorption from the remainder of this niche industry, it’s not looking good.