The Android gaming handheld scene is bursting with options, but the Retroid Pocket 5 offers arguably the best performance for the price among today’s retro handhelds. Released late last year, the sleek portable sports powerful hardware capable of running high-end native Android games and apps, while also doubling as great portable for streaming console and PC titles. It has a custom frontend for retro games and is powerful enough to run sixth- and some seventh-generation console games. The Retroid Pocket 5 was initially only available through the manufacturer’s online store, but now the device is finally available through Amazon, where it’s priced at $259 with free shipping.
Amazon has four different color options available as of May 16. The retailer sold out quickly the other day, and delivery wait times are currently around two weeks.
Retroid Pocket 5 handheld at Amazon:
Amazon’s price is higher than Retroid’s $219 base price, but shipping is free from Amazon, while Retroid charges at least $30-$50 for shipping, depending on your region and delivery speed, meaning buying from Amazon costs about the same–or even cheaper–depending on your region.
$259
If you’re unaware of the Retroid Pocket 5, the handheld device is one of the premier Android handheld currently on the market. It has a 5.5-inch 1080p touch screen, two thumbsticks, a D-pad, and all the standard face and shoulder buttons you’d expect from a modern gaming device.
It’s also got beefy specs for its size and price, running an Adreno 650 GPU and Snapdragon 865 processor, 8GB RAM, and 128GB of internal storage–which you can expand thanks to the included microSD slot. It comes with Android 13 installed out of the box. Along with the conventional Android OS interface, the Pocket 5 has a custom frontend launcher for retro games.
It’s strong enough to run many Android games natively, and more than enough horsepower to handle GameCube and PS2-era games you purchased. That said, there are no preinstalled games on the system, so you’ll need to download and install them via Google Play or other storefronts like the Epic Game Store, or stream them over the Xbox Game Pass Android app, Nvidia Now, or with a remote play app on Xbox, PS5, or Steam.
Luckily, the Retroid Pocket 5 supports WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity, and playing games remotely offers a smooth experience–assuming your home network is stable.
