The 3 Handhelds I Can't Live Without

Over the last couple of years, I have found that my gaming experience has changed drastically in the form of handhelds. Originally, I was retro-only, focused on handhelds that allowed me to emulate GAME BOY and GAME BOY Advance games as perfectly as possible with beautiful ergonomics. I have a strong nostalgic memory of that console.

Then, larger, more powerful devices in the space started becoming more affordable, allowing me to dive into more modern emulation. PS2 emulation became normal, matched with bigger screens and bigger battery life.

And now, in 2025, the onslaught of powerful Android devices has overwhelmed the market, bringing even larger screens, Android gaming, and cloud streaming to our hands for similar budgets to what was normal for smaller retro handhelds just a few years back.

With choice comes confusion, but the three handhelds that I want to share with you today are the ones that I can’t put down. The ones that come with me on trips away, and the combination that ticks all of my portable gaming boxes and is what I am stating is the perfect handheld trio.

Hopefully, this advice helps you make the right buying decisions this year. 

KONKR Pocket Fit

• Release Date: Late 2025/Early 2026
• Pricing: $269+
• Where To Buy: Indiegogo.com (currently crowdfunding)

The first on the list is a handheld that has recently made its way into my office, and one that is releasing towards the end of the year. It’s called the KONKR Pocket Fit, an incredibly powerful Android-based handheld starting at $299.

I have found that this device has become my all-around “serious” gaming device, not only for retro games, but for AAA gaming via the cloud and Android gaming too.

KONKR is a sub-brand of AYANEO, a brand renowned for creating premium devices. If you ignore the confusion around the founding of this new brand, KONKR was made to create “affordable” gaming devices, even if AYANEO (their main brand) just teased a $99 retro device coming later this year too…

The device I have here features a Snapdragon G3 Gen 3 CPU, 16GBs of RAM and 8000MAHs of battery, making it seriously capable in all areas of gaming.

For example, this has now become my go-to PlayStation 2 handheld thanks to its incredible performance emulating high-end PS2 games at 3x native resolutions. God of War and Need for Speed: Most Wanted have never looked so good on a handheld.

That’s not only thanks to the specs but also to the 6” 1080p LCD display. Originally, larger Android devices like this never interested me because they were bulky, buggy and lacked decent battery life.

But this here is proof that Android gaming devices are at a level that can’t be ignored, especially when retro emulation collaborates with high-end gaming so naturally.

I can switch from PS2 gaming to cloud streaming Halo Infinite via GAME PASS to then jumping into Diablo Immortal on Android within seconds.

A press of the AYANEO button lets me fluctuate the power usage of the device to match, and because of the incredible build quality and comfortable ergonomics, it can be played for hours on end.

The new hall shoulder buttons can be trigger-locked, allowing you to switch between short-travelled, clicky feedback, to longer, analogue-focused presses. Including the back buttons, there are 8 in total on the shoulders and back to map, allowing it to work with fast-paced games and RPGs that require lots of button mapping.

Retro games can be organised via AYASpace a custom launcher for AYANEO products, alongside modifying power outputs, and settings. AYASpace is great, but im still waiting for the ability to download box art from here. Hurry up AYANEO.

If you want one of the best Android gaming devices on the market, one that will tackle all of your retro gaming and Android gaming needs then this is a serious contender and a device that I have recently fallen in love with.

Android handhelds just got serious.

ANBERNIC RG35XXSP

• Release Date: 2024
• Pricing: $50
• Where To Buy: ANBERNIC.com or Amazon
• Version with analogue sticks: RG34XXSP

You may be wondering, “Brandon, the Pocket Fit can do everything, what else do you need?”. You’re not wrong that it can do everything, but with the addition of power and a large screen comes the sacrifice of portability.

And one of the best portable retro handhelds over the last couple of years, in my opinion, is the RG35XXSP and even the RG34XXSP, which comes with analogue sticks.

This is a $50 retro handheld running in Linux that comes with a GBA SP-like form-factor, great portability and enough power to emulate most of your retro games up and including Nintendo 64 and Dreamcast.

It’s the pocket-friendly handheld that pairs well with another powerful handheld, and one that I find comes with me on day trips out, helping me kill a couple of hours on the go when travelling.

It features a 3.5” IPS display with a resolution of 640 x 480, a great 4:3 ratio and resolution for your classic games, 3300mahs of battery, enough to go 6 hours on a single charge and USB-C charging to keep things modern.

The user interface isn’t necessarily the most fluid, but it gets the job done, allows you to organise your ROMs and allows you to jump into games quickly. You can save games, load games, add cheats and add filters to the screen with the press of a button.

What I like about this device is that it can emulate retro consoles that actually look good on a 3.5” screen. Nintendo 64, Mega Drive, and Dreamcast are visible just about and consoles such as GAME BOY Advance, NES, SNES, Neo Geo and look wonderful on here, making this a great pocket-friendly handheld emulator that’s reliable and easy to use.

For those who require and want analogue sticks to play certain consoles more comfortably, the newer, and slightly more expensive RG34XXSP version comes with two sticks and a different display.

Both versions are great, but for me, the stick-less version here does me just find and it’s priced at just $48, which I think is an absolute steal. On ANBERNIC’s site, they now ship from China, the USA and Europe to help with import fees and speeds.

ModRetro Chromatic

• Release Date: Late 2024
• Pricing: $50
• Where To Buy: ModRetro, GameStop or eBay

I have my powerful Android handheld, paired with my pocketable handheld emulator… now all I need is something that pays respect to my favourite handheld console of all time, the GAME BOY Color.

I have a fond memory of the GAME BOY Color, which is likely why I am somewhat obsessed with this device by ModRetro. It’s called the Chromatic, and to put it simply, it’s the perfect handheld for GAME BOY enthusiasts who want something fresh, incredibly durable, with a sprinkling of modern features.

It’s made with a magnesium metal shell so durable that it can be run over with a car. The display comes in two types: made with Gorilla Glass, or Sapphire Glass which is not far of the hardness of diamond, making it incredibly resistant to scratches. Not only has ModRetro used long-lasting buttons, and a one-of-a-kind 160x144 backlit display that tries to be as authentic as possible while being bright enough to view outdoors.

The display keeps the colour intricacies from the original, and the blocky pixel borders too, making it feel like the good old days, but instead in a build quality that matches Apple, it’s truly remarkable.

It takes GAME BOY and GAME BOY Color cartridges only, but that’s the magical part. No downloading games, no installing ROMs, no updated applications, just slot in your game and go. It comes with a trading cable port, USB-C out so you can stream to displays, and it takes AA batteries too, to keep it authentic.

Since getting this, I no longer need to modify a GAME BOY Color, or look for a handheld that can emulate those games well, as this does it so naturally and enables me to use my long collection of physical cartridges too.

If you ignore the fact that the founder of ModRetro has business in the military weapons industry, this is a very fun device that has reignited my love for GAME BOY games, and ModRetro themselves are also a publisher, bringing many new GAME BOY games to life, allowing you to again, reepxerience the joy of buying games, reading the manuals and inserting the cartridges.

It’s the last GAME BOY Color you’ll ever have to buy.

These are the three handhelds that I can go months, if not years, playing exclusively. Each one ticks certain boxes for me, and it’s a mix of both premium gaming, with reliable emulation and a sprinkling of physical collecting.

This is obviously personal preference, and I can imagine some of you will have different needs when it comes to portable gaming, but for me, this is the ultimate handheld trio as of now.