It has been a while since GoRetroid has launched a product (if you ignore the dock), their latest being the Retroid Pocket 4 Pro that went down a treat earlier in the year, but now with the onslaught of mini retro handhelds, GoRetroid wants a piece of the pie and have revealed the GoRetroid Pocket Mini.
This is 4:3 device featuring what looks like a 3.7″ border-less display similar to that of the AYANEO Pocket Micro with glass surrounding the whole face, new LED joysticks which is the first in a GoRetroid pocket, and is a common trend in the affordable handheld market now and stacked shoulder buttons which look very comfortable.
The trailer doesn’t reveal much in all honesty, just a general look around the device. It looks very similar to the ANBERNIC RG Cube, but instead featuring a 4:3 display instead of 1:1. GoRetroid already have a 4:3 handheld on the market that was ranked one of our best retro handhelds of the year.
GoRetroid confirmed in a tweet that this features a 3.7″ OLED display with a resolution of 1280 x 960. This is 2X the resolution of the Retroid Pocket 2S.
The Pocket 2S is great, features a 4:3 display, runs on Android and can emulate most games up to Dreamcast for just $99, so I wonder where this will sit on the market? Perhaps it will compete with the RG Cube and be priced closer to $150 or even $199 packed with a powerful CPU?
Or it will completely take over the Pocket 2, and transformed into a more comfortable, flashier device for the same price? It’s difficult to tell from just this trailer, but no doubt we will hear more next week.
My initial thoughts are that it looks very comfortable, the LED sticks and larger shoulder buttons are welcome, but what’s truly unique about it? There’s so many of these on the market already that it’s going to be hard for gamers who already have a handheld that can play up to Dreamcast to then splash out another $100/$150?
Yes, it looks more premium, and no doubt be a great Android retro gaming device but so is the Pocket 2S still. I think the route GoRetroid need to go down is to stack this up with a high end processor so that it can emulate N64, Dreamcast and Gamecube flawlessly on the 4:3 display so that customers who do buy it, won’t need to upgrade for many, many years.
But with that power, new features and upgraded ergonomics, likely comes a larger price than the Pocket 2S, so perhaps this will be a direct contender to the Pocket 4 Pro?
I like the redesign of the face, it certainly looks more modern, less cluttered and is following where the market is going, but there are a couple areas that may catch them out in upcoming reviews. For example, the speaker grills are right under the users thumbs when using the sticks, which may block sounds.
Secondly, the analogue sticks used in the industry with the LED lights aren’t the best and lack range of movement, as shown in our RG40XX H review. They may use different sticks to ANBERNIC, but they’re likely from the same supplier.
I am excited about this because GoRetroid do make great products, but I worry that they may be a little late to the market with this one, but only time will tell. I will try my hardest to get this into the review when it releases… likely in a couple of months.
