The RG G01 won’t be the first controller with a built-in screen. Companies like Turtle Beach already offer them. While a display adds to the cost, it lets gamers adjust settings, program macros that automatically trigger a series of button presses, and remap controls, without having to leave a game and connect to a mobile or desktop app. The RG G01 has four customizable buttons on the back that can be reconfigured using the display.
As for the heart rate sensor that appears to be integrated into the RG G01’s grips? Its functionality is questionable. Nintendo announced a heart rate-tracking accessory for the Wii at E3 2009 called the Vitality Sensor that could have potentially incorporated a player’s pulse into games, but it was cancelled. Anbernic’s RG G01 will display your heart rate on the controller’s screen and it has a pulse alarm, but there’s no details on what exactly it will warn you about.
The RG G01 will include both Bluetooth and 2.4GHz wireless connectivity, and the option to tether to a device with a USB-C cable. It’s fully compatible with systems running Steam, Linux, Windows, Android, iOS, and Nintendo’s various Switch consoles. There’s a six-axis gyroscope for playing games with motion controls, “electro-inductive capacitive joysticks,” and dual-mode triggers with switches that limit their travel for faster response times – a feature that was noticeably missing from the Anbernic RG P01.
Anbernic only says the controller is “Coming Soon!”