Mangmi Air X is going on sale! Brutally cheap PSP imitation has a Full HD display and costs less than two thousand

Chinese manufacturer Mangmi has finally unveiled its first gaming handheld after several months of teaser campaigns. The Air X is a horizontal console with Android 14 that aims to offer decent retro game emulation at an affordable price. With a recommended price of $79.99 (even $74.99 with a coupon), it ranks among the cheapest Android handhelds on the market.

The display is larger than the competition, but has a disadvantage

The biggest advantage of the Air X is its 5.5-inch IPS panel with Full HD resolution (1,920 × 1,080 pixels) and a maximum brightness of 450 nits. It is the largest display among currently offered compacts. The problem lies in the 16:9 aspect ratio, which does not correspond to classic consoles like PlayStation 1 or GameBoy Advance (which use 4:3). On the other hand, it’s an ideal format for PSP, GameCube, or PlayStation 2.

For players who value authenticity, this means either black bars on the sides or activating widescreen hacks in emulators. However, these don’t always work well, and some games then suffer from graphical glitches or stretched textures.

Snapdragon 662: not enough for PS2, enough for PSP

Mangmi opted for the Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 processor from 2020, complemented by 4 GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 64 GB of eMMC 5.1 storage. According to the manufacturer, the chipset should handle PSP game emulation at double resolution, as well as Android games or streaming titles via cloud services.

The reality will likely be a bit less rosy. The Snapdragon 662 is a four-year-old mid-range chipset with eight cores at a maximum frequency of 2.0 GHz and Adreno 610 graphics. This is sufficient for comfortable emulation of PSP, PlayStation 1, Nintendo 64, or Dreamcast. However, it will start to lag with GameCube and PlayStation 2 – more demanding titles will only run with reduced resolution or framerate.

Marketing materials mention “seamless gameplay across retro games,” which is a cautious phrasing. In the Geekbench 6 benchmark, the Snapdragon 662 scores around 350 points in the single-core test and 1,300 points in the multi-core test – performance comparable to budget phones from 2020-2021.

Hall effect joysticks and active cooling

A positive surprise are the Hall effect joysticks, which use magnetic sensors instead of classic potentiometers. This means longer lifespan and the absence of drift, which cheaper consoles or even the Nintendo Switch suffer from. The joysticks also support RGB backlighting with 67 million colors, if you like flashy effects.

The Air X also has a six-axis gyroscope, so some games support control by tilting the console. This is useful, for example, for racing or action titles from mobile phones. The triggers are layered, which should ensure better responsiveness than classic buttons.

There is also active cooling with a small fan, which is supposed to prevent throttling during longer gaming sessions. The question is how noisy it will be – this is often a problem with budget consoles.

Battery lasts eight hours. Theoretically

The battery has a capacity of 5,000 mAh and supports 15W charging. Mangmi promises up to 8 hours of gaming on a single charge, which sounds optimistic. Real-world battery life will depend on what you play – 2D games with lower demands might manage it, but GameCube or PS2 emulation will drain the battery much faster.

The console weighs 286 grams and has dimensions of 203 × 87 × 17 mm, making it one of the more compact handhelds.

Price is the main argument, but compromises are evident

The Mangmi Air X is sold for $74.99 with a coupon (regularly $79.99) until October 21st, after which the price will increase to $89.99. A carrying case is also included in the price.

But the question is: is this a false economy? The Snapdragon 662 is old, the GPU performance won’t be enough for smooth PS2 emulation, and eMMC 5.1 is significantly slower than UFS 2.1 or 3.0 used by the competition. If you primarily want a handheld for PSP, Dreamcast, and older consoles, the Air X makes sense. If you expect reliable PS2 or GameCube emulation, you will be disappointed.

The Mangmi Air X is an interesting attempt to enter the segment of affordable Android handhelds. It has a decent display, Hall effect joysticks, and an aggressive price. However, the 2020 processor and the absence of significant software features mean it will be more of a console for less demanding players. For 1,700 CZK, it’s still not a bad deal – if you know what you’re getting into. Mangmi also ships to the Czech Republic.

Would such a gaming console be enough for you for travel?

Source: Notebookcheck