We knew it was a possibility, hell, even a probability, that recent handhelds would be subject to higher prices down the line. Retroid confirmed those concerns this morning, as the company announced the 8GB Pocket Nova would see a price increase. Starting on August 6, the 8GB/128GB model will cost $10 more, now coming in at $239.
According to the announcement, “rising Qualcomm chipset and raw material costs” are to blame, which is a bit different from the types of reasons provided previously. While it’s still the fault of AI, there’s more going on here than just higher RAM and flash storage costs.
Recently, Qualcomm confirmed previous reports that suggested it would be raising prices “across its product lineup starting September 1.” Although the specifics weren’t confirmed, those reports suggested processor costs could “be in the double-digit percentage range.”
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like this is a “wave” that we have to just ride until things settle back down again. Prices are skyrocketing across the board, and it was really only a matter of time before processor manufacturers joined the fray.
I suspect that any hopes are dashed of seeing the latest Snapdragon (or Dragonwing) chip arrive in the next flagship gaming handheld. We’ll likely continue to see the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 slowly become the new RK3566, with maybe a sprinkling of 8 Elite handhelds being dispersed on occasion. Perhaps we can get lucky and some major breakthrough with MediaTek chips will be discovered, opening the door for driver support and better emulation, but I’m not holding my breath.
Nevertheless, if you’ve been holding off on picking up the Retroid Pocket Nova, now’s your chance to do so. The price increase for the 8GB model goes into effect on August 6, and we can only assume it’s a matter of time before the 12GB model gets a price increase of its own.
