Helegaly's Ultra-Affordable Action Pi Retro Gaming Handheld Gets A Release Date
The Helegaly Action Pi, a highly anticipated retro gaming handheld, finally has a release date—July 5, to be precise. This little handheld-that-could aims to capture the hearts of gamers longing for the golden age of consoles, all packed into a sleek, portable form factor with modern capabilities and a very budget-friendly price.
On that latter point, Helegaly is rolling out the Action Pi with an aggressive pricing strategy: the base model will retail for $59.99, and it comes with a 64GB microSD card preloaded with a vast library of retro titles. An upgraded 128GB microSD card version will be available for a mere $5 upcharge (what a rip off!), bringing the total to $64.99. Both versions will be offered in Black, Pink, and White. A special Indigo GameCube edition is slated for release later in the summer, although no pricing info is available for this yet. Preorders are already live via Helegaly's online store.
Beneath its simple and inoffensive exterior, the Action Pi is powered by an Allwinner A527 chipset with eight Cortex-A55 cores clocked at up to 2GHz plus 2GB of RAM. Graphics is handled by a Mali-G57 MC1-2EE graphics processor introduced back in 2020. Besides the aforementioned expandable storage, the Action Pi comes with 16GB of internal eMMC storage.
On that latter point, Helegaly is rolling out the Action Pi with an aggressive pricing strategy: the base model will retail for $59.99, and it comes with a 64GB microSD card preloaded with a vast library of retro titles. An upgraded 128GB microSD card version will be available for a mere $5 upcharge (what a rip off!), bringing the total to $64.99. Both versions will be offered in Black, Pink, and White. A special Indigo GameCube edition is slated for release later in the summer, although no pricing info is available for this yet. Preorders are already live via Helegaly's online store.
Beneath its simple and inoffensive exterior, the Action Pi is powered by an Allwinner A527 chipset with eight Cortex-A55 cores clocked at up to 2GHz plus 2GB of RAM. Graphics is handled by a Mali-G57 MC1-2EE graphics processor introduced back in 2020. Besides the aforementioned expandable storage, the Action Pi comes with 16GB of internal eMMC storage.
The handheld runs on the Linux-based Batocera OS, a favorite among retro gaming enthusiasts for its user-friendly interface and extensive emulation support for over 20 classic gaming platforms. This spans from the early 8-bit consoles all the way up to more demanding systems like the PlayStation Portable (PSP) and the Sega Dreamcast.
Front and center is a 4.02-inch IPS HD display (960 × 720), which is spot-on at this price point. Even though Helegaly hasn't quoted any official run times, the 5,000mAh battery ought to be good enough for 1.5-2 days of gaming.
Connectivity options are plentiful, too, with the Action Pi sporting Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, two USB-C ports (charging and data transfer), a mini-HDMI for connecting to external displays, and a 3.5mm audio port.
Based on some early reviews, Helegaly has also paid close attention to ergonomics. The handheld is equipped with Hall-effect analog sticks, while some reviewers have been impressed with how comfortable and easy the device is to hold in the hands for long gaming sessions.
Front and center is a 4.02-inch IPS HD display (960 × 720), which is spot-on at this price point. Even though Helegaly hasn't quoted any official run times, the 5,000mAh battery ought to be good enough for 1.5-2 days of gaming.
Connectivity options are plentiful, too, with the Action Pi sporting Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, two USB-C ports (charging and data transfer), a mini-HDMI for connecting to external displays, and a 3.5mm audio port.
Based on some early reviews, Helegaly has also paid close attention to ergonomics. The handheld is equipped with Hall-effect analog sticks, while some reviewers have been impressed with how comfortable and easy the device is to hold in the hands for long gaming sessions.
If interested, you can sign up to be notified when it's ready for sale.
