Two of the most exciting handhelds of the year finally arrived in late 2024. The Retroid Pocket 5 and Pocket Mini were announced with much fanfare, offering some rather impressive upgrades over the Retroid Pocket 4 series.

If your new handheld just landed on your doorstep and you’re wondering where to start, we’ve got you covered with this setup guide.

Table of Contents

• Differences Between Pocket 5 and Mini
• Recommended Accessories
  • Retroid DIY
  • microSD Cards
  • SD Card Readers
• Build Your Emulation Library
  • BIOS Files
• Recommended Apps
  • Obtainium
  • Frontends
• Recommended Emulators
  • Setting up RetroArch
  • GPU Drivers
• Where’s Android 13 for the Pocket Mini?
• Want to Install ROCKNIX or Batocera?
• Conclusion

Differences Between the Retroid Pocket 5 and Mini

If you’re in the market for a new handheld but aren’t sure whether to choose the Retroid Pocket 5 and Mini, we’ve got you covered. Both of these handhelds are powered by the same Snapdragon 865 chipset and are running Android, but there are a few key differences that help these stand apart.

Recommended Accessories

Getting a new handheld is only part of the fun, as you’ll want to get it all set up with some accessories. These include things like a microSD card, a dock, and more.

Retroid DIY

Something that Retroid is really leaning into with the Pocket 5 and Pocket Mini is the ability to customize your handheld. We’re not talking about the software, but instead, Retroid is offering replacement parts. This lets you truly make your Pocket 5 or Mini look and feel the way you want, which is simply awesome.

• Retroid Pocket 5
  • Clear Backplate
  • ABXY Buttons
  • D-pad
  • Full Set Buttons
  • Hall Joystick
• Retroid Pocket Mini
  • ABXY Buttons
  • D-pad
  • Full Set Buttons
  • Hall Joystick

microSD Cards

• Micro Center MicroSDXC (16GB – 2565GB)
• SanDisk Ultra (32GB – 1.5TB)
• Samsung PRO Plus (512GB)
• Silicon Power Superior (1TB)
• SanDisk Extreme (1TB)

SD Card Readers

• UGREEN 2-in-1 SD Card Reader
• Anker PowerExpand+ 2-in-1
• uni USB-C SD 4.0 Card Reader

Build Your Emulation Library

Once you’ve acquired all of your necessary accessories, the next thing that you’ll want to do is to get your library of games in order. This also means making sure to have any BIOS files at the ready, depending on the systems that you want to play.

In the event that you’re new to all of this, you’ll need to source your own ROMs and BIOS files. A quick Google search should remedy any other questions that you have. That being said, we’ve compiled a list of the recommended BIOS files for each system.

BIOS Files

Recommended Apps

Thanks to the power of Android, you aren’t confined or limited in the choice of apps to improve the overall experience. With that in mind, we have a few recommendations if you’re trying to figure out where to start with your Pocket 5 or Mini.

Obtainium

This app quickly became a staple and is something that I install on any Android device. Obtainium takes the headache out of dealing with keeping apps updated if they aren’t installed from the Play Store.

Since many apps and emulators are available for download from GitHub, Obtainium operates kind of like an App Store. While you can search for apps to install, you can also import lists of apps, removing another potential headache.

• Obtainium
• RJNY Obtainium Emulation Pack
• Crowdsourced App Configurations for Obtainium

Frontends

While having Android on the Retroid Pocket 5 and Pocket Mini is great, the standard launcher isn’t really designed for gaming handhelds. Retroid introduced a redesigned launcher of its own with the Pocket 5 and Mini, but there are also a few other options that you might want to check out.

• ES-DE for Android
• Daijisho
• Console Launcher
• LaunchBox
• Beacon Game Launcher
• Plain Launcher
• Pegasus
• ARC Browser
• RESET Collection

Recommended Emulators

Although the Play Store is just a tap away, we suspect that you don’t want to only play those games. However, with so many emulators at your disposal, you might be wondering which ones you actually need. So here’s a list of the emulators that we recommend using for the Retroid Pocket 5 and Pocket Mini.

Setting Up RetroArch

If you went through the list above and noticed a few retro consoles missing, that’s not because there aren’t emulators available. It’s because we recommend relying on RetroArch for those consoles, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.

It’s definitely possible to just download the app and start playing. But one of the reasons why RetroArch is so incredible has to do with the numerous customization options at your disposal. Hit the button below so you can learn how to set up RetroArch on Android.

How to Set Up RetroArch on Android

Recommended Cores

GPU Drivers

The emulation scene has come so far that it’s incredible even to be able to play retro games from so many different consoles. Not only that, but we can manually install GPU drivers which could solve any performance issues you might be experiencing.

If you’re wondering about what emulators support custom driver installation, the list is pretty short:

• Dolphin
• Citra (and Citra forks)
• Vita3K
• Skyline
• Strato
• Sudachi
• Suyu
• Winlator
• Yuzu (and Yuzu forks)

Once downloaded, you’ll need to leave it in the ZIP file format, as you can’t install it if you extract the contents. Instead, just fire up your emulator of choice, head to the in-app settings, and follow the steps to install the Turnip drivers.

Where’s Android 13 for the Pocket Mini?

We couldn’t have been more elated to see Retroid change course and bring Android 13 to the Pocket 5 and Mini. This is why shipping of the Pocket 5 was delayed, even though the Pocket Mini is already in the hands of the masses, running Android 10.

Retroid has clearly been waiting to push any major updates until it was able to get the Pocket 5 out the door. With that, we’re expecting to see the Android 13 update arrive on the Pocket Mini over the next few weeks.

Want to Install ROCKNIX or Batocera?

It’s difficult to argue with the idea that the Retroid Pocket 5 is the best mid-range Android handheld. In addition to the gorgeous OLED display and the Snapdragon 865 under the hood, it’s simply a delight. But, shortly after the Pocket 5 and Mini were announced, Retroid revealed that it would be possible to run either Batocera or ROCKNIX on these handhelds.

In doing so, you’re able to unlock even more functionality, such as being able to play PortMaster or PICO-8, natively. Not to mention that even original Xbox games are supported courtesy of Xemu.

However, the installation process isn’t exactly the most straightforward, but we’ve got you covered. Just hit the button below and follow along as Team Retrogue has put together a Linux install guide for these latest devices. And if you’re on the fence about using Linux on the Retroid Pocket Mini, be sure to check out Ban’s review to get a better idea of what to expect.

Batocera and ROCKNIX Linux Install Guide

Conclusion

I don’t know about you, but we couldn’t be more excited about both the Retroid Pocket 5 and the Retroid Pocket Mini. As we had hoped, Retroid is setting a new standard for powerful retro handhelds without needing to spend the extra money on something like a Steam Deck or ROG Ally.

Retroid Pocket 5

Retroid Pocket Mini

What did you think of this article? Let us know in the comments below, and chat with us in our Discord!

This page may contain affiliate links, by purchasing something through a link, Retro Handhelds may earn a small commission on the sale at no additional cost to you.