After just uploading a video about the best upcoming handhelds of the year, we then go and find information on an upcoming handheld called the Retro Pixel Pocket, how fitting!
The Retro Pixel Pocket was revealed by RGHandhelds and is being produced by a popular modding website called FunnyPlaying.
As of now it is still in the early stages, and the handheld we are looking at today is still a prototype, but with this video and information we can get a sense of what they are trying to build.
Straight off the bat, the Retro Pixel Pocket is aiming to target Gameboy Pocket fans using a close to identical shell with four action buttons, a D-PAD and two shoulder buttons at the back to play other consoles through emulation.
The shoulder buttons look similar to that of the Analogue Pocket.
From the video it looks like the Retro Pocket Pixel is running Android 7.1, an older version of the OS but its for good reason, it’s far more reliable and it’s incredibly stable allowing developers to expand and update the handheld efficiently.
It features a 3.1″ IPS display (720 x 720), there’s no touchscreen, but the bezels are incredibly small, which we know a lot of you like.
Retro Pocket Pixel Specifications
- 1.3GHZ Quad-Core AllWinner A64 CPU
- Mali-400 MP2 GPU
- 1GB RAM
- 3.1″ IPS Display (720 x 720)
- 3000MAH Battery
- 8GB Internal Storage
- USB-C Charging
- MicroSD Slot
- WiFi
On paper there’s nothing special about the specs, it’s a handheld that won’t be able to power most of retro gaming collection, but from what we can tell that’s not what its aiming to do.
FunnyPlaying are building this as a sub $100 handheld, opening up the market to those who don’t want to spend lots of money on a retro handheld.
If they can price this at $100 then it should do well, especially for those of you that love the Gameboy Pocket aesthetic.
Retro Pocket Pixel Release Date
According to RGHandhelds the device will be shipping in August or September of 2022 for a retail price of under $100.
What can the Retro Pocket Pixel emulate?
We’ve tested handheld in the past with these type of specs running on a AllWinner A64 CPU and 1GB RAM, so we can confidently say that this will be able to emulate most consoles up to an including the best PS1 games.
Dreamcast and PSP games will run, but not well, and then PS2, Nintendo Wii and beyond are just a no go.
This is a handheld dedicated for the older consoles such as Gameboy, Neo Geo, Game Gear, Mega Drive and some Playstation 1
But what else?
It is also to be rumoured that the FunnyPlaying team are looking to produce different colour option, and provide new DMG and Gameboy Color shells for this device, with the possibility of making some metal variants too!
This looks like a very intriguing handheld, and with enough work, and talented developers, this should do well in the current market, especially when it feels like every handheld being release this year is over $200.
