{"id":166900,"date":"2023-08-05T10:20:01","date_gmt":"2023-08-05T09:20:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techweekmag.com\/?p=166900"},"modified":"2024-06-04T17:13:00","modified_gmt":"2024-06-04T17:13:00","slug":"powkiddy-x55-review-classic-gaming-made-portable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stereoreviewer.com\/tech\/gaming\/powkiddy-x55-review-classic-gaming-made-portable\/","title":{"rendered":"Powkiddy X55: Classic gaming made portable"},"content":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0Powkiddy X55\u00a0is a portable console to re-enjoy the classic games that marked our childhood.\u00a0This is characterized by its ergonomic design, which accommodates analog joysticks, full set of shoulder buttons and a large screen with HD resolution.\u00a0Additionally, it has an HDMI output that allows you to connect the console to a TV and other connectivity options such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.\u00a0That said, it can emulate even PlayStation One games perfectly and the occasional PSP title, but it’s best at 8-bit and 16-bit titles.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, if you were looking for a portable console with an even bigger screen, we can recommend the\u00a0Powkiddy X70\u00a0, which exhibits similar features and performance together with a 7-inch IPS screen.<\/p>\n

Powkiddy X55: Design and screen<\/h3>\n

As you can see, this is a console with\u00a0a horizontal design that emphasizes a large central screen\u00a0.\u00a0The body is made of plastic and is not exactly very robust, but in this price range we cannot aspire to higher quality.\u00a0With that in mind, on the front we’ll get a standard button layout, which feels responsive, although they do have quite a bit of travel due to their height, but are generally very pleasant to use.<\/p>\n

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The triggers are similar to what you’d find on a Nintendo Switch, they’re stacked and feel responsive, though they do make a bit of noise.\u00a0The D-Pad is on par with the other buttons in terms of quality, but it’s not the most accurate we’ve seen on a handheld.<\/p>\n

Looking closely at the body, we will notice that the main ports are at the top.\u00a0We are talking about two\u00a0USB-C, a mini-HDMI output and a 3.5mm headphone jack\u00a0.\u00a0At the bottom we get a couple of TF memory slots.<\/p>\n

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In another vein, the screen is absolutely impressive with its\u00a05.5-inch diagonal and 1280 x 720 pixel resolution\u00a0.\u00a0The image truly stands out in the quality of its colors and brightness, as well as denoting great sharpness in this price range.\u00a0The only negative is that going for a 16:9 aspect ratio will cause black bars to appear on older console titles that only run in 4:3 aspect, but this is to be expected.<\/p>\n

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The sound quality from the stereo speakers is very good, and the X55 has to be one of the loudest laptops on the market.\u00a0Fortunately, it is not only loud, but also crisp and clear.<\/p>\n

Emulation and games<\/h3>\n

The Powkiddy X55 comes with over 30 emulators for different platforms and over 8,000 games spread across them\u00a0, and as you might expect, most are 8-bit and 16-bit era games, though there are a handful of titles (and emulators) of the fifth generation of consoles.\u00a0Be that as it may, the emulation limit is PSP and all previous consoles are fully playable, but not always perfectly.<\/p>\n

You can have a great time playing GameBoy Advance titles on the Powkiddy X55\u00a0, as the emulation is seamless and the image fills most of the screen.\u00a0NES is another console that behaves without problems, but as we already anticipated, there will be black bars on the sides.\u00a0The story is similar with the Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Sega CD,\u00a0and Arcade machines;\u00a0its CPU is powerful enough to move all your titles smoothly.<\/p>\n

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Similarly,\u00a0PlayStation One is another console that lends itself to emulation on the X55\u00a0, which can easily handle your titles at full speed at 2X resolution.<\/p>\n

However, it is from here where sacrifices will have to be made to achieve a playable experience.\u00a0For example, the Sega Saturn requires performance mode to be activated and in several titles it also requires the support of\u00a0dropped frames\u00a0(which is activated by default in your emulator), so it will not be an authentic experience.\u00a0With Sega DreamCast and Nintendo 64 the same thing happens, it is possible to move almost any game, but with the help of this option, since a stable 60FPS cannot be maintained in all of them.<\/p>\n

With PSP we will find playable titles and many others that are not\u00a0, for example, Tekken 5 works well, but God of War will give many problems to be playable.<\/p>\n

Connectivity and other features<\/h3>\n

Interestingly, the Powkiddy X55 has\u00a0Bluetooth and Wi-Fi\u00a0, so we can pair peripherals (including controllers for multiplayer) and connect to the Internet to update firmware and the like.\u00a0Here it is important to highlight the presence of a\u00a0Mini-HDMI port\u00a0, which allows projecting the image on a TV and using the console as if it were a desktop.<\/p>\n

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We will also find a couple of USB-C ports, a 3.5mm audio jack and two SD-slots, although one of them will always be occupied by the card that contains the operating system (JELOS or EmuELEC).\u00a0The second slot is available to insert an SD card full of game ROMS, and when buying the console we can choose to come with a 64GB, 128GB or 256GB.<\/p>\n

Battery<\/h3>\n

Finally, the console is powered by a\u00a04,000mAh battery that provides around 4 hours of use\u00a0, although of course, that depends a lot on the kind of games we are playing and the adjustments we make to the screen brightness and volume.\u00a0With that said, the recharge time is 2 hours.<\/p>\n

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PROS:<\/p>\n