There you have it; it was only yesterday that I was speculating as to what the chipset would be for the new Retroid Pocket Duo. Now, after a couple of sneaky reveals, we've been given the answer.
The Retroid Pocket Duo will use the Qualcomm Q-7790, a chipset that came out in January 2026 and one that will be more than capable of emulating 3DS games. I said in my article yesterday that I imagined it would be able to cope with both DS and 3DS games, which is what I would expect from a dual-screen console from Retroid. But how does the processor compare to the Pocket Duo's main competition - the AYN Thor?
As I said above, the Q-7790 means that the Pocket Duo is going to be able to cope with all the 3DS and DS games you'll want to play. As it's a new chipset, it'll be able to play most Nintendo Switch games without much trouble, apart from some of the bigger titles like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, which I would imagine will have to run at under 30fps (around 20fps).
The Q-7790 is a Snapdragon Gen 7 series, putting the Pocket Duo as a mid-tier dual-screen handheld. If you look at the Snapdragon 865 in the AYN Thor Lite, the Q-7790 is undoubtedly more powerful. It is less powerful than the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in the Base, Pro, and Max models of the AYN Thor, however, despite being newer.
In essence, the Retroid Pocket Duo is going to sit as a cheaper alternative to the higher-spec models of the AYN Thor, but a handheld that will be able to deal with 3DS, Wii U, and most Switch games, as well as everything else below such as the PS2, GameCube, PS1, Dreamcast, and the most-used retro consoles like the N64, NES, Genesis, Master System, etc.
Retroid are going in at the middle in the hope of undercutting AYN, creating a device that offers 3DS emulation that, I strongly imagine, won't cost as much as the higher-priced Thor models. That means that the Retroid Pocket Duo will need to be priced between $259 and $329, or of course lower than $259, though I think that will be pushing it, considering the RP6 has a pricetag of $244.
I can imagine the Retroid Pocket Duo coming with a price tag of $289 to undercut the Thor. That would make sense, considering the Retroid Flip 2 has a price tag of $219, and the Duo has an extra screen.
Of course, we're still waiting to find out more about the specs of the handheld. I would imagine that the Pocket Duo will have a 6,000mAh batter like the RP6 and the AYN Thor, but if Retroid are going in at the mid-range point, then hopefully the Pocket Duo will end up having a better battery life than the more powerful variants of the Thor.
I also want to touch on the translucent purple shell because it looks amazing! I'm hoping that this is a sneak peak of what one of the handheld designs is going to look like as opposed to just a marketing image, because this would look amazing next to my translucent purple M64 in my gaming setup. I also love translucent tech because I'm a 90s kid, so I'd prefer this look over the standard AYN Thor casing. It will be interesting to see this side-by-side with the Clear Purple variant of the Thor to see which has the better look.
Hopefully, a full specs list will be arriving in the next couple of days, meaning I can do a proper side-by-side comparison with some of the other handhelds in the space. Keep your eyes peeled here for more information.
