R36S Ultra Review: Is the Flagship R36 Worth the Upgrade?

The R36S Ultra sits at the top of the R36 family lineup. If the base R36S got you interested in retro handhelds but you're wondering whether the "Ultra" name is marketing fluff or a real upgrade, here's a full breakdown based on its actual specs.

What's Actually Different: RK3566 vs RK3326

The headline change isn't cosmetic — it's the chip. The base R36S, R36S Plus, R36 Pro, and R36H all share the Rockchip RK3326 (quad-core Cortex-A35 @ 1.5 GHz, 1 GB RAM). The R36S Ultra moves to the Rockchip RK3566 (quad-core Cortex-A55 @ 1.8 GHz, 2 GB DDR4 RAM) — a meaningfully more powerful chip family, not just a clock-speed bump.

This is the same jump the R36 Max makes, and it's the reason the Ultra can handle systems the base R36S struggles with.

Full Specs

What You Gain Over the Base R36S

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

The base R36S has neither. The Ultra's built-in Wi-Fi enables RetroAchievements to work out of the box — a genuinely useful feature if you like tracking completion across your retro library. Bluetooth means wireless headphones or a Bluetooth controller are actually usable.

Tempered Glass, Square Screen

The 4.0" 720×720 square panel is OCA-laminated (optically bonded, reducing glare and improving contrast versus an air-gapped panel) and covered in tempered glass — more scratch-resistant than the base model's screen. The square aspect ratio is a deliberate choice: it fills GBA, GBC, and NeoGeo Pocket screens edge-to-edge without black bars or stretching, at the cost of slight letterboxing on 4:3 systems like SNES or PS1.

Real Compatibility Gains

This is where the RK3566 actually matters day-to-day. See our Nintendo 64, Dreamcast, and PSP compatibility pages for the full breakdown, but in short: N64, Dreamcast, PSP, and NDS all run noticeably better on the Ultra than on the base R36S. Systems that were already perfect on the base model (NES, SNES, GBA, PS1, arcade) run identically — the Ultra's extra power doesn't add anything there, it's spent entirely on the harder-to-emulate systems.

Pros

✅ RK3566 chip — real, measurable compatibility gains on N64/Dreamcast/PSP/NDS

✅ Wi-Fi + Bluetooth — RetroAchievements and wireless audio actually work

✅ Tempered glass screen — more durable than the base model

✅ 128 GB microSD + 16 GB internal eMMC — more built-in storage than any other R36 model

Cons

❌ Higher price than the base R36S — you're paying for the chip and screen upgrade

❌ Square 720×720 screen letterboxes 4:3 systems (SNES, PS1, Genesis) slightly

❌ Still can't run GameCube/Wii/PS2 — the RK3566 is a big step up from RK3326, but not that big

Who Should Buy the R36S Ultra?

Buy the Ultra if: you specifically want N64, Dreamcast, PSP, or NDS to run well, you care about RetroAchievements, or you want Bluetooth audio support.

Stick with the base R36S if you're mainly playing NES, SNES, GBA, PS1, and arcade titles — the base RK3326 chip already runs those perfectly, and the Ultra's extra power won't change that experience.

How Does It Compare to the R36 Max?

The R36S Ultra and R36 Max share the same RK3566 chip and 720×720 screen — the core emulation performance is identical between them. The Ultra adds RGB analog sticks and tempered glass as its distinguishing features. See our full model comparison for a side-by-side of all six R36 models.

Verdict

The R36S Ultra is a genuine upgrade, not a marketing relabel — the RK3566 chip delivers real compatibility improvements on the systems that actually benefit from more power. If your game library leans toward N64, Dreamcast, PSP, or NDS, the Ultra is worth the price difference. If you're mostly in 8-bit and 16-bit territory, save the money and get the base R36S instead.

Browse the complete R36S Ultra-compatible game library to see exactly what runs on this model.