What are the absolute best Android Handheld Games Consoles of 2023? Let’s find out!
As you may have noticed, the crew here at Retro Dodo are quite the fans of retro gaming consoles. It’s kind of our bread and butter. It’s a big part of our brand.
And generally speaking, most of the best retro handheld game consoles in the last two or three years have been Linux based operating systems.
But we have seen an overwhelming wave of new consoles that run on an Android operating system, opening up many new opportunities for users.
When you run a retro game console on Android, it is literally the same operating system that some of us use on our cell phones. #teamandroid
I mean, you can literally play Candy Crush on these things.
Using Android over Linux will sometimes result in better emulation performance, and also gives users a lot more customization and tweaking options.
So the advanced users will feel much more in control of their overall gaming experience.
So let’s take a look at the best Android Handheld Games consoles of the year!
1. AYN Odin Pro
Let’s just get the most obvious one out of the way first.
The AYN Odin handheld console is one of our absolute favorites to come out in the year.
It’s a super capable console that can run both Windows and Android operating systems. Oh, and it’s also super cool looking and incredibly comfortable in the hands. So.. kinda perfect?
The Qualcomm Snapdragon SD845 CPU, Ardeno 630 GPU, and 8GB RAM means you can emulate up to the 128-bit era of games consoles.
Yeah, it’s gonna start to reach into PS2 and GameCube emulation.. something we have been hungry for in a handheld game console for the past few years.
The console comes with a gorgeous 6″ LCD Touchscreen Display running at 1920 x 1080…
So both Windows and Android are gonna be awesome with standard button navigation, or just tapping and swiping your way around the OS.
Using Android based emulation programs and even streaming higher end games… this thing is an absolute dream.
Coming in at just under $300, it’s actually quite astonishing what you can do with this thing… and we have been in love with the AYN Odin since it hit our desk earlier this year.
We’ve said it a hundred times now, and this won’t be the last…
We highly recommend the Odin for [insert any reason you want here], and it’s an obvious addition to our list of best Android handheld games consoles of 2023.
Don’t be surprised if you see it in the top 3 of the year.
2. Logitech G Cloud
The Logitech G Cloud is Logitech’s first attempt at securing cloud gamers in handheld form using a custom version of Android OS.
Although we were hesitant to review it because of the cloud based nature of the device, it surprised us and we ranked it 7/10 in our full review.
Watch our Logitech G Cloud video review on YouTube.
Cloud gaming worked flawlessly on it, from testing Steam Link to smashing out Halo on Xbox Cloud Gaming it was a pleasant experience that allowed me to jump in a game within seconds of pulling it out of the box.
The large 7″ screen was a delight to plan on, and matched with the high build quality an impeccable 9 hour of battery life, it really is a unique handheld that impressed me.
It can even emulate your best PS2 games, Nintendo Wii games and PSP games in 16:9 incredibly well. However Gamecube games do struggle on this.
If you’re looking for a Android handheld that uses cloud gaming as it’s primary selling point with a dash of emulation then this maybe for you.
But just remember, you will need a good internet connection to get good quality from cloud gaming services.
3. AYA Neo Next
The AYA Neo line of game consoles hit the scene earlier this year and really established itself as one of most high-end, quality products available to gamers.
Whether it’s the AYA Neo Next, the AYA Neo Pro or the upcoming AYA Neo Air… all are gonna be insanely beautiful handheld consoles with top of the line details all around.
The Aya Neo Next features an AMD Ryzen 7 5825U CPU, AMD Radeon Vega 8 GPU, 16GB RAM, 2TB storage, 7″ IPS touch-screen display with 5-Point Capacitive Touch, fingerprint unlocking, two USB-C plugs…
I mean, you heard enough yet?
And the AYA Neo Next is capable of running both Windows and Android, both are gonna be more than capable of handling your retro gaming needs, as well as many new PC based games.
The thing is literally a Windows laptop in console form.
AYA packs all of the punches, checks all the boxes, and is both a powerhouse and a joy to look at.
It’s got a price tag to match, at around $1500. But if you are a high end gamer with high end tastes and a high end wallet… this console is absolutely one of the most impressive pieces from 2022.
So we are not surprised to see it make an appearance on this list of best Android consoles.
4. GPD XP
Well, remember we called the previous entry “unique”? Well it ain’t got nothin’ on the GPD XP’s design.
Part Android cell phone, part Nintendo Switch… the GPD XP is an entirely unique console concept with interchangeable peripherals that attach to the right side of the device.
This thing is the definition of trying something different and it paying off big.
The GPD XP packs a super powerful setup, featuring an octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 1200, up to 3.0GHz, Arm Mali-G77 MC9 GPU and 4266Mbps LPDDR4x memory.
It boasts 250% performance over the popular Snapdragon 845 chipset.
So that’s all fancy talk for an Android device that can handle a ton of emulation, streaming/cloud gaming, and Android based gaming at ease.
It can emulate all the way up to Nintendo Game Cube and PS2 quite well.
The unique modular controller design is made specifically to accommodate a wide variety of mobile gaming styles, whether that be standard left and right hand button controls, a right handed hot key setup, or a combination of button and touch-screen controls.
GPD is known for high quality console builds, with a price to match at around $350.
So the premium price tag may effect your decision to add one to your Android gaming collection, but with that super unique design concept… it might just be something you have to try for yourself.
We recommend this one based entirely on just how incredibly creative the design is and how fun it is to experiment with.
5. MOQI i7s
Have you guys ever heard of the MOQI i7s? No? To be fair, we hadn’t either until researching for this article.
One of the reasons we hadn’t heard of it is because it actually came out way back in 2019, when retro game consoles and Android gaming consoles were sort of in their infancy.
And that is part of what makes the i7s so incredible. It was one of the earliest examples of a super high end device that was made specifically for mobile gaming.
With stats like the Qualcomm SDM710 Snapdragon 710, Octa-core (2×2.2 GHz Kryo 360 Gold & 6×1.7 GHz Kryo 360 Silver) paired with Adreno 616 CPU running on Android 8…
It all sounds a bit under powered if we compare it to other devices on this list.
But it’s important to remember that this handheld was released in 2019, so those stats were pretty great at the time.
And the MOQI i7s is quite beautiful!
Sharing DNA with both modern cell phones and handheld game consoles, the i7s is a high end device made with aesthetics in mind.
Both packaging and the device itself were on par with the best cell phones to be released at that time. But this one was made with gaming in mind!
We can only speculate its gaming capabilities were it to be used today, but it would be safe to say it can handle all of the retro game emulation up to the 32-bit era easily, and a lot of great Android mobile games that were available a couple years ago.
It was really awesome to discover this early Android gaming device that could still easily be used today for some awesome retro game play, if you can get your hands on one.
6. Retroid Pocket 2+
The Retroid Pocket 2 was our number one favorite gaming console of 2020, topping our list of the best consoles of the year.
So when we heard news of the Retroid Pocket 2+, we were quite impressed with what Retroid gave to the gaming community:
Take an already incredible console… beef up its performance, and address all of the requests from users of the previous iteration.
They totally reworked the internal board of the console, upgrading to the much more powerful Unisoc Quad-core Tiger T310 chipset.
Needless to say, this boosted emulation performance quite a bit, so Dreamcast and PSP game play is gonna be super silky smooth.
And of course, we finally got a touch-screen on the Retroid Pocket (it felt like an obvious miss in the previous iteration of the Retroid Pocket 2).
So any shortcomings of the original Retroid Pocket 2 console (all of which we could easily look past) were totally eliminated in the new version.
And all of this and still a $99 price tag.
There’s a reason Retroid is one of our absolute favorite console makers in 2023… quality product, fair price model, and it feels like they are listening to the community and addressing their wants.
So we are happy to show them support and include them on our list of the best Android handheld games consoles. We imagine they will likely be on most of our lists in the coming years.
7. RG353P
Anbernic’s latest console offering comes literally weeks after their previous one (with another one incoming any day now).
The Chinese console manufacturer has moved away from their previous reputation for quality, and has gone to the dark side: focusing on quantity and dollars.
While we have been quite vocal about our complaints on the new direction of the company we used to think of as the best in the scene…
We can’t deny that their new RG353P is actually a pretty decent console.
In fact, if it didn’t have the Anbernic logo on it, we would probably give it even more credit.
If you can look past the fact that this new console is basically their upgraded concept of the PocketGO S30 from 2021 (literally copying the box design and all)… what exactly do we have in the RG353P?
Well.. you got a pretty capable retro console that is inspired by the SNES home console controller.
The RG353 comes with a 3.5” IPS 640 x 480 touch-screen display. So we finally have a touch-screen Anbernic console, which pairs perfectly with the Android operating system.
To answer your question: Yes… that means you can play Fruit Ninja on it.
And finally finally finally.. we are seeing the trend moving away from the all too familiar RK3326 chipset, and we are getting the more powerful RK3566 Quad-core 1.8ghz CPU chip.
With the community driven improvements to the software, we now see emulation performance mostly on par with the RG353P’s closest competition, the Retroid Pocket 2+.
So if these are the two consoles you have been considering for your collection, the choice perhaps could come down to the $40 price difference and aesthetics.
We want to hate on Anbernic until they give us what we want in the Vertical Series (a dang metal shell RG351V)…
But we do have to admit that the RG353P could be considered a positive on their overall scorecard, or at worst a neutral offering.
We could also recommend the RG552… but we don’t wanna. There you have it, the best Android Handheld Games Consoles of 2023!
8. Powkiddy X18S
The Powkiddy X18S is one of the more unique console designs to make an appearance on this list. (It’s also the only one that didn’t come in black.)
The X18S has clear influences from 2000s-era device aesthetics… such as the Game Boy Advance SP, and even classic cell phones and personal digital assistant devices.
While the externals could be thought of as “old”, the internal are anything but.
With a 2GHZ Unisoc T618 8-Core Processor, Mali G52 MPG PU, 4GB RAM, and a giant 5.5″ 720P Touch Screen IPS Display… this thing packs some impressive tech.
All of that means near flawless Dreamcast, N64 and PSP emulation on Android 11, making the X18S a worthy option in the world of Android gaming devices.
If you’re a fan of that oldschool 2000s aesthetic, and want a device that can handle all of your retro emulation needs up to the 64-bit era… the Powkiddy X18S has got you.
Anthony has been a video game lover ever since he can remember. He became a fulltime nomad in 2018, living throughout most of Asia. He focused his passion in retro gaming and began creating a game for the Game Boy Color while living in Nara, Japan during the 2020 pandemic. He is now in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where he spends most of his time gaming, going on long walks and meeting as many stray dogs as possible.
