The Retroid Pocket 5 is the handheld I’ve been waiting for

How does anyone choose which laptop to buy when better, cheaper hardware comes out almost every week? The answer (finally) Retroid pocket 5. However, just like solving a good math problem, it is important to show your work.

For the past two years, I’ve been stuck in a loop I call the “handheld buyer’s dilemma.” YouTube channel – like my favorite Retro gaming case — would introduce a new, incredible portable computer that emulates virtually every console and platform released before the PlayStation 2. I would open the store page in a new tab, and then spend a week worrying about the cost of the gadget and the time it would take. customize to your liking. When I was finally ready to open my wallet, I would open YouTube instead, and the cycle would begin all over again as I discovered a new video about a new portable device that promised to be even better than the last.

Abundance should be a blessing. Companies like Anbernic, Retroid, and Ayaneo have flooded the market with portable devices that will appeal to almost every type of gamer. Do you want to recreate your Favorite retro pocket computer? Or maybe you prefer something like as powerful as a gaming PC? Or maybe something square but beautiful? Intense competition leads to lower prices year after year.

My problem is the desire to lower prices and offer more options rather than the best option. Handheld device manufacturers prioritize different features of each handheld device. Some have great screens but poor controls. Others have plenty of graphics power but a weak battery. The handheld devices that look the best can be awkward to play on, while the ones that look best can be, well, you get the idea.

The Retroid Pocket 5 broke me out of that cycle. Compared to its peers, Retroid releases fewer new handheld devices per year, and it shows. In the case of the Pocket 5, the system looks as good as it feels. It’s small enough to slip into a large bag, but still has a big, beautiful OLED screen that reminds me of the original PlayStation Vita and the OLED display of the Nintendo Switch. It’s powerful enough to run everything I ask of it, from Atari to Dreamcast, and it took less than an hour of effort to get it running reliably—thanks, of course, to copious tutorials on YouTube.

It’s so portable, so lightweight, and so much fun to play. The plastic body is light and comfortable in the hand, and games load instantly. Even the touchscreen proved reliable when emulating the Vita. I spent the holidays revisiting retro games that I haven’t dug out of storage in decades. For the first time in years, my Steam Deck is gathering dust. And when I returned to it – as amazing as Valve’s portable computer is – it felt big and heavy. So, instead, I streamed the games I used to play on my Steam Deck to the Retroid Pocket 5 using the handheld device’s access to the Google Play Store on Android.

However, the cycle I mentioned above did not stop. After I ordered my laptop, I learned about Anbernic RG 406H, Odin2 Portal, TrimUI Brick, Ayaneo Pocket DMG and Anbernic RG 34XX. Some of them are more powerful than Retroid Pocket 5. Others look better. But for me, with my new handheld, the mess is just right.

So, do I recommend the Retroid Pocket 5 to get readers out of pocket paralysis? Not really. While I adore my new little gizmo, I’ve realized something else: I would have loved any other laptop I could have bought in the last two years of downtime. And that’s two years that I didn’t spend playing games that I would have liked.

The real conclusion should be that any a modern portable device will suffice. Portable gaming YouTubers don’t lie. Each of them is amazing, just in their own way. If you just want to be able to play old games on your laptop – via ROMs of your own games – then you can close your eyes, throw a dart and pick a great option.

Or I guess you could just keep watching videos on YouTube. It’s almost as much fun and a lot cheaper.