In today’s day and age, we’ve all fallen victim to the sickness of buying more and more handhelds than we really need. Whether that’s buying it because “it’ll be the one” or because “one more couldn’t hurt,” we find ourselves building up a stack of e-waste that will rarely get touched. And I’m definitely not free from that.
So, in a series of Retrospective reviews (hopefully), I’ll be taking a step back and going through some of the past Retroid handhelds to see if they’re still worth picking up today. And, of course, we start with the OG, the Retroid Pocket.
Just as a heads up before getting into things, 2020 was not only a long time ago but was also around the same time we saw our first RK3326 handhelds in the Odroid Go Advance and one of the last JZ4770 handhelds in the Anbernic RG280M. For the sake of longevity, the Powkiddy V90 also first appeared around the same time as the RP1. Time sure does fly, doesn’t it?
Retroid Pocket Specs
Released over five years ago, the original Retroid Pocket wasn’t going to set the world on fire. But even back then, for the $75-$80 you could spend, what you got was likely fine, to slightly better than expected. Definitely a step above the JZ4770 you were seeing out of the Anbernic RG350 line of the time.
- Screen: 3.5”, 640×480, 4:3 IPS
- CPU: Mediatek MT6580A (4c/4t @ 1.3ghz)
- GPU: Mali-400 MP2
- RAM: 512mb DDR2
- Storage: 32GB + Micro SD
- Battery: 4000mAh
- Connectivity: BT/Wifi, Micro-USB, Micro HDMI
- Operating System: Android 6.0/RetroidOS
- Dimensions: 139 x 87 x 19mm
- Weight: 198 grams
Controls
When it comes to controls, you’re getting something a lot of people wish they could have now in 2025. Six face buttons strewn about as “X A B” and “Y C D” that are all low, shallow, clicky, and really not as bad as I thought they’d be. They’re paired with a clicky shield-style d-pad as well as a single, not hall-effect, Joy-Con-styled stick. It’s 2020, after all; the Switch sticks were truly hitting their stride here.
You might’ve noticed I didn’t mention any shoulder buttons. That’s because there isn’t anything. The yellow plastic cheese block lacks any sort of L1/R1 or L2/R2. The stick doesn’t even click to give us an L3. All things considered that kind of sucks, and even back in 2020, I don’t believe there were many people happy about it. But as far as the controls you do have are concerned. They really weren’t that bad.
If I didn’t have an RG350M at the time, I probably would have jumped on something like this. But hey. Hindsight was and is 2020.
Ergonomics and Screen
Taking a look at the screen, it’s a very mediocre display. Mine doesn’t get too bright, and it’s a bit dull, but compared to other options, it mostly kept up with the competition and offered a similar viewing experience.
As for the ergonomics? Well, frankly, they’re not good. It’s a flat back with nowhere to grab. My fingers would continuously slip down the back of the device, and as a whole, it’s one of the least comfortable devices I’ve picked up in a while. However, the RG Nano was definitely a contender.
Operating System
Wanna feel old? The Retroid Pocket came out with Android 6 Marshmallow. That’s an operating system that was released almost 10 years ago. As my Pixel 9 Pro sits on Android 15, I think about how far we’ve come and how even stock-ish versions of Android from 2020 or before will suffer incredibly from a non-touch display.
Navigating the Retroid Pocket is a slog, and even the inclusion of a mouse mode using the only stick doesn’t fully help it.
Usability
When it comes to the usability of the RP1, it comes down to a basic idea. Android, but with no touchscreen. In 2025, if you’re not really connecting to wifi the device is really just as usable as it was in 2020. In the past few years, there have been updates to older emulators, and they have gotten leaner in their operation. The Retroid Pocket still stands as an “Up to PS1” handheld in my eyes.
Unfortunately, the RP1 did suffer from not enough interest in its heyday, and as a result, most of the Lineage builds or Android 8.1 builds didn’t really make their way over, and that’s a bit unfortunate. Even a small bump likely would have made a big difference to the overall experience. But if you’re looking to set up something basic on a device with no touchscreen. The Retroid Pocket still performs admirably as long as you don’t need shoulders.
Final Thoughts
Retroid has never been without its faults. The RP3+ is releasing too soon after the RP3. The RP4 features some pretty poor trigger stability. Unfortunately, the RP1 wasn’t without concerns either. For the time being, it was a competent device if you knew how to set it up. But the lack of touchscreen and shoulder buttons made it a non-starter for many. And in the community, arguments between channels over dropshipping and bubbles under the screen didn’t help the thing make its mark.
I’m happy that Retroid has stuck around this long, and I hope to see it improve in the future with the RP6 line. Especially now that they’ve announced an official partnership with Qualcomm for future chips. But in this moment, taking a look five years back reveals a handheld that maybe wasn’t as bad as everyone thought.
The RP Classic will be taking over the mantle as Retroid’s newest vertical handheld. And I have high hopes that it’ll be a good one. Regardless of the outcome, we’ll still have the original form factor some maniacs are still crying for today. The Retroid Pocket 1 and its block of cheese design. Just don’t eat it. My teeth still hurt.
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