AYN Thor vs Retroid Pocket 6: which should you buy?

The AYN Thor and Retroid Pocket 6 can both carry a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and a 6000 mAh battery. The difference is layout: the Thor adds a 3.92 inch second touch screen and several memory tiers, while the Pocket 6 has one 5.5 inch screen and a lower stated price. Maker figures, checked 14 October 2026; none tested.

AYN Thor vs Retroid Pocket 6 at a glance

Neither page names a currency next to its dollar figures, and UK prices are not checked yet. The Thor's CPU layout, 120Hz refresh, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPU, size, weight and card slot come from AYN's spec image rather than its page text.

The second screen is the headline difference

AYN describes the Thor as a dual-screen design: a 6 inch main AMOLED panel plus a 3.92 inch AMOLED touch display, which the maker lists at 1080 x 1240 and 60Hz. The Retroid Pocket 6 page lists a 5.5 inch panel and no second screen. A second touch screen is a hardware difference, not a software setting, and it is the clearest one between the two.

AYN does not say which systems or apps are meant to use the lower screen. The Thor's main screen is also 0.5 inch larger than the Pocket 6's (6 inch against 5.5 inch), and both list 120Hz.

Chip and memory: the Thor offers a ladder, the Pocket 6 two rungs

The Thor comes in several configurations. Lite uses an SD865 with 8GB and 128GB; Base moves to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 with the same memory; Pro lists 12GB and 256GB; Max lists 16GB with 512GB, and a further Max with 1TB. So if you want the Gen 2 chip on the Thor you start at Base, not at the headline-priced Lite. The Pocket 6 keeps things simpler: the same Gen 2 chip with 8GB or 12GB, both with 128GB of storage per the maker's note.

That makes the Thor the one to look at if you want more than 12GB of RAM or more than 128GB of built-in storage. It also makes comparing prices tricky. Matching the Pocket 6's chip means looking at the Thor's Base price of $329, not its $259 headline, which is $85 above the 8GB Pocket 6 at $244. The two list the same Adreno 740 GPU on those configurations; the Lite lists an Adreno 650.

Battery, size and wireless

On battery the two are level on paper: 6000 mAh each. Neither maker gives hours of play, so equal capacity does not mean equal runtime.

On wireless, the Thor's Base, Pro and Max list the same Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.3 as the Pocket 6; the Lite lists Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1. On size, AYN gives 150 x 94 x 25.6 mm and 380 g for the Thor, and Retroid gives 205.5 x 80.5 x 17.2 mm for the Pocket 6 with no weight. As listed, the Thor's first figure is 55.5 mm smaller and its second 13.5 mm larger, with 8.4 mm more depth; because the Pocket 6 has no stated weight, the two cannot be compared on it. Both state a 120Hz refresh rate for the main screen.

Stock and buying status

The AYN page checked on 14 October 2026 was a pre-order page (Batch 7), and AYN states that no games are preinstalled. The Retroid store showed the Pocket 6 in stock. Pre-order means waiting for a batch, so the Thor suits buyers who are comfortable with that; the Pocket 6 suits those who want to buy now. Stock moves quickly in both directions, so check the makers directly.

Matching the configurations

The two makers sell memory in different steps, so the fairest price check is to line up tiers by RAM. The figures below are the makers' headline numbers, with no currency named.

Size, shape and screen arithmetic

The stated dimensions multiply out to a bounding box of about 361 cm3 for the Thor (150 x 94 x 25.6 mm) and about 285 cm3 for the Pocket 6 (205.5 x 80.5 x 17.2 mm). The Thor is therefore roughly 27% larger by that crude measure, even though it is the shorter of the two, because it is much thicker. Dimensions alone do not show whether a body folds, where the grips sit or how it sits in a bag.

AYN lists the Thor's main screen at 1080 x 1920. Assuming the 1920 pixel side runs left to right, a 4:3 picture fitted to the full 1080 pixel height measures 1440 x 1080, leaving 480 pixels unused, or 240 on each side. Retroid gives the Pocket 6 only as "1080p" with no aspect ratio, so the same sum cannot be done for it.

Who each one suits

The Thor suits a reader who has a specific reason to want a second touch display and who accepts a pre-order wait and a higher price at every matching memory tier. The Pocket 6 suits a reader who wants the Gen 2 chip at the lowest stated entry price, in a single-screen body, with stock showing as available. Neither maker says which systems its device handles best, so neither can be recommended for a particular console on the stated figures alone.

What to check before you buy

• Which Thor you are pricing. The $259 headline is the Lite on an SD865. Match the chip before comparing.
• Currency and UK costs. Neither page names a currency. Shipping, import VAT and customs charges have not been verified for either maker.
• Batch timing. The Thor page was a Batch 7 pre-order listing, and AYN states no games are preinstalled. Check the dispatch estimate at the time you order.
• Warranty. AYN states a one-year warranty for the Thor. Retroid's Pocket 6 page states no warranty, so ask Retroid before you buy.
• Pocket 6 weight. It is not stated. The Thor's stated 380 g is the only weight on either page.
• The 12GB Pocket 6. It still has 128GB of storage, per the maker's note.

Which should you buy?

• Choose the Thor if the second 3.92 inch screen is the point, or if you want to step up to 12GB, 16GB or a terabyte of storage. It also suits you if you can wait for a pre-order batch.
• Choose the Pocket 6 if you want the lowest entry price to the Gen 2 chip as the maker shows it: $244 against $329 for the Thor Base.
• Look at the Thor Lite only if a lower Thor price matters more than the chip: at $259 it is $15 above the 8GB Pocket 6 and $20 below the 12GB one, but it lists an SD865 and Wi-Fi 6, not the Gen 2 and Wi-Fi 7 of the Pocket 6.
• Ask the maker first about anything unstated: the Pocket 6's weight, and charging speed on both.

The side-by-side figures sit on the AYN Thor vs Retroid Pocket 6 data page. Individual pages: AYN Thor and Retroid Pocket 6. If you are weighing the Thor against another model, read Retroid Pocket Flip 2 vs AYN Thor and AYN Odin 3 vs AYN Thor. Our method is on the how we research page.