It probably comes at no surprise that Retroid has a hit on their hands with the newly released Pocket 6 handheld.
For me, my liking of this handheld was very much so unexpected. I was assuming I was getting a typical Retroid handheld with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, proven for the last 3 years in my Ayn Odin 2.
What I didn’t take into consideration was how much I was going to like a handheld with the Retroid design cues and this processor. I can’t reiterate enough how transformative the SD8 Gen 2 has been to the Android Handheld space the last few years.
Power
The SD8 Gen2 with the Adreno 740 GPU has become a staple in driving for a lack of better terms drivers. It really did help kick off the Turnip Adreno Driver massive build out since it was released.
There is likely not a more optimized Android SOC on the market right now. We are starting to see Snapdragon 8 Elite drivers but they are still in infancy compared to the SD8 Gen2. I think it’s safe to say you will be able to play most anything on this handheld vs others with different, even more powerful SOC.
Feel
The Retroid Pocket 6 feels very traditional Retroid in a lot of ways. The biggest most welcome change here was adding the ability to put your left joystick where you want it [top or bottom] depending on your gameplay style.
This is something that a lot of us have been asking for, for years. It has never made sense to have handhelds that you will be playing Steam, Switch or really anything after the PS1 generation with a DPad on top… to me anyway.
This movement of the DPad was a gamechanger for me. The RP6 went from what I was assuming to be a less sensical Ayn Odin Mini to a completely unique device in many ways. Sure it doesn’t look much different than other Retroids but it sure does feel like it’s coming to its own.
There was also the movement of M1/M2 buttons that were going to be on the front of the handheld to the back. Though I am not sure I like this decision, it is the first time I can remember a Retroid handheld having additional buttons on back to accommodate gamers who use these.
Thoughts
If you have the money and are in the market for a 5.5” AMOLED 16:9 handheld with a proven processor you don’t want to miss this one. On top of all the awesome things we already discussed it also has a color release for everyone. It’s hard to go wrong here.
Check the review video above for the in depth review and if you want to pickup the Retroid Pocket 6 there is a link in the video description as well as the button directly below.
I remain surprised with the Retroid Pocket 6 and am glad I picked this one up to take a look at.
If you have the Retroid Pocket 6 I would love to know your thoughts and if you are thinking about picking one up I would love to know about that too?
GameOn
CellPhish
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