More than 2 weeks ago, I purchased a Retroid Pocket 2 handheld for AUD122 with shipping. The carrier was 4PX, and it took about 10 days to arrive. It has been a week since I got it, and I am quite satisfied with this little handheld because it has the right feel for me.
The handheld is around the size of my Poco F2 Pro, so it is very portable. The battery is great and lasts for a few hours. Charging speed is fine, and I think it needs around 2 hours to charge from 0 to 100%. Controls are great except for the right trigger because it is like the PSP one. Does it mean that it is not a trigger? Overall, I think it is better than an average Bluetooth controller. The machine comes with a 32 GB sd card, and it has some apks inside. 32 GB should be enough for quite many games unless I put too many PSP games in. The internal storage is 8 GB, and I mainly use it to install emulators.
Now, the question is why? Retroid Pocket 2 is Android based which means that my Android phone can do the same. For me, there are two reasons. The first one is the controller and the second is the screen. All Android phones can become a retro handheld via pairing a Bluetooth controller, but I prefer a built-in one because there is less delay. The screen size is another problem for Android phones because they are too large and tall. There will be large spaces between the controller and the game, so it feels different.
In the end, it is about the feel and form factor. Retroid Pocket 2 feels more like a handheld than a phone. However, this doesn’t mean that it is perfect. There are two major issues with it. The first one is the performance and the second is the screen. My Poco F2 Pro is way ahead in terms of power. Retroid Pocket 2 is great for everything up to PSP, but it is just not powerful enough for Wii and 3DS. The screen is great but also bad because it is not a touch screen. Being a non-touchscreen, it feels more like a retro handheld, but it can be challenging to navigate because I am too used to touch screens. It is a plus and minus at the same time.
Overall, it is a good handheld. I can enjoy GB, GBC, GBA, NDS, PSP, NES and SNES games on it. I don’t even connect it to the WiFi because there is no need unless I am checking for updates. Before I wrap up, there are several things to mention. The stock system is Android 6, Marshmallow, but it is possible to update to Android 8, Oreo. The first thing I did was to update to Android 8, so I have no idea how good the stock Android is. Steam Link works on this handheld, but I never tried. RetroArch just doesn’t perform well on my device, but it might be my problem. If I don’t update to Android 8, maybe the built-in one may work.
Happy gaming.