Anbernic officially announces the win600 handheld gaming PC; shares footage of SteamOS compatibility
In late March, images and videos of retro handheld manufacturer Anbernic's rumoured handheld gaming PC surfaced. Back then, a source close to Anbernic confirmed to GBAtemp about the existence of this device and that it could potentially run on SteamOS. Today, Anbernic officially unveiled the system, named win600, and shared a video of the device running on Windows 10 and SteamOS:
This marks the first official statement from the company about the Anbernic win600. While not much else has been revealed regarding a price range, specs and launch window, this move could have been precipitated following online rumours that the device was cancelled. Today's news squashes those rumours flat but it could also be motivated by the fact that AYANEO also plans to reveal its own smaller handheld gaming PC, the AYANEO AIR, later this week. Depending on the price and specs, these two could be direct competitors.
Based on the description, the win600 is said to offer a "dual system gaming experience". While details aren't available at this time, it might mean that the device could support dual boot for Windows 10 and SteamOS, somewhat akin to what Anbernic's RG522 device did with LinuxOS and Android through different microSD cards. But this detail has to be confirmed.
What appears to be more certain is that, from the video shared above, the Anbernic win600 appears to pack a smaller, more pocketable form factor than other handheld gaming PCs on the market. And depending on the official dimensions, it could be the smallest such device to date and this could be a key leverage for the marketing of this device as it is targeted for older games and indie titles. Clearing your backlog and playing bouts of indie PC games on-the-go on a device that actually fits one's pocket might entice a certain subset of gamers. And if the price is more affordable than the $300+ counterparts on the market, the Anbernic win600 might open up handheld gaming PCs to a whole new market of gamers. But these are all speculations at this point and we will have to wait for more official announcements. Hopefully, we won't have to wait long for these; but it's encouraging to see more options becoming available for gamers.
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