When I received my Retroid Pocket 3 in the mail in the September 2022, it marked my firsts for a few things in the emulation world. This would be my first Android handheld.
It’s my favorite thing at the moment
My first taste of a device that was going for something a little more refined and premium. And ultimately, my first taste of the disappointment that can come along with a hobby that moves this quickly.
The Betrayal
You see, when I received my Retroid Pocket 3 in the mail, it was right at the same time that the Retroid Pocket 3+ was announced. The 3+ was a superior version of what I had just bought in almost every imaginable way. It had more RAM, a much more capable GPU, a larger battery, and could be had at a comparable price to what I’d just paid for the Pocket 3.
I couldn’t help but feel a bit shafted by the whole ordeal, and Retroid had thrown gas on the fire by reducing the Pocket 3 in price just a few months after release for Black Friday. The best new, exciting handheld had turned out to be second best not long after I’d received it.
I would have just picked up the 3+ if I’d known it was coming
And it was done to me by the same company. No consumer wants their shiny new toy to be outdated on arrival.
Despite feeling like I’d gotten the raw end of the deal in my new relationship with Retroid, the Pocket 3 was still a great device. I logged hundreds of hours with the handheld in everything the Retroid handheld could muster.
Vampire Survivors on Retroid Pocket 3
Testing its limits and keeping up with the lightning pace of Android emulation development was part of the fun in the hobby. New things were always coming around the corner. And the Pocket 3 was definitely where I experienced one new thing. I started cloud streaming GamePass on a handheld for the first time, using the Pocket 3, and I was loving this new freedom.
It wasn’t ideal for all games, mind you, but I had no problem working my way through titles like Octopath Traveler and Vampire Survivors on the device’s modestly sized screen. It offered a taste of what was coming around the corner for a lot of devices, and it was an exciting time to be involved with the hobby.
Do I Need This?
RP5 and the 4 Pro
Even though I’d felt somewhat burned by the whole Pocket 3 vs 3+ fiasco, I was still excited about the possibility of what the 4th iteration might bring. Namely, nailing PS2 and Gamecube functionality.
And so I waited. And waited. Then continued waiting. By the time the 4 was released, it almost felt like to me like Retroid were playing a bit of catch-up in the market they had helped establish only a few years prior.
Santa had left me an Odin 2 under the tree in 2023, and I was left gobsmacked by the handheld. I still am to some degree. To Retroid’s credit, they had offered two versions of the 4 at launch to avoid some of that heat a second time around, but I still don’t think that it was the leap forward that some folks (me) were hoping for at the time.
The Odin 2 had beaten the Pocket 4 to market by a few months, and while there was a fair price difference (The Pocket 4 Pro would set you back $200 at launch and the lowest Odin 2 model was $300 for early birds), the massive chasm in performance difference more than justified the additional cost in my mind.
The Pocket 4 Pro could certainly play some PS2 and Gamecube stuff, but the experience looked to be something of a compromise. The Odin 2 did both with ease and at higher native resolutions. Simply put, the Pocket 4 was off my radar almost as soon as it had arrived. I certainly didn’t see the need to own both devices. And so, I passed.
Buy the Retroid Pocket 4 Direct @ RetroidBuy the Retroid Pocket 4 @ Amazon
The Snapdragon Era
Time came and went, as it tends to, and despite regular additions to my handheld collection, I still only had the Retroid Pocket 3. As long as the wait had been for the Pocket 4 to arrive (long only in the breakneck speed of handheld releases really). Although though it was a similar amount of time between releases, it felt like the Retroid Pocket 5 arrived in a much more reasonable window from its predecessor, without 4 buyers having to feel burnt like I had with the 3+.
This one was hard to resist (RP5)
The Pocket 5 certainly looked like Retroid were making something of a statement. The device design was sleek and elegant, and it had the performance chops to match. The Pocket 5 was finally joining the other Snapdragon handhelds on the market. Offering levels of performance and compatibility not yet seen from their devices.
While I was still of the opinion that “I already have an Odin 2”, Retroid had certainly recaptured my attention. It wasn’t that I didn’t want the device or think that it was cool, it was just that I couldn’t justify the purchase for something so similar to what I already owned in form and function.
Then came the Flip 2…
Buy the Pocket 5 Direct @ RetroidBuy the Pocket 5 @ AliExpress
The Retroid Redemption
The original Retroid Flip was certainly cool, but I had stopped myself from ordering one during the pre-order window (fool me once). The device looked gorgeous, and some of the fun transparent colors like Watermelon showed that Retroid were having some fun in the design department.
Early reports of issues with cracked hinges justified my thoughts to wait, as it didn’t really look like much was being done to rectify the flawed design. But the Flip 2? Well, that was now a call too powerful for me to resist.
Who wouldn’t want to play with it?
When the Pocket Flip 2 and Pocket Classic were announced, many folks in the hobby, including the team here at RH, were hyped at what was coming, and I was now one of them. I promised myself that I’d have to choose one device in the interest of protecting my checking account, and while the Pocket Classic looked great, I had some similar devices already in my lineup.
What I certainly did not have though, was a Snapdragon Android clamshell. Sitting here after a few months with the Flip 2, I know that I made the right choice (even if I am now on the lookout for a used Classic at the right price).
Flip 2 and the Pocket Classic
As Andrew noted in his full review, the Pocket Flip 2 is probably going to be the best Android handheld you can score yourself new for under $250, and I’d totally agree. Since the Pocket 5 and the Flip 2 share the same internal components, the choice is left to the user whether they want something in a clamshell or a more traditional format.
The nature of writing for a publication like RH, and just the fact that I’m a degenerate with a need for new things, means that a lot of devices pass through my hands. Some don’t get much attention after I’m done with the initial setup fun and writing content.
It’s just the nature of the beast that not every device can stand out when there are so many companies throwing their hats into the ring. And there are only so many gaming hours in the day if I want my mortgage to keep getting paid.
The new borrowed hinge design should help the device stay sturdier
What Retroid have shown me with the Flip 2, is that even though they might not be perfect, Retroid are still around from the early days of the hobby for a reason. They make solid devices that I want to play.
During any given week I might have a few different devices that I am writing about depending on whatever topic I’ve selected for myself. Playing around with devices and testing various function does take some time, and when I want to relax and just do some “turn my brain off” gaming, the Odin 2 was always the device I reached for.
Over the past few months since I’ve had the Flip 2 though, the AYN device has been gathering some dust. Even though it’s the more powerful of the two devices, I still find myself reaching for the clamshell.
Great dome switch d-pad
I don’t know if they struck the perfect balance between design, portability, and function, but it’s up there with the top examples in the hobby. It’s just that good, and it feels good playing almost anything I throw at it. While it might not be a go-to FPS machine for me, it still feels great in almost any situation.
And something about opening that screen to exactly where I left off just feels fantastic when I plop back down on the couch after dinner.
Buy the Pocket Classic Direct @ Retroid
Looking Back
This wasn’t meant to be a redemption story for Retroid as a company or anything like that, just a fun rehash of my own consumer experiences with the company as a consumer. As I’ve written about at length in the past, there will be stumbles to the finish with some of these devices.
Both ends of my Retroid journey
Part of the fun of being on the edge of new toys, is accepting that not everything will be a grand slam, and there may be some concessions to make along the way. Don’t give into hype every time something new comes along.
Take a look at your own wants and needs, and decide what will best fill the gap for you. If something on the horizon looks to check the boxes better than what’s in your collection, and you have the means, then certainly go ahead and pre-order it. Just know that there is some level of unknown risk that can come along with being an early adopter in this space.
I know it’s a lesson that I’ve had to learn more than once. Heck, maybe it won’t be an Android device at all, and you want to skip right to something in an x86 format. That’s entirely ok. And it’s what makes this constantly evolving hobby such a joy to watch.
It starts off simply enough…
The Flip 2 is simply my favorite clamshell emulation device, period. I don’t have a lot of the childhood connections to the GBA SP design that a lot of folks do. It had passed me by at the time. So while I really do appreciate those devices, they haven’t been the nostalgia bomb that they are for some other folks.
The Pocket Flip 2 on the other hand, feels like its own thing. This is a device that is certainly taking inspiration from gaming devices of decades passed, but it isn’t copying them. This handheld works because it takes all the aspects of design and influence of what’s come before and passes the torch.
I feel as at home playing a Game & Watch on the Flip 2 as I do playing Def Jam FFNY with graphics better than I could have hoped for 20+ years ago. To strike a perfectly comfortable balance between generations isn’t always a simple thing. Some devices feel at home in one era, and horribly foreign in another. I’ve never had that feeling with the Flip 2.
I love this screen
If I were given an option of only one new 2025 emulation handheld, it would be the Retroid Pocket Flip 2. And it isn’t particularly close. This is a device that I wasn’t expecting to bowl me over the way it did. My initial enthusiasm hasn’t wavered with time. If anything, I’ve only become more endeared to the handheld.
While I may not agree with some of the choices the manufacturer have made over the last few years, it’s amazing how quickly things can change in this space. Keep an open mind and go after the stuff that appeals to you, just make sure you think it will fit your needs first.
Or better yet, let reviewers take the hit for you first to decide if a new device is right for you. Standing with the Flip 2 a few months from release, I can say that you’ve got my reccomendation in full.
Buy the Pocket Flip 2 Direct @ Retroid
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