Retro handheld fans rejoice, because two new Retroid Pocket models will be available soon, and one of them will start shipping in just a few days. The first to arrive will be the G2, a beefier Retroid Pocket 5, which launched last year in September. The other is its official successor, the Retroid Pocket 6.
The Retroid Pocket G2 is coming soon
Let’s start with the Pocket G2 because you can order it right now. Do you remember the Retroid Pocket 5? This is that, but with some upgraded silicon. Instead of the Snapdragon 865, it has the Snapdragon G2 Gen 2. Whereas the 865 is a 7-nm chip, the G2 has a 4-nm chip, essentially a generational leap forward as far as semiconductors go. The G2 also has 8 GB of DDR5 RAM compared to the 8 GB of DDR4 RAM on the RP5, which grants almost 50% more speed and marginal power savings.
Otherwise, these two machines are hard to tell apart at a glance. Even the plastic casing seems to be cast from the same mold. The G2 will be available in five colors, three of which (GameCube purple, Super Famicom gray, and black) will ship starting on October 29th. The more adventurous colors, yellow and turquoise, won’t start heading out until November 5th. If you order sometime in the next two weeks, you can pick one up for $199 (the same price as the RP5). After that, the price jumps up by $20.
Retroid Pocket G2
What about the Retroid Pocket 6?
The Retroid Pocket 6, which was teased last week, will come in two configurations; both will have the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip (which you’ll also find on the Ayn Thor and Odin2). The first will be similar to the G2 with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of on-board storage, but for $50 more, you can crank that up to 12 GB and 256 GB. With that much RAM, you could run Switch or PS3 emulators, which isn’t bad for a sub-$300 device.
The layout of the RP6 follows the industry standard for Android devices, but there are four mystery buttons just below the screen. You’ll probably be able to customize those, but there’s no telling at this point. Interestingly, the RP6 will ship with Android 13 while the “less powerful” G2 will come with Android 15. Retroid is showing off six colorways for this device, but there’s no telling if it will make all of them. There are no dates for the RP6, but Retroid says it will sell for $209 or $259 during pre-order, and go up to $229 and $279 afterward.
Begun, the handheld wars have
This has been a very busy fall for handhelds. We’re in the middle of the birth of the budget Android market, and at the same time, competition in the mid-range is getting hot. Retroid has a nice pair of handhelds here, but it’s going to have to win over the Konkr crowd, which is currently running a campaign for the Pocket Fit on Indiegogo. Granted, the nine different configurations Konkr has on offer are more expensive than what Retroid is selling, but they all have much better internals, with some Pocket Fit builds even launching with Android 16.
All that to say: It’s a good time to be into handheld gaming. Check out Retroid’s socials to get more specs and see the colors for yourself. I’m thinking of getting that GameCube purple G2 … someone needs to talk me down.
