Best retro handhelds in the UK: eight picks from entry to flagship

The best retro handheld depends on budget. On the makers' stated specs, the Retroid Pocket 6 and AYN Thor lead the flagship tier, the Anbernic RG35XX H is the entry pick, and the Analogue Pocket suits original cartridges. Prices are the makers' dollar figures, checked Oct 2026; UK prices are not verified.

This is a UK-facing shortlist of eight devices from the maker-listed catalogue on PlayGearHQ, from small Linux consoles to a dual-screen Android flagship. We have not tested any of them. Every figure below is the maker's own, taken from its product page and checked on 14 October 2026, and where a maker says nothing we say so. You can read how that works on how we research.

A retro handheld is a pocket console built to run older games through emulation (software that imitates old hardware), with the exception of the Analogue Pocket, which the maker says uses FPGA chips instead. The picks below are chosen to spread across price and performance tier, not to rank them.

One caution on money. The makers quote prices in dollars and mostly do not name the currency, so we show them as written and do not convert them. UK prices have not been checked yet. Treat every price here as a pointer to where a device sits in its own range, dated Oct 2026.

The eight picks at a glance

High and flagship tier

These are the Android devices whose makers list a Snapdragon chip, 8GB of RAM or more and a full HD AMOLED panel. They carry the highest maker prices here, and on paper they have the most headroom. Whether any given system runs well is not something the makers state.

1. Retroid Pocket 6: the single-screen flagship

Retroid lists a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 with an Adreno 740 GPU, 8GB or 12GB of LPDDR5x memory and a 5.5 inch AMOLED screen at 1080p and 120Hz. The maker also states a 6000 mAh battery, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, active cooling, analogue L2 and R2 triggers and hall-effect sticks. It runs Android 13.

Against the Pocket 5 it lists a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, LPDDR5x memory and a 120Hz panel in place of 60Hz. The limits: the maker states its size as 205.5 x 80.5 x 17.2 mm but gives no weight, and the 12GB version carries 128GB of storage, not 256GB, per the maker's note. Retroid's page shows $244 for the 8GB models (with a $229 comparison figure it does not explain) and $279 for 12GB, checked Oct 2026. Read the device page or the Pocket 5 against Pocket 6 data page.

2. AYN Thor: best for a second screen

The Thor is the only dual-screen design in this list: a 6 inch full HD AMOLED main screen and a 3.92 inch AMOLED touch display below it. AYN sells it in several configurations. The Lite uses an SD865 with 8GB, while the Base, Pro and Max use a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 with 8GB, 12GB or 16GB. Storage runs from 128GB to 1TB (UFS 3.1). The battery is 6000 mAh and the sticks are hall sticks. It runs Android 13.

The reason to choose it is the layout, not a single headline spec. The maker's spec image gives a weight of 380g and a size of 150 x 94 x 25.6 mm, a TF card slot, and Wi-Fi 7 with Bluetooth 5.3 on the Base, Pro and Max (Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 on the Lite). The page is a pre-order page, and the maker states no games are preinstalled. The headline price of $259 matches the Lite; the page lists the Base at $329, Pro $409 and Max at $479 or $579 depending on storage (checked Oct 2026). Make sure you know which configuration a price refers to. The Thor page and the Thor against Pocket 6 data page set the figures side by side.

3. Retroid Pocket 5: best step down from the flagships

The Pocket 5 has a 5.5 inch AMOLED at 1080p and 60Hz, a Snapdragon 865 (named on the maker's spec image) with an Adreno 650 GPU, active cooling and a 5000 mAh battery. The maker states 280g and 199.2 x 78.5 x 15.6 mm. Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.1 and Android 13 complete the list. On RAM the maker's page text says 12GB while its spec image says 8GB; we use the lower figure.

Compared with the Pocket 6 it lists a 60Hz refresh rate instead of 120Hz, Wi-Fi 6 instead of Wi-Fi 7 and a battery 1000 mAh smaller. The maker's store showed the white colour as sold out when checked, so confirm stock for the colour you want. Price: $179, with a $209 regular price also shown and no indication of which is current (checked Oct 2026). See the Pocket 5 page.

Mid tier

The two mid-tier picks list a Unisoc T820 and an MTK D1100 rather than a Snapdragon, and both state 8GB of RAM. Their stated prices sit below the flagships.

4. Anbernic RG556: best mid-tier pick for battery size

Anbernic lists a Unisoc T820 (6nm octa-core) with a quad-core Mali-G57 GPU, 8GB of LPDDR4X memory and 128GB of UFS 2.2 storage. The 5.48 inch AMOLED runs at 1080 x 1920, the battery is 5500 mAh (the maker states 8 hours of battery life) and cooling is a fan with a heat pipe. It also has hall joysticks and triggers and a USB-C port with 1080p DisplayPort output. It runs Android 13.

It states 331g and 223 x 90 x 15 mm, Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) and Bluetooth 5.0. The comparison to make is with the Pocket 5: a similar screen size, a 5500 mAh battery against 5000 mAh, 8GB of RAM on both (by the Pocket 5 spec image) and a price that sits almost level, at $179.99 with a $184.99 regular price shown (checked Oct 2026). Anbernic says only "30+ emulators" and does not state which systems it runs well, and its page does not say whether it ships to the UK. The RG556 against Pocket 5 data page has the rows. Device page: Anbernic RG556.

5. Retroid Pocket 4 Pro: best for a smaller Android screen

The 4 Pro lists an MTK D1100 chip, 8GB of LPDDR4x memory, a 4.7 inch touchscreen at 750 x 1334 and 500 nits, a 5000 mAh battery, active cooling, Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2. The maker states 261g and 184.8 x 82.6 x 15.8 mm (its spec image gives one weight and size for the Pocket 4 and 4 Pro together), and it can output 1080p over USB-C. It runs Android 13.

The screen resolution is lower than the full HD panels above, and Retroid does not state the panel type. The page also covers the Pocket 4 and 4 Pro together, so only the Pro column is used here. Price: $159, with a $199 comparison price shown (checked Oct 2026). See the Pocket 4 Pro page.

Entry tier and the cartridge option

At this end the makers list Linux operating systems rather than Android and 640 x 480 screens, and where RAM is stated it is 1GB. Their stated prices, $57.99 and $58.99, are the lowest of the eight picks.

6. Anbernic RG35XX H: best entry pick with its connectivity stated

Anbernic lists an H700 quad-core Cortex-A53 at 1.5GHz, 1GB of RAM, a 3.5 inch 640 x 480 IPS screen and a 3300 mAh battery (the maker states 8 hours of battery life). It weighs 180g, has dual microSD (TF) slots with a 64GB card included, 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2, and runs a 64-bit Linux system. The maker's page showed it in stock when checked.

A 640 x 480 screen is a 4:3 shape. The trade-off is the 1GB of RAM, and the maker names no systems, only "30+ emulators". Price: $57.99, regular $67.99 (checked Oct 2026). See the RG35XX H page.

7. Miyoo Mini Plus: best if you want a minimal Linux console

Miyoo lists a SigmaStar SSD202D with two Cortex-A7 cores at 1.2GHz, a 3.5 inch 640 x 480 IPS screen, a 3000 mAh battery and integrated Wi-Fi. The maker names NES, SNES and GBA among the systems and says "20+ emulators". It mentions the Linux-based Onion OS. RAM, weight, dimensions and Bluetooth are not stated.

That list of unknowns is the main reason to read the page yourself before buying. The price is $58.99 in US dollars (the maker names the currency), against a $79.99 regular price (checked Oct 2026). See the Miyoo Mini Plus page.

8. Analogue Pocket: best for original cartridges

This is the outlier. Analogue says the Pocket is engineered in FPGAs with no emulation, and it plays Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance cartridges. The screen is 3.5 inches at 1600 x 1440 (615 ppi), the battery is 4300 mAh and the maker quotes 6 to 10 hours of gameplay. Adapters sold separately add Game Gear, Neo Geo Pocket and Color, Atari Lynx and TurboGrafx-16 or PC Engine cartridges, and the dock gives 1080p HDMI output.

You need your own cartridges. The maker's page showed a pre-order button and no UK shipping information when checked, so confirm both with Analogue. Price: $239.99 (checked Oct 2026). See the Analogue Pocket page.

What to check before you buy

• UK price and delivery. We have no verified UK prices. Ask the maker about delivery, import charges and returns before ordering.
• Which configuration the price is for. The AYN Thor lists several RAM and chip combinations under one headline figure, and the Retroid Pocket 6 lists 8GB and 12GB versions at different prices.
• Stock. The AYN Thor and Analogue Pocket pages are pre-order pages, and the Pocket 5 white colour showed as sold out when checked.
• Unstated specs. If a maker does not list weight, Wi-Fi or RAM, you are buying without that information.
• Storage. Most list a microSD slot, but card limits differ by device, so read the page.

How to choose

Start with the screen shape and operating system, then the budget. If you want Android apps as well as emulators, the top five all run Android. If you want a small, simple Linux console, the two Linux picks are the place to start, and our budget guide covers that tier in detail. If you only want Android machines, see our Android-only list, and for PS2 and GameCube, see the PS2 and GameCube guide. You can also browse the full retro handhelds catalogue.

Related guides

• Best Retro Handhelds for GBA: 3:2 and 4:3 Screens Compared