While crowning the original Miyoo Mini as the best handheld of 2022, Bob Wulff told his audience that “the best emulator is the one you have on you right now.” While that quote didn’t totally revolutionize the way I thought about handhelds, it did contribute to me stopping trying to conceal my favorite handhelds about my person. These would usually be the medium-sized ones with protruding analog sticks – which would both ruin my trouser line and probably do no favors to stick drift prevention.
Always Use Protection
A Genuine picture of my first MM, 48 hours after I bought it
I bought my first Miyoo Mini as a birthday present to myself in 2022. Before that, the only micro emulation handheld I had was the original TrimUI Model S, which was pocketable but had too small a screen for a good experience. Within 48 hours of the Miyoo arriving, it slipped out of my hands, onto a wooden floor, which smashed the screen. Lesson learned, some devices while perfectly sized for a pocket, are too fragile to survive pocket life.
I started investing in cases and covers soon afterward.
At the time of writing, other than the Ayaneo Pocket Micro, the fashion for upcoming devices seems to be leaning towards larger, higher quality screens, meaning the best pocket options are likely to remain what is on the market now, for a good few months at least. In my journey to keep them safe, I’ve ended up purchasing a fair few cases and covers (with my own money – no review units here). These are my current favorite pocket companions and the cases and covers I choose to use to keep them safe.
Best Option for Jeans Pockets: The Miyoo Mini +
OLED Game Boy Color and Miyoo Mini Plus playing Links Awakening
Recommended Protection:
Over the last year or so, no device has spent more time in my pockets than the Miyoo Mini Plus. While it’s considerably more resilient to knocks than its little brother, the screen still feels vulnerable, especially if – like me – you choose to put it in the same pocket as your keys. This led me to search for a solution on Etsy.
Due to the popularity of the Miyoo Mini and the Miyoo Mini Plus, if you search for the phrase “Miyoo Mini Case” on Etsy, you’ll get over a hundred results. While clicking through page after page, looking for a solution that was both thin, and would give me quick access to my device if I was waiting in a queue or something, I came across “Articulating Screen Protector Mod”, and ordered it on a whim. While this is a cheap solution for Americans, Etsy international shipping prices mean this won’t be as good an idea for people based in Europe like me.
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- The two screws hold the cover in place
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- The provided screws are much longer that the ones in the Miyoo’s case
The cover consists of four 3D printed panels each connected by a hinge (all preassembled). The cover is attached to the device using two screws which replace the screws in the rear of the Miyoo’s shell, and attach the cover firmly.
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- In use the cover folds out of the way
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- When folded closed the front of the device is protected
Once the case is screwed in place, it neatly folds over the front of the device protecting its most vulnerable part. When it is used the cover folds behind the player’s hands not causing any form of annoyance. It is easily the cleverest retro handheld cover I’ve encountered in my time on the scene, however, I still have a little objection to calling it a “mod”.
Best Option for Baggy Trouser Pockets: Anbernic RG35XXSP
The SP and The Case
Recommended Protection:
The last time I unboxed a handheld which immediately sparked the sort of joy that Marie Kondo would be jealous of, was my DMG RG35XXSP. My major gripe with the MM+ is the lack of Bluetooth – when I’m out and about, the headphones I tend to have with me aren’t wired – and the SP has that covered.
I know there is a common thought that, due to its clamshell design, it’s fine to just throw it in a pocket and let the outer shell get scratched up in the way an OG GBA SP would in the 00s, but that’s not going to work for me. I like my device as it is, and I intend to apply a sticker and button swap I bought from SakuraRetroMod to give it a European SNES look, that external shell sticker ain’t going to survive pocket life unprotected.
The Sakura Mods I’m looking forward to installing
Both Anbernic themselves and resellers like DroiX provide their own cases for the SP. While I’ve never owned a Droix case, I’ve never found the official Anbernic cases to be ideal, they’re bulk and the zips are more fragile than I’d like
This flip case feels much sturdier and more reliable than the other options I’ve seen. while it does add a little bulk – and that might be too much for some trouser-lines – it adds far less bulk that most cases. The lid is held in place by magnets (how do they work?), and there is no obvious way how it would get damaged through day-to-day use, unlike some zips.
The SP fits snugly in the case
However, as a contract to the MM+ cover, this isn’t a case that will be an ideal purchase for Americans, the Etsy shop it’s from is based in Europe, and Etsy International Shipping is kind of outrageous. It’s a great solution for us Europeans though.
Best Option for Jacket Pockets: Nintendo Switch Lite
The Flip Case and a Switch Lite
Recommended Solution:
This might be the only controversial opinion in the article. While some people including RH’s very own Zu, prefer devices like the Retroid Flip, I think a modded Nintendo Switch Lite is easily the greatest device of its size (I just wish they’d leave RetroGameCorps alone).
Living in London, I probably use Public Transport like the London Underground more than most of the community, and on those journeys, it’s nice to have a compact device that is legitimately easy to hold for close to an hour without any form of hand-cramping, and which has a screen and sleep function easily superior to most handhelds make by the usual suspects. It is a device that requires protection however, the screen can get scratched and the plastic chipped – it’s just too easy to drop a device on The Tube sometimes.
The Switch Lite doesn’t move even when held like this and shook
I once saw a post, which I think might have been on Reddit, describing the Official Switch Lite Flip Cover as the greatest accessory Nintendo had ever made, and hyperbole aside, it made me curious enough to buy one when I saw them in a sale.
Nintendo might be way too litigious with their takedowns, but they do make quality official accessories, and that level of quality is apparent in the cover. The Lite fits in remarkably well and doesn’t even threaten to fall out when helped upside-down.
The Lite is exceptionally comfortable to hold in case
The flip cover is held in place by magnets (again, how do they work?), and requires the right level or force to open, meaning it won’t open of its own accord. The fabric of the case is tactile and genuinely nice to have in the hands, and I think it will improve the gameplay experience for most people.
It’s not perfect though, while you might hope that closing the flip would put the device to sleep the way iPad covers work, it doesn’t, and the shoulder buttons are left exposed, even when the flip is shut. It’s also not a good deal at its RRP of $40 – however these days you can find it for around half that on Amazon, and I bought mine, new and boxed, for £12 on ebay.
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