Everybody wants to sell you a handheld gaming machine in 2026. Retroid makes some impressively decent hardware for older game console emulation, and there’s something even better on the way. Plus, something less decent but somewhat more affordable.
After Anbernic recreated the PlayStation Vita with its RG Vita and RG Vita Pro, Retroid decided to replicate Nintendo’s 3DS XL console in the shape of its own Pocket Duo. Now, there’s a less expensive version also coming — the Pocket Duo Lite.
Retroid Lites the way
The Pocket Duo Lite features a less capable 5.5in display, stepping down from a 120Hz OLED to a 60Hz LCD. The sizes of the main screen remain identical, but the secondary screen for the Pocket Duo Lite is also scaled back. The full Pocket Duo (pictured above) has a 4.5in 120Hz OLED bottom panel. The Lite opts for a 4.3in LCD, also running at 60Hz.
The Lite’s trigger layout more closely resembles Nintendo’s now-defunct 3DS XL, while the Pocket Duo goes a little more modern. Two different Qualcomm Dragonwing processors take up residence inside the consoles. The full-power Retroid console is built for “flagship gaming performance”. The Lite, on the other hand, offers “entry-level dual-screen users who want just the right performance at an affordable price.”
Both consoles should prove capable enough for anything up to the Nintendo DS era, with the more powerful one supporting more advanced titles. The Nintendo 3DS is a pain in the backside to emulate on devices that don’t have two screens (and is an annoyance to emulate generally), but Retroid’s console could make it possible to resurrect some of Nintendo’s handheld classics on a pocket-sized device. Provided you legally own them (and Ninty’s lawyers don’t know where you live).
The catch? Retroid hasn’t said what either of these new consoles will cost, nor when they will arrive. RAM and storage are also murky, probably because those are the aspects that will really set the price in 2026. In the meantime, here’s a trailer for the hardware you can’t have yet.
