10 Best Retro Handheld Consoles of 2026

The Retroid Pocket 6 ranks first because it covers the widest range of classic systems for a price below $250. Retroid's store lists an 8 Gen 2 processor with an Adreno 740 GPU, 8GB or 12GB of LPDDR5x RAM, 128GB of UFS 3.1 storage plus a TF card slot, and Android 13. The 5.5-inch AMOLED screen runs at 1080p and 120Hz, and the 6000mAh battery is paired with active cooling. Analog L2 and R2 triggers and 3D hall sticks suit later 3D systems, and Wi-Fi 7 with Bluetooth 5.3 covers wireless controllers and game streaming. Retroid also lists official OTA support for incremental software upgrades. The trade-offs are the 16:9 screen, which leaves borders on older 4:3 games, and storage: Retroid notes that even the 12GB model ships with 128GB. Base price is $244 on the official store. We compared documented features and published prices only.

The Retroid Pocket 5 is the value pick among the Android handhelds on this list. For $179 on Retroid's store, it has an octa-core CPU led by an A77 core at 2.8GHz, an Adreno 650 GPU, 128GB of UFS 3.1 storage with a TF card slot and Android 13. Its 5.5-inch AMOLED screen runs at 1080p and 60fps, the same size and resolution as the more expensive Pocket 6. Retroid lists a 5000mAh battery, active cooling, analog L2 and R2 triggers, 3D hall sticks, Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1, plus official OTA support for software upgrades. The store lists 12GB of RAM in the spec sheet but notes that the Yellow and Turquoise colors only come with 8GB and 128GB, so check the configuration before you order. Compared with the Pocket 6, you give up the 120Hz refresh rate, Wi-Fi 7 and 1000mAh of battery. We compared documented features and published prices only.

The AYN Odin 3 is the power pick. AYN's store lists a Qualcomm Dragonwing Q8 chip, a customized Full HD 6-inch AMOLED touch screen at 120Hz, Android 15, UFS 3.1 storage, hall sticks, an ergonomic grip and an 8000mAh battery, the largest on this list. Four configurations run from the Base model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage to the Ultra model with 24GB and 1TB. The Base model costs $369, and AYN states a one-year warranty. AYN also notes that no games are preinstalled, so you supply your own. The trade-offs are price, weight and availability: at 390g it is the heaviest handheld here with a published weight, and when we checked it was sold as a Batch 8 pre-order with the Base model backordered. If you mainly play 8-bit and 16-bit games, a cheaper device does the job. We compared documented features and published prices only.

The Analogue Pocket is the pick for collectors because it is the only device here built to play original cartridges. Analogue says it is compatible out of the box with the 2,780+ game Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance cartridge library, and it is engineered in two FPGAs with no emulation. Cartridge adapters cover Game Gear, Neo Geo Pocket and Neo Geo Pocket Color, Atari Lynx and TurboGrafx-16 games. The 3.5-inch LCD has a 1600x1440 resolution at 615ppi, which Analogue says is 10x the resolution of an original Game Boy, and Original Display Modes recreate the look of the original screens. Analogue lists a 4300mAh battery with 6 to 10 hours of play, a micro SD card slot, USB-C charging and an original-style link port. The openFPGA platform lets third-party developers add more. The limit is that it suits players who own cartridges. We compared documented features and published prices only.

The Anbernic RG 477V is the strongest choice for players who mostly want older consoles on a 4:3 screen with modern power. Anbernic lists a 4.7-inch LTPS In-Cell touch display at 1280*960 with a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz, a Dimensity 8300 processor built on a 4nm process with a Mali-G615 MC6 GPU, and Android 14. Memory options are 8GB with 128GB or 12GB with 256GB, and the TF slot takes cards up to 2TB. The 5500mAh battery is rated for 8 hours and charges at up to 27W. Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, large-angle 3D Hall joysticks and RGB stick lighting complete the spec sheet. The price was $258.59 on sale against a regular $269.99 when we checked, which puts it above the Retroid Pocket 6. The LCD panel is not AMOLED, and orders ship from China or the US. We compared documented features and published prices only.

The Anbernic RG35XXSP is the folding pick for players who want a small device for older games. Anbernic lists a clamshell design with a 3.5-inch 640*480 IPS screen with OCA lamination, an H700 quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU at 1.5GHz, a dual-core Mali-G31 MP2 GPU, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage and a 64-bit Linux system. Dual TF card slots take cards up to 512GB. The 3300mAh battery is rated for 8 hours, and the device has 2.4/5G Wi-Fi plus Bluetooth 4.2, which Anbernic says only works with Bluetooth controllers. A video player, music player, file manager and e-book reader are built in. The price was $52.19 on sale against a regular $64.99 when we checked. With 1GB of RAM, it is meant for 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit era games rather than later 3D systems. We compared documented features and published prices only.

The Anbernic RG556 is an AMOLED Android handheld that undercuts most of the field on price. Anbernic lists a 5.48-inch AMOLED screen at 1080*1920, a Unisoc T820 processor on a 6nm process with a quad-core Mali-G57 GPU, 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM, 128GB of UFS2.2 storage with TF expansion up to 2TB and Android 13. The 5500mAh battery is rated for 8 hours, and active cooling uses a fan and heat pipe. Hall joysticks, Hall triggers, a six-axis gyroscope, netplay, streaming and 1080p Display Port output over USB Type-C are on the spec sheet. It was $174.79 on sale against a regular $184.99 when we checked. Against the Retroid Pocket 5 at $179, it has UFS2.2 storage rather than UFS 3.1 and Bluetooth 5.0 rather than 5.1, and Anbernic says a full charge takes about 3.5 hours at 5V/2A. It suits buyers who want Anbernic's ecosystem or the video output. We compared documented features and published prices only.

The Anbernic RG35XX (2024) is the cheapest way into retro handhelds on this list. Anbernic lists a 3.5-inch 640*480 IPS screen with OCA full lamination, the same H700 quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU at 1.5GHz as the RG35XXSP, a dual-core G31 MP2 GPU, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage and a 64-bit Linux system. Dual TF slots take cards up to 512GB. The 2600mAh battery is rated for 7 hours. It supports 2.4G wireless and wired controllers, HD output to a TV and has a vibration motor, in a body that weighs 0.186 kg. The price was $38.59 on sale against a regular $49.99 when we checked. The published specifications list no Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, the battery is the smallest here, and 1GB of RAM keeps it to 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit era games. For a little more, the RG35XXSP adds a clamshell, Wi-Fi and a bigger battery. We compared documented features and published prices only.

The Miyoo Mini Plus is the pick for players who want a small vertical handheld in the shape of a classic Game Boy. Miyoo's store lists a 3.5-inch IPS screen at 640*480, a SigmaStar SSD202D dual-core Cortex-A7 CPU at 1.2GHz, a Linux system and a 3.7V 3000mAh Li-Po battery. It is sold with a 64GB SD card or without a card, in several colors, and Miyoo states a 1-year warranty on its consoles and dispatch within 1 to 3 business days. The chip is the slowest here, so it is best for 8-bit and 16-bit games and handheld classics rather than 3D systems. Miyoo does not publish a play time for the battery. Miyoo's store showed prices in a non-USD currency when we checked, so the USD price is pending; compare it with the Anbernic RG35XX, which has the same screen size and resolution. We compared documented features and published prices only.

The Powkiddy RGB20 Pro is a budget handheld with a sharper screen and longer rated battery life than most devices at its price. Powkiddy's store lists a 3.2-inch IPS screen at 1024*768 with OCA full lamination, an ARM quad-core 1.8GHz CPU, 1GB of LPDDR4 RAM and an open source Linux system. Two TF slots keep the system and games on separate cards, which Powkiddy says means no game copying when you upgrade the system. The 5000mAh battery is rated for 10 hours with a 2.5-hour charge time, and the device has built-in 2.4G Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, vibration and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Powkiddy lists compatibility with MAME, N64, PS, GBA, NES, SFC, MD and NDS emulators among others. It costs $69.99. The screen is the smallest here, the included 16GB card only holds the OS, and Powkiddy notes that specifications can change without notice. We compared documented features and published prices only.