I never owned a Retroid Pocket 4 or 5. If you go back and read about my return to the world of Retroid, you can see that my relationship with the company has had its ups and downs, but the recent Retroid Pocket Flip 2 has been my favorite handheld pickup in a long, long time. It has become my go-to travel companion and favorite device to reach for from the couch.
It looks just like the Pocket 5, but there’s a secret under the hood
I’d been browsing around on the RH Discord for-sale listings, and considering how much I’d enjoyed the Flip 2, I thought about picking up an RP5 (same guts, different form factor). This timing was apparently spot on, because it was within a day or two of then that the pre-order announcements for the Pocket G2 and Retroid Pocket 6 came. The Pocket 6 was still going to be several months out, but the G2 and its new, fancy new Qualcomm Snapdragon G2 Gen 2 processor were available to ship right away.Â
Street Fighter Alpha 3 on PSP
I essentially went in dark. I had no real idea of what this new chip would be capable of, or even what place this device was meant to fill, given the Pocket 6’s arrival coming just around the corner.
Well, to keep it brief, my moderate expectations have been shattered, and the new Snapdragon G2 Gen 2 (confusing naming conventions, huh?) brings an amount of power that I simply wasn’t expecting. If you loved the Retroid Pocket 5 or the Flip 2, but wished they had just a little more in the tank, you’re in luck. The G2 brings more than double the processor performance of the RP5, and even gets within spitting distance of some pricier devices. Systems like PSP, PS2, and GameCube will run at native 1080p without breaking a sweat.
Native PC gaming runs without fuss
Retroid Pocket G2 Specs
- Display: 5.5-inch AMOLED, 1920 x 1080, 60Hz
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon G2 Gen 2
- GPU: Adreno A22
- RAM: 8GB LPDDR5X
- Storage: 128GB (UFS 3.1) + microSD Card Slot
- Battery: 5,000mAh
- Heat Dissipation: Active Cooling
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4
- Controls: Analog L2/R2, 3D Hall Sticks
- Software: Android 15
Controls & Design
Same controls we loved on the RP5
Now, as I said earlier, I’ve never owned or used a Retroid Pocket 5 before, but it’s my understanding that the controls and exterior on the G2 are the exact same as they appear on the RP5. The dome-switch style D-Pad is a welcome sight as I’ve really enjoyed it on the Flip 2. In fact, despite their obvious large differences in form factor, I immediately felt right at home switching over from a weekend of traveling with the Flip 2 to the new G2 waiting for me in the mailbox on my return. They both feel like they are distinctly part of the Retro Pocket family, and that’s a good thing. Retroid has refined its designs over time (not without speed bumps along the way) and is really getting in the zone of honing its specific brand of gaming hardware.
You think you want Goldeneye, but you really need Timesplitters in 1080 on an OLED
Ergonomics on the G2 will, again, be the same as those found on the Pocket 5. I found that while playing an FPS like Timesplitters: Future Perfect, my hands did start to cramp up a bit, but that’s nothing that some 3D printed grips can’t fix. The nice part is that since the exterior design remains the same from the Pocket 5, there are already libraries filled with printable accessories across the web.
It really is….
The 5.5-inch AMOLED display is the same as on the Pocket 5 and Flip 2, but it’s no less impressive here on the G2. Yes, it’s only 60Hz, but that’s a small concession to make given the relatively low price of the handheld. The display is quite simply stunning. It looks great even at the lowest levels of brightness, and it really fits with the smooth, flat finish of the G2’s face.
Software
I’m liking the stock launcher enough to stick with it for a while on this one
I haven’t messed with Retroid’s in-house launcher since the days of the Pocket 3, but I’m glad I gave it a chance on the G2, because things have really come a long way. Retroid makes life easy for finding and scraping your ROM collection, and there’s even an included user tutorial to walk you through the process. The included install app options all seem to be legit and give new users a good footing to get started.
Given how intimidating setting up an Android handheld can be for new users, it’s nice to see that Retroid is making the effort to make things as friendly as possible. Things like cover art scraping are done without having to set up a user account with a 3rd party website. It’s those little-noted details that make for a better overall user experience.
Gameplay
Come on, let’s go cruisin’
I’ll leave the benchmarking tests for our formal review, but needless to say, this thing chews on pretty much everything I throw at it. Things should only get better with continued driver support for the new chip.
My previous Balatro addiction has been moved over to Tape To Tape thanks to Gamehub Lite
There just isn’t much that the G2 can’t do. I tested and ran light to mid-range PC games on GameHub Lite, and they were plug-and-play. Switch does have some library titles that will put a strain on the 8GB of RAM on the G2, but everything I was testing ran great. PS2 and GameCube are a treat at native 1080P, and older systems can be made to shine with any variety of great shaders thanks to the powerful processor.
TLDR
The G2 is an incredible new handheld. If you loved the Pocket 5, then there’s just so much more to love here with the G2. The release of the Retroid Pocket 6 looms over the G2 a bit, but with the combination of price. performance, and comfort on offer here, the 6 is really going to have its work cut out for it. I had considered an Odin 2 Portal in the past, and even though that might have a little more in the horsepower department, I think the G2 is the one for me.
Mario Kart Black
Whether you decide to jump on this device now, or wait and see what’s coming around the corner with handhelds like the Odin 3 and Pocket 6, will have to be up to you. What I can say is that after a little over 24 hours with the Pocket G2, I’m absolutely smitten with it, and the Pocket Flip 2 now has some serious competition for my favorite handheld of the year.
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