Sipeed, an AIOT open-source hardware provider, has unveiled its LicheePocket 4A gaming handheld which is powered by an RISC-V chip.
RISC-V Chips Enter The Gaming Console Market With Sipeed's LicheePocket 4A Handheld & Console 4A Platforms
RSIC-V is an architecture that is poised to become the next big thing and will compete against the well-established x86 and Arm cores. The architecture will serve various segments such as HPC, PC (Desktops/Laptops), Mobile, and even AI which is something that Jim Keller's Tenstorrent is already working on.
The RISC-V chip design has been adopted by Sipeed across a range of devices and more recently, the company introduced its RISC-V based Linux Practical platform solutions which include a range of devices such as development boards, laptops, tablets, portable consoles and most interestingly, a gaming handheld.
Known as the Sipeed LicheePocket 4A, the device is based on the LM4A SOM (System-on-Module) & features the 12nm Alibaba TH1520 which made its debut last year. This chip comes with 4 C910 cores and based on the RISC-V architecture. Other specifications include 8/16 GB of LPDDR4X memory, up to 128 GB eMMC storage, a 7-inch (1280 x 800) LCD with a single miniHDMI output, two USB 3.0 Type-A, 1 USB 2.0 Type-C and 1 MicroSD card slot.
In terms of design, the Sipeed LicheePocket 4A gaming handheld comes with a casing that is made out of plastic and aluminum. There are two detachable controllers which feature a clear acryclic design. The screen itself is a capactive touch design allowing you to use it without the controllers. The whole unit measures 25x11x3cm (with controllers) and weighs 630 grams. The platform runs on Debian or Andriod operating systems.
As for performance, well you can't get a lot of gaming performance out of this chip but it does support emulation of various last gen consoles such as FC, SFC, GB, GBC, GBA, MD, PS1, PSP, & NDS. The onboard GPU supports up to OpenGL 3.2, OpenCL 2.0, Vulkan 1.2 & offers 50.7GFLOPS of performance. There's also a NPU which offers 4 TOPS (INT8) capabilities. Sipeed has no official info on the pricing but the company offers a pre-order coupon which you get by paying $10 US at the official link.
| Name | Lichee Pocket 4A |
|---|---|
| SOM | LM4A (TH1520, 4 x C910) |
| Memory | 8/16 GB LPDDR4X |
| Storage | 32/128 GB eMMC |
| Display | 7 inch 1280 x 800 LCD with 1 x miniHDMI |
| Input | Capacitive Touch Optional JoyCon |
| Camera | 5MP OV5693 |
| Audio | 3.5mm Headphone MEMS MIC + StereoSpeaker |
| Network | WiFi6 + BT5.4 1 x GbE |
| Interface | 2 x USB3.0 Type-A 1 x USB2.0 Type-C 1 x MicroSD Slot |
| Battery | 6000mAh@3.7V |
| Case | Plastics + Aluminum Alloy |
| Size | Body 18 x 11 x 1.5 cm With JoyCon 25 x 11 x 3 cm |
| Weight | Body 490g With JoyCon 590~630g |
| System | Debian / Android |
| Simulator | RA/ES: FC, SFC, GB, GBC, GBA, MD, PS1, PSP, NDS, ... |
News Sources: Liliputing , @faridofanani96
About the author: A Software Engineer by training and a PC enthusiast by passion, Hassan Mujtaba serves as Wccftech's Senior Editor for hardware section. With years of experience in the industry, he specializes in deep-dive technical analysis of next-generation CPU and GPU architectures, motherboards, and cooling solutions. His work involves not only breaking news on upcoming technologies but also extensive hands-on reviews and benchmarking.
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