Premium PC handheld or cheap retro box: which one actually fits you?

Display

The ASUS ROG Ally wins decisively here. It has a 7-inch Full HD touchscreen with a 120Hz refresh rate and 500 nits of brightness, which is a major step up in clarity, smoothness, and outdoor visibility. That means sharper text, cleaner motion, and a more premium feel for modern games and Windows use. The Blidinner R36S uses a 3.5-inch screen, which is far smaller and almost certainly lower resolution and less immersive. For retro games it is functional, but it cannot compete with the Ally’s size, sharpness, or responsiveness.

Performance

This is the biggest gap in the comparison, and the ASUS ROG Ally wins by a landslide. Its AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor, 16GB RAM, and 512GB PCIe SSD make it a true handheld gaming PC capable of running demanding modern titles, launchers, and emulators with far more headroom. Windows 11 also opens the door to Steam, Xbox Game Pass, Epic, Battle.net, and more. The Blidinner R36S is a Linux-based retro handheld with a 64G TF card and 20,000+ classic games advertised, but it is designed for 8-bit, 16-bit, and older console emulation rather than modern gaming. If you care about performance in any serious sense, the ROG Ally is in a different league.

Build quality and design

The ASUS ROG Ally also wins on design and perceived quality. ASUS is a major gaming hardware brand, and the Ally’s specs suggest a premium, thoughtfully engineered device with a large touchscreen, modern controls, and a polished Windows ecosystem. The Blidinner R36S is a low-cost retro handheld, and while that can be perfectly fine for casual use, it is not in the same class for materials, controls, or long-term refinement. The R36S may be more pocketable because of its smaller size, but the Ally is the better-built and more capable product overall.

Battery life

This category is more nuanced, but the practical winner depends on usage. The Blidinner R36S has a 3000mAh battery and, because it runs simpler retro games on a small screen, it is likely to achieve more modest power demands and potentially better endurance for light play. The ASUS ROG Ally has far more power to feed and a much larger, brighter, high-refresh display, so battery life will vary widely and can drain quickly in demanding games. If you only look at raw battery endurance for simple retro gaming, the R36S likely has the advantage; however, for real-world usefulness across a broader range of games and tasks, the Ally’s battery tradeoff is acceptable because it does much more.

Price and value for money

The Blidinner R36S wins on price, and it wins easily. At £34.99, it is dramatically cheaper than a premium Windows handheld like the ASUS ROG Ally, which sits in a much higher category even without a listed price here. If your budget is extremely tight and you just want a novelty retro machine or a gift, the R36S offers a lot of entertainment per pound. But value is not just about the lowest price; it is about what you get for your money. The Ally costs far more, but it delivers a vastly better screen, far stronger performance, and a much broader game library. For serious gamers, the extra spend is justified.

Game library and features

The ASUS ROG Ally wins because Windows 11 gives it access to nearly the entire PC gaming ecosystem. The included 3 months of Xbox Game Pass adds immediate value and makes it easy to start playing modern titles right away. It also supports emulation, cloud gaming, and standard PC apps, which makes it far more versatile. The Blidinner R36S is centered on Linux-based retro gaming and comes preloaded with 20,000+ classic games on a 64G TF card. That sounds appealing, but it is mainly a convenience feature for retro fans, not a sign of broad capability. If you want a large, flexible library that can grow with you, the Ally is the clear winner.

Overall user experience

The ASUS ROG Ally delivers the better overall experience for most buyers. It feels like a real modern gaming device rather than a toy or novelty handheld, and its 4.2/5 rating from 292 reviews suggests solid satisfaction despite the premium positioning. The Blidinner R36S has a respectable 3.8/5 rating from 363 reviews, but that lower score reflects the compromises common in ultra-budget handhelds. It is attractive if you want instant retro fun, but the tiny screen, limited hardware, and narrow focus make it a secondary device rather than a primary one.

Overall summary: the ASUS ROG Ally is the clear winner for anyone who wants the best handheld gaming experience, modern performance, and long-term versatility. The Blidinner R36S only makes sense if your budget is extremely limited and your goal is simple retro gaming. If you want one device to buy with confidence, choose the ROG Ally.