Project X Pro – A Step Up From Last Week’s Handheld Surprise
- P'Nick
- 10 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Hey fam! 👋
Last Wednesday, we took a look at the quirky Project X, a budget handheld shaped like a PlayStation controller with a screen in the middle. It was an interesting little device, more of a conversation starter than a powerhouse.
Well, this week I’m happy to bring you its upgraded sibling, the Project X Pro. Same fun form factor, but with a stronger chip, better battery, new color options, and a few quality-of-life tweaks. Let’s see if the Pro model manages to turn this oddball handheld into something a bit more practical.
Design and Color Options
At first glance, the Project X Pro looks nearly identical to the non-Pro version. The chassis keeps that PS5 DualSense-inspired shape with a 4.3-inch screen in the middle, but now you can pick from three color schemes:
Obsidian Black – black all around, for a stealthy look.
Starry Blue – a cheerful light blue outer shell with white inner grips and back.
Aurora Silver – a sleek silver outer shell paired with white inside and back.
On the front, the button layout is unchanged, with dual analog sticks, ABXY buttons in the Xbox arrangement, a traditional D-pad, and stacked shoulder buttons on top.
The big visual difference is the LED strip lighting, which now supports seven colors (red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple). It also doubles as a status indicator, glowing red when charging or when the battery is low.
Dimensions are the same as before at 20 × 10 × 2.5 cm, so while it’s not pocket-sized, it’s still fairly compact for a dedicated handheld.
Hardware Upgrade – RockChip RK3326
The most critical upgrade here is under the hood. Instead of the aging ATM7051 chip, the Project X Pro runs on the RockChip RK3326, a quad-core ARM Cortex-A35 CPU paired with a Mali-G31 MP2 GPU.
That combo makes a world of difference compared to the older Cortex-A9 + Mali-450 setup in the standard Project X. The RK3326 is a known quantity in the retro handheld space, it’s the same chip powering popular devices like the Anbernic RG351 series.
In real-world terms, it means:
8-bit, 16-bit, and arcade games run flawlessly.
PlayStation 1 performance is solid across the board.
Some Nintendo 64, Dreamcast, and PSP titles can run, but not all. This is still an entry-level chip in 2025.
The Pro comes with 1GB of LPDDR3 RAM, which is a step down from the 2GB in the non-Pro, but the stronger chip more than makes up for it in actual gameplay.
Screen, Storage, and Games
The display is the same 4.3-inch 800 × 480 IPS LCD as the non-Pro. It’s not razor sharp, but it works well enough for the retro content this handheld is built for.
Storage-wise, it still includes 8GB of eMMC for the system software and a few preloaded titles. But here’s the big difference: every Pro unit comes bundled with a 64GB microSD card, loaded with 10,000+ games.
Now, before you get too excited, I can’t vouch for the quality or legality of that included game list. And the card itself feels cheap. I’d strongly recommend swapping it out for a name-brand card of your own to avoid unexpected card failure.
Battery and Ports
Battery life gets a nice bump with a 3,200 mAh cell (up from 2,500 mAh in the non-Pro). With the RK3326’s efficiency and the modest display, you can expect around 4 to 5 hours per charge.
Port layout has changed slightly:
On the top, going left to right: L1, L2, Power button, Volume rocker, USB-C charging port, 3.5mm headphone jack, OTG USB-C port, MicroSD slot, R1, R2.
On the back: stereo speakers evenly spaced, plus a reset button at the lower center.
It’s a surprisingly functional setup, especially considering the price.
Pricing and Where to Buy
The Project X Pro currently sells for $29.90 USD on AliExpress.
Or if you’d like to support me directly, you can also grab it through my affiliate link here:
Final Thoughts
The Project X Pro feels like what the original Project X should have been in the first place. The RK3326 makes it a genuinely capable retro handheld instead of just a novelty, the battery upgrade helps with playtime, and the RGB lighting plus new colors make it more fun to own.
That said, it’s still a budget system. Don’t expect miracles with PSP or Dreamcast, and definitely consider replacing that included microSD card sooner rather than later.
At under $30, though, the Project X Pro offers an impressive entry point into handheld retro gaming — and a fun step up from last week’s Project X.
What do you think? Would you consider picking one up, or is this just another quirky budget handheld in a crowded market? Let me know in the comments below or over in the สุ่มศูนย์ของ Handheld Hodgepodge forum!
Until next time! 👋
P’Nick ✨
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