The elusive Q400 is still not available in any West facing stores, but it could be arriving soon. And according to a user in Discord, the Q400 has had some pre-release upgrades since we first saw it.
Firstly, the poor quality LCD in those early units has been replaced with an IPS panel. The Q400 promotional material stated 800×480 for the previous panel, so hopefully that remains in the replacement. The poor viewing angles were the biggest complaint on the Chinese forums back in January, so maybe the manufacturer has taken note.
Secondly, the UI has been overhauled. It’s not clear whether this is an entirely new OS or just a re-skin, but it looks better than the earlier version. The promotional material states that the OS is built on Linux, and that can be interpretted in many ways. The advertised RockChip RK2138 does support Linux though, so there is a possibility for some community development.
The handheld will apparently now be available in teal (as pictured) and pale yellow. I would assume that the black version will also carry through to the final product, but we’ll have to wait and see.
It’s unusual for a device like this to be around on the internet for so long without showing up on somewhere like AliExpress. It reminds me of the DigiRetro Boy, which also took months to show up. Hopefully some more solid information will surface soon. I’ll keep you posted when I hear any more.
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