12 Best Android Gaming Handhelds Of 2025 [All Tested]

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 gamers who want not only Android games to explore, but emulation and cloud streaming.

Over the last few years Android gaming devices has come a long way, from smartphone-focused gaming devices to fully fledged gaming behemoths with Snapdragon processors that can fit in your pocket. We’re in an era where Android gaming handhelds are exploding, so here’s my favourites.

⭐️ TL;DR - Give Me The Results! ⭐️

• GameCube Emulation Under $160: ANBERNIC RG405M
• Best Vertical: AYANEO Pocket DMG
• Best Overall: Retroid Pocket 5

1. Retroid Pocket 5

• Released: Late 2024
• Price: $219
• Available At: GoRetroid.com

The Retroid Pocket 5 released at the tail end of 2024 and shook the entire market thanks to its incredible design and impressive amount of power, enabling silky smooth Playstation 2 emulation straight of the box without any tinkering of the settings.

GoRetroid, the makers of this device have been in the handheld game for a few years now, and are hands down one of the best in the industry. They’ve certainly had hiccups in the past, but it’s very evident that they have learned from their mistakes and ironed out their handheld research to create what I believe is the best Android handheld of the year, by far.

It features a 5.5″ AMOLED Touch-Screen, LED hall-joysticks, 8GB RAM, 5000MAH’s of battery and Android 13. Out of the box you will be greeted with a super-simple setup process that holds your hand all of the way up to installing your own ROMs.

It comes with their new front-end too that helps with organisation and simplifying the basic Android OS so that you can see your retro games library with ease. With the swipe up a button you can access your Android apps too, allowing this to be an all-round gaming behemoth when partners with Cloud Streaming too.

The large AMOLED display is stunning and due to its 16:9 ratio it can handle any screen format you throw at it. It feels like a modern day PSP, packed with a Snapdragon 865 CPU and a Ardeno 650 GPU which is a great amount of power, so much so that i was able to emulate some PS2 games in 2X resolution.

It’s GoRetroid’s best handheld to date, and at $219 it’s the last Android handheld you’ll have to buy for a very long time. It’s compact too, compared to other Android handhelds, allowing you to take this anywhere you please without looking like a full on nerd.

It’s the perfect stealth Android handheld that can handle almost anything I have chucked at it. After all of these years reviewing handheld emulators, this one here is close to perfection, it’s crazy to see how far this industry has come in five years.

2. AYN Odin 2

• Release Date: 2023
• Price: $299 – $459
• Where To Buy: AYN’s Website or eBay

Hands down, the best Android handheld console of the year so far is the AYN Odin 2, a juggernaut handheld that costs between $299 and $459 before import fees, making it a handheld aimed at those that don’t mind splashing the cash.

I am obsessed with it and I believe AYN has created a near-flawless device. It’s packed with a Qualcomm Kyro CPU, a Adreno 740 GPU, up to 16GB of RAM and 8000MAH’s of battery. Not only that it has hall joysticks, LED lights, analogue triggers, a silent cooling system and a beautiful 6″ 1080p IPS LCD display.

I know… impressive right? It runs on Android 13 making it incredibly easy and fluid to download your favourite apps and emulators, alongside the ability to cloud stream and use entertainment apps, making it an all round pleasant handheld to add to your collection.

It’s very ergonomic too and although it doesn’t fit in your pocket it is smaller than the Steam Deck and other great Handheld gaming PC’s that are competing with this area of handhelds. The back features extra buttons too should you want to map them to your liking.

Around the device you’ll find strong, soft buttons, a lovely DPAD, a finger print reader and shortcut buttons designed specifically for Android’s operating system making it easy to switch between apps and emulators without hassle.

This is one of AYN’s best handhelds and I look forward to seeing what they do in the future because it’s hard to get better than this right now. Just be aware of the hefty import fees, because this is shipped from China. It may also be worth looking on eBay too for a deal.

3. Retroid Pocket 2S

• Release Date: Late 2023
• Price: $99 – $119 (RRP)
• Where To Buy: eBay
• Full Review: Retroid Pocket 2S Review

The Retroid Pocket 2S was released in September 2023 and is an upgraded version of the original Retroid Pocket 2+.

Even though visually it hasn’t changed much, when you look closer it’s basically a whole new handheld, and one that’s really impressed us.

It features a 3.5″ Touch Screen Display, with a T610 CPU, 4GB RAM, 4000MAH Battery and runs on Android 11.

Some of the biggest changes are the new welcome hall joysticks, analogue shoulder buttons, start/select buttons and a PS-VITA like DPAD, adding to the retro feel of the device.

It’s incredibly easy to setup using GoRetroid’s custom installer, even installing all of the need emulators for you straight off the bat!

We tested a wide range of different games, from Gameboy, NES, Playstation 1, PSP, Nintendo DS, Dreamcast and even Gamecube games, all working really well.

That’s right, if you buy the 4GB RAM version at $119, this thing will run Gamecube games very well.

It starts to struggle with large Nintendo Wii games and Playstation 2 games, so we don’t reccomend this for anyone wanting PS2 emulation, you’ll need more power for that. While the handheld has been discontinued by GoRetroid, you can still pick units up from eBay.

4. AYANEO Pocket Micro

• Release Date: August 2024
• Pricing: $219 – $250
• Where To Buy: AYANEO.com or Indiegogo
• Full Review: AYANEO Pocket Micro Review

This is one of the most premium handhelds I have ever had the pleasure of reviewing. This is called the AYANEO Pocket Micro, a first attempt at creating an “affordable” retro handheld for AYANEO, coming in at $219 – $250, depending on which version you go for.

This is jam-packed with a MediaTek Helio G99 CPU, up to 8GB’s of RAM, a metal alloy shell and a glass cover that makes it feel like it belongs in a museum. There’s also hall-joysticks, a 3.5″ IPS display that can play GBA games in 4x resolution and Android 13 pre-installed ready to go out of the box.

It’s the same size as a typical smartphone, and it can fit in your pockets if they’re deep. Because of the sheer power packed into this thing, it can emulate up to Gamecube games and play most Android games that you throw at it, however because it’s a small 3.5″ screen some games looked cramp, so pick them wisely.

It does emulate a handful of PS2 games too but it’s not pleasurable to play on with this small screen, the magic is in the 32 and 64bit consoles, especially Game Boy Advance. GBA games look stunning on here and it’s what I spend 80% of the time playing on here.

I dabble in Dreamcast, N64 and PS1 games too, when I get some time. The battery life isn’t the best coming in at 2600MAH’s giving gamers between 4 – 6 hours of gameplay on a single charger, it’s not the best but it’s because this thing is small.

AYANEO pre-installed AYASpace too which gives you the oportunity to organise your games in one neat front-end. The build quality is superb, and although it may look square and uncomfortable AYANEO has prioritised minimal and modern aesthetics to make it look like nothing on the market.

It’s one of my new favourites and it excites me for what’s to come from AYANEO because it’s about time this Android handheld market got shook up by some innovative competition.

5. AYANEO Pocket DMG

• Release Date: Late 2024
• Pricing: $339 – $699
• Where To Buy: AYANEO.com or Indiegogo

There’s only one company crazy enough to create a high-end luxury vertical Android handheld, and that’s AYANEO. In late 2024 they released the AYANEO Pocket DMG, an Android device that takes design inspiration from the original GameBoy DMG.

Featuring a 3.9″ OLED display, a Snapdragon G3X CPU, a bunch of RAM and incredible build quality it’s one of the finest vertical handhelds that I have had my hands on. It’s as if Iron Man created a futuristic Game Boy…

It’s a large device in the hand, with similar weight to that of the DMG which makes it feel nostalgic in a sense, but that quickly dissipates when you see that it features a touch-sensitive pad like the Steam Deck, removable shoulder buttons, and a custom front-end developed by AYANEO speficially for this device.

Your ROM’s will sync to the homepage of the device, showcasing an array of consoles for your to explore, and AYANEO’s OS makes it easy to organise, switch to more power and it will even show you how much of your device is working, such as frame rates and power output.

Like most Android handhelds on this list, you can swipe a button and access Android games, apps and even cloud streaming. It’s not something I explored a lot, i’ll be honest as the square 3.9″ display wants you to focus on a certain era of gaming, which is why you’d pick this up.

It’s the most powerful vertical handheld on the market, which will certainly interest those that have been wanting something this niche. But that said, although it can emulate Playstation 2, PSP and more, the awkward screen ratio will showcase large black borders, so its best to stick to square-ish consoles with large text. It’s truly remarkable if you can look past that, I don’t know where AYANEO can go from here in the vertical market.

6. Retroid Pocket Mini

• Release Date: September 2024
• Price: $199
• Available At: GoRetroid.com
• Our Full Review: Retroid Pocket Mini Review

The Retroid Pocket Mini is an impressive little device that features a small 3.7″ AMOLED display and a not so small Snapdragon 865 CPU, turning it into a portable powerhouse that fits in your pocket. The face features a glass panel that fills the entire front, with LED hall-joysticks, analogue triggers, 4000MAH’s of battery and incredible ergonomics that makes this one of the most comfortable handhelds I have ever reviewed.

In terms of emulation it can handheld most games I chucked at it including all of my Gamecube library at silky smooth frame rates. So if you’re looking for a powerful device that can emulate Gamecube, Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, PS1, PSP and a small selection of PS2 games with a smaller 3.7″ screen then this is the one to go for.

For me personally, a 3.7″ display is too small to comfortably enjoy Playstation 2, Gamecube and PSP games, I need something a bit larger, so that’s the only downfall for me personally. It’s too powerful for what I need a 3.7″ screen to do, and with that power comes an inflated price too. I wish they cut the power and cut the costs but kept all of the beautiful physical perks of this device.

It’s a personal preference for sure, but if you’re fine with a smaller screen then this is one of the best pocketable Android handhelds on the market, it’s phenomenal.

7. ANBERNIC RG Cube

• Release Date: Mid 2024
• Price: $169.99
• Where To Buy: ANBERNIC.com
• Our Full Review: ANBERNIC RG Cube Review

The RG Cube by ANBERNIC is a unique handheld, as it’s equipped with a 1:1 4″ IPS display with a resolution of 720 x 720, making it great for retro games focused on square-oish aspect ratios, alongside it being pretty nifty for stacking both Nintendo DS screens.

It’s one of ANBERNIC’s first handhelds to feature this display, alongside an “one click” setup process that installs all of the popular emulators for you (which is something we have asked in previous reviews), opening it up to newcomers.

The $169.99 is high for what it does, but it’s focusing on a niche audience that want a square display. Inside is a Unsicoc T820 CPU and 8GB’s of RAM capable of emulating Dreamcast, Gamecube and PSP games very well, with a sprinkling of the less demanding Playstation 2 games.

Large PS2 games will struggle on this, but the magic for me was playing Game Boy Color, Nintendo DS and Gamecube games, that’s where this handheld becomes truly magical. Because of the unique display is does make some games a little awkward to paly.

For exmaple PSP is just too small due to the aspect ratio and many Android games don’t support the 1:1 ratio, forcing users to have big black borders around their applications. But if you can get passed that, it’s a great, well built handheld that’s pretty dang unique in its own way.

8. Retroid Pocket 4 Pro

• Release Date: Early 2024
• Pricing: $175
• Where To Buy: GoRetroid.com
• Full Review: Retroid Pocket 4 Pro Review

The Retroid Pocket 4 Pro was released at the start of 2024 and keeps GoRetroid’s previous Pocket design, adds a few new minor features and packs in some serious processing power. This time, the device has new analogue triggers, updated 3D hall sticks, menu buttons now located on the face, alongside slightly bouncier action buttons.

Internally the Retroid Pocket 4 Pro features a Mediatek Dimensity 1100 CPU, a Mali G77 GPU, 8GB’s of RAM, 5000MAH’s of battery and a 4.7″ touch screen display running Android 13. That a good ammount of power. To put that into perspective this device can emulate Nintendo Wii and Gamecube games incredibly well at good frame rates, all for $175.

Just two years ago the Android handheld community would have dreamed for that, now it’s a reality thanks to GoRetroid. The setup is easy thanks to their custom built setup process, it features it’s own Llauncher to give it a Nintendo Switch style look, and with the swipe of the screen you can access the graphic performance and turn on the in-built cooling system.

It’s a superb handheld that we ranked highly in our Retroid Pocket 4 Pro Review, there are some areas that need updating such as the bezel and “premium” factors, but it’s still on of the best out there, but do take into consideration that GoRetroid has released a newer version of this, called the Retroid Pocket 5 which is higher up on this list.

9. ANBERNIC RG556

• Release Date: Early 2024
• Pricing: $184.99
• Where To Buy: ANBERNIC.com
• Full Review: ANBERNIC RG556 Review

The ANBERNIC RG556 is a handheld that was released out of nowhere and swiftly surprised us thanks to its ergonomic design, competitive pricing and decent specs. This device was released to specifically compete with the Retroid Pocket 4 Pro.

ANBERNIC and GoRetroid have been head to head for many years now and this is one device that I think some of you may prefer because it’s $10 – $20 cheaper, features a better screen and is far more comfortable to hold.

The only thing it lacks compared to the RP4 Pro is that it lacks a good user experience, which ANBERNIC has had problems with for a couple of years now. It has no easy setup process whereas GoRetroid’s devices has an easy step by step OS that even installs emulators for you out of the box.

ANBERNIC RG556 Specifications:

• 5.4″ AMOLED Touch Screen (1080p)
• Unisoc T820 CPU
• Mali-G57 GPU
• 8GB RAM
• 128GB of internal storage.
• 5000MAH Battery
• WiFi & Bluetooth

You read that correctly, AMOLED display… it’s one of the first sub $200 Android handhelds to test this display and it was certainly worth the investment. The shell is made with a high gloss transparent plastic with hall-joysticks, great shoulder buttons and soft action buttons that are all perfectly located.

In the hands its a great device and can emulate up to and including most Playstation 2 games alongside the typical Android apps, opening it up to cloud streaming, entertainment apps and exclusive games.

If you’re on the market for a sub $200 Android handheld with one of the best 6″ displays that we have seen then this is certainly a handheld to look at because it’s one of ANBERNIC’s best mid range devices this year, even if it requires some UI fixes.

10. AYN Odin

• Release Date: Late 2021
• Price: $199+
• Where To Buy: AYN’s Website
• Full Review: Our AYN Odin Review

The original AYN Odin handheld console is one of our absolute favourites and because it has a “newer” big brother it’s finding a smaller price tag, alongside finding itself on eBay and other marketplaces more often, for a great price.

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 the year.

11. ANBERNIC RG405M

• Release Date: Late 2021
• Price: $157.99
• Where To Buy: ANBERNIC.com
• Full Review: ANBERNIC RG405M Review

The RG405M is one of ANBERNIC’s best handhelds to date, combining a high quality metal body with great specs that allow you to play most of your retro games in style. It features a 4″ touch screen display (640 x 480), Unisoc T618 2GHZ CPU, 4GB RAM, 4500MAH battery and Android 12.

It’s a flawless machine, priced at $169 respectfully. The metal frame gives it durability, making it a reliable handheld to take with you on long adventures. The 4″ screen is a nice addition, making larger consoles such as PSP, Dreamcast and Gamecube games look that little bit better.

Performance wise, it’s pretty good too, we tried testing a wide range of PS2 games and was surprised to say that some worked really well, but it’s once you start playing larger PS2 games that this thing starts to struggle.

But that said, this is currently the best handheld to run Gamecube games well if you want build quality as your top priority, combined with Android 12 it can play a host of your favourite android games too! But be warned, once you go metal, it’s hard to go back!

12. AYANEO Pocket Air

• Release Date: Late 2023
• Price: $299 – $459
• Where To Buy: AYANEO’s Website

The AYANEO Pocket Air is AYANEO’s attempt at creating a super premium Android console for gamers, and they have crafted just that with impressive performance.

AYANEO are renowned for creating high end consoles across an array of prices, but their Pocket series has been released to cater for this with a budget of under $300, competing directly with the AYN Odin 2 which is also on this list.

They are using the same design, and shell as the original AYANEO Air which I have reviewed in the past, keeping to the sleek design and large 16:9 display. It does feel incredible in the hand, with beautiful shoulder buttons, high quality LED joysticks, and comfortable buttons.

They have matched this with a MediaTek Dimensity 1200 CPU, a bunch of RAM and a 5.5″ 1080p AMOLED display, stacked to the brim with 7300MAH’s of battery. This is a lot of battery for sure, but you will notice that lifespan reduces significantly when emualting high end consoles and intensive Android games.

It’s the pinnacle of Android gaming handhelds, and it’s certainly hard to beat in terms of quality and performance, but to get that, comes a pretty hefty price that some are not willing to pay, and it’s why it’s a little lower down on this list.