GammaOS Nano v1.4.2 (Anbernic RG DS Plus) Release Notes
Patreon Exclusive Release
Password for GammaOS Insider tier supporters: join the Discord server and link your Patreon or Ko-fi account to your Discord profile. The password is posted in the supporter channel.
Server: https://discord.gg/ZVHaPy5aRG
Channel: https://discord.com/channels/1462793774752202899/1537514436112162846
How to link Patreon to Discord: https://support.patreon.com/hc/en-gb/articles/212052266-Getting-Discord-access
Not a supporter yet? Sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/GammaOS
This release will become publicly available to non-supporters at a later date. The password will be posted on Patreon.
Release Date: 26 September 2026.
First release for the RG DS Plus
- This is the first GammaOS release for the Anbernic RG DS Plus. There is no earlier build to update from: download the v1.4.2 package below and install as a clean flash.
- Future point releases will be installable in place with the built-in OTA updater on the device, with no reflash and no data wipe.
One build: Core
The RG DS Plus ships as a single Core build: GammaOS Nano with no Google apps and a super lightweight Android underneath, built for boot-to-play on this device's 1 GB of RAM. You can switch to the native Android interface at any time from Quick Menu > Power > Boot Android. There is no Full build and no NO_OC_UV variant for this device.
This is a whole new GammaOS
GammaOS Nano is not a launcher, it is a whole micro-OS built on top of Android. It grabs the panel the instant you power on and paints a full console-style home (the RG DS Plus boots into the DSi System Menu theme by default), but underneath it is deeply integrated with the low-level Android system and the device hardware: DRM-direct rendering straight to both panels, an early-boot audio engine that sounds before the rest of the system is even up, native power and sleep management, and direct control of the two screens. There is no heavy Android launcher loading in the background, no bloat, and no waiting. It boots straight to a console-style experience that is fast, lean and built for a controller first.
Known Issues
- This build ships with NO Google Services. This is a deliberate design choice for maximum performance, battery life and a clean boot-to-play experience on a 1 GB device.
- If you ever used Rocknix (or another mainline distribution), this will affect your ability to restart or turn on the device. You must unplug and replug the battery to fix this issue. This happens if you ever used Rocknix on an SD card or flashed to eMMC at all.
- The RG DS Plus has 1 GB of RAM. Large Android apps and games that keep hundreds of megabytes in memory will page to the card and slow down; DraStic-nano and the built-in players are tuned for it.
- DraStic RetroAchievements currently supports Softcore mode only. Hardcore mode is pending approval from the RetroAchievements team, which can take up to around 6 months if they agree to it.
- Performance improvements are mainly for NDS/DraStic. Don't expect 3DS titles to run any better.
What's New
For the full list of changes in v1.4.2, see the changelog:
https://github.com/TheGammaSqueeze/GammaOSNext/wiki/GammaOS-Next-Changelog#v142-september-2026
GammaOS Nano gives you three complete home themes (the RG DS Plus boots into the DSi System Menu theme by default, and you can switch to PS3 XMB or Minima at any time), the built-in DraStic-nano DS player with GPU-accelerated hi-res 3D, low-latency audio, per-game settings, undo for quick saves, a fast-forward speed limit and 38 RetroArch LCD and CRT shaders, plus RetroAchievements (Softcore) and Quick Resume, the dual-screen Control Center for single-screen apps, custom and looping video wallpapers (including separate wallpapers per screen), an in-game overlay on a power-button hold, reworked sleep and wake, and self-contained music, video and photo players, a controller-first web browser, IPTV and Internet Radio, system-wide Network Shares (SMB/NFS/WebDAV/FTP) with Syncthing built in, a global search, and the PSP Go slide clock. Switch to native Android any time from Quick Menu > Power > Boot Android.
Learn More About GammaOS Nano
A full guide to everything GammaOS Nano can do, its themes, players, settings and hidden features, is here:
https://thegammasqueeze.github.io/GammaOSNano-WIKI/
Before You Download
The GammaOS image ships as one split archive in two parts, plus the SD card tool. Download all three files:
RG_DS_Plus_GammaOS_Core_v1.4.2.7z.001RG_DS_Plus_GammaOS_Core_v1.4.2.7z.002GammaOS_SDDiskTool_v1.69_SDBootOnly.zip(the SD card tool, patched for large cards)
SD card: a 32GB or larger A2 spec microSD card is recommended for best performance (Samsung Pro Plus or SanDisk Extreme class). Do NOT use Amazon Basics or cheap brands; low-quality cards give poor performance or boot failures.
Extract
Extract both parts of the archive together (extract the .001 while the .002 is in the same folder), using the password from Patreon. You will get a single Rockchip image, RG_DS_Plus_GammaOS_Core_v1.4.2.img. Extract GammaOS_SDDiskTool_v1.69_SDBootOnly.zip as well.
Install (Windows only)
The RG DS Plus runs GammaOS entirely from the microSD card, written with the Rockchip SD Firmware Tool. The internal storage is left untouched: to return to stock, remove the card. Full installation steps are available here:
https://github.com/TheGammaSqueeze/GammaOSNext/wiki/GammaOS-Next-Installation#anbernic-rg-ds-plus
- Do NOT use DD, Win32DiskImager or balenaEtcher. Only the supplied tool writes a bootable card. The version in this release is patched to avoid the corruption the stock tool causes on large cards.
- Insert the microSD card with a reliable card reader and launch
SD_Firmware_Tool.exefrom the extractedSDDiskToolfolder. - Choose SD Boot, click Firmware and select
RG_DS_Plus_GammaOS_Core_v1.4.2.img. - Click Create. Writing takes up to 10 minutes; leave it to finish. It may take a couple of attempts to succeed.
- Eject the card, insert it into the RG DS Plus and power on. The first boot takes a few minutes while the system sets itself up.
Note: Writing the card erases everything on it. Remove any other microSD card from the device before the first boot.
Overview
GammaOS Nano v1.4.2 brings the RG DS experience to the Anbernic RG DS Plus, based on Android 14 / LineageOS 21, as a single lightweight Core build (no Google Services) that boots straight into GammaOS Nano, a native console-style home built for handhelds, with a fast boot-to-play experience, three full home themes, the DraStic-nano DS player with GPU 3D, low-latency audio and RetroAchievements, a dual-screen Control Center, and custom and video wallpapers. Switch to native Android any time from Quick Menu > Power > Boot Android.
Full Changelog
The complete, detailed changelog for v1.4.2 is available here:
https://github.com/TheGammaSqueeze/GammaOSNext/wiki/GammaOS-Next-Changelog#v142-september-2026
Support
For assistance or feedback, please open an Issue here:
https://github.com/TheGammaSqueeze/GammaOSNext/issues
Credits
Thank you for supporting GammaOS development and helping improve GammaOS Next for the Anbernic RG DS Plus.