Retroid Pocket Flip Review – Is It Worth It?

The Retroid Pocket Flip is a retro gaming handheld with a clamshell design that has generated quite a bit of buzz in the retro community. The retro handheld market has quite a number of options these days, so before jumping in and making a purchase, let’s break down the positives and negatives of the device in this Retroid Pocket Flip review.

While many retro gamers may be interested in the Retroid Pocket Flip because it can emulate classic games from a variety of systems including the Gamecube, let’s break down if this handheld emulator stands out amongst the alternative options.

The Pocket Flip did make our list of the best handheld emulators.

About The Retro Handheld

The Retroid Pocket Flip is another handheld gaming emulation device by GoRetroid. It competes with similar options such as the Anerbnic RG405M. The Pocket Flip has the same build and functionality as the Retroid Pocket 3+, but this version has a clamshell design.

The device has a nice solid feel to it and doesn’t feel cheap at all. The color options available are Sport Red, Watermelon, Black, 16BitUS (grey), and Indigo.

The Pocket Flip has the Retroid Launcher preinstalled on it, meaning that getting up and running on a new device is extremely simple and intuitive. The Google Play Store is also available, meaning that you can install other apps and games from there as you wish.

In terms of emulation, you can expect to be able to play games from systems up to the GameCube but keep in mind that the device may struggle with more demanding games. It can handle running some PlayStation 2 and PSP titles along with tons of other classic consoles.

Design and Comfortability

The clamshell design curves around the 4.7″ display and has grips on both sides that cause the screen to not come into contact with the face buttons when fully closed. The device’s hinge feels solid enough, but when fully opened, it can be a bit difficult to know when to stop to keep from opening it past its stopping point. There’s no indication letting you know when it’s fully open, so you may find yourself bending it past where it needs to be at first.

That being said, there are pegs on the back of the device that keep you from opening it too far and breaking it.

The D-pad on the handheld is nice and feels quality. It’s responsive and feels good to use while playing various games. The buttons also feel good and like what you’d expect with a current-gen controller. The analog triggers are flat, but have a bit of a rubbery feel to them. The shoulder buttons are nice as well but do keep in mind that they only click in when fully centered.

The start and select buttons are quite small. The device also features volume buttons, a headphone jack, on and off buttons, and an SD card slot.

The device has USB-C charging and a micro HDMI out port. The are also additional M1 and M2 buttons that you can map to whatever you wish.

The design of the device in terms of comfortability is great. In your hands, it feels comfortable to hold, and you shouldn’t need to worry about fingers falling asleep due to awkward positioning.

It’s a bit chunkier than the Retroid Pocket 3+, but keep in mind that this clamshell version comes with a larger 5000MAH battery which means it will last longer during play sessions.

We recommend turning off the sleep function as it can drain your battery pretty quickly by approximately 30% if you leave it like this all night. You can turn this off in the Android settings and save quite a bit of your battery. You can expect to average around 7 hours of gameplay from a fully charged battery depending on the intensity of the games you choose to play.

Specifications

Device Specs

The handheld has a Unisoc Tiger T618 CPU which means it has two A75 cores clocked at 2.0GHz and six A55 cores clocked at 2.0GHz. The Mali G52 MC2 GPU is clocked at 850MHz and is pretty decent for the price.

It also comes stock with 4GB of LPDDR4x RAM clocked at 1866MHz (3733Mbps) which should be more than enough necessary to run most retro games up to GameCube without significant slowdown. It also has 128GB of eMMC 5.1 storage for your ROMs, apps, and extra game files.

The 4.7″ touch screen has a 750×1334 resolution at 60Hz and a brightness of 450nits. The Android 11 operating system comes preinstalled and as mentioned previously, the device is powered by a 5000mAh battery.

The microSD card slot allows you to use up to a 2TB SD card. There are also HDMI, USB-C, and audio ports for connecting to additional devices or displays if you wish. It’s Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capable as well.

The speakers on the Pocket Flip aren’t anything to write home about, but they’re sufficient for what you need. Besides, you can connect headphones for a better sound quality anyway.

Emulation

As previously mentioned, the Retroid Pocket Flip comes with Android 11 preinstalled and can play tons of Android games. The device’s performance with Android games varies, with some games taxing the hardware too much and others not being compatible with the device. That said, many Android games do run well, and if you have GamePass or Xcloud, you may even be able to get away with some cloud gaming.

The Retroid Pocket Flip can emulate a lot of different retro consoles including Nintendo DS, 64, Mega Drive, Gameboy Advance, NES, and tons more. You won’t need to do too much messing with settings to get most games to emulate well. Most will work pretty flawlessly right from the get-go.

You can emulate most games up to the PSP and Dreamcast. While it can emulate Gamecube games, not all will work well on the device. If you’re looking for a handheld emulation device specifically for playing GameCube or PS2 games, you may want to look elsewhere.

Summary

This clamshell device is pretty solid for its price point. Its sleek design makes it enticing and its battery lasts a significant amount of time, making it great for playing games while on the go. It can handle emulating most games up to the Gamecube, has a nice bright screen, feels comfortable to use, and overall has some cool color options. If you’re someone who already owns the Pocket 3+ unless you really want a device that can fully close, you’re probably fine just keeping the 3+ and not buying this one too.

The Retroid Pocket Flip has a good build quality with a nice retro feel to it somewhat reminiscent of the GBA SP, however, there are definitely more powerful devices on the market at around the same price like the RG405M. The RG405M does have similar specs, but it can typically get better performance for most games.

While the Pocket Flip isn’t exactly the best retro handheld under $200, it is one of the better clamshell-style options available right now.

You might also be interested in reading our Retroid Pocket 2 Review.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the battery life of the Retroid Pocket Flip?

The Retroid Pocket Flip has a battery life of up to around 7 hours depending on the games you choose to play and the settings you have setup on the device.

Can the Retroid Pocket Flip emulate GameCube games?

The Pocket Flip technically can emulate GameCube games, but keep in mind that performance varies significantly depending on the titles you choose. if you’re looking for a retro gaming handheld specifically for emulating GameCube games, you should probably look elsewhere as the games that it can run well are quite limited.

Is the Retroid Pocket Flip a worthwhile purchase?

It depends on if you already have a retro gaming handheld lying around and on what you’re looking to do with the device. If you enjoy retro gaming and simply want a device that can play a lot of different games from various retro systems, then the Retroid Pocket Flip may be a worthwhile purchase. However, if you’re looking to emulate games from more modern hardware, you’ll need to pick something else up like the Steam Deck.

How does the Retroid Pocket 3+ compare to the Retroid Pocket Flip?

The Retroid Pocket Flip has a couple of notable improvements when compared to the Retroid Pocket 3 Plus. Its processor is a bit more powerful, the screen is a tad nicer, and the battery lasts a bit longer.

What are the differences between the RG405M and the Retroid Pocket Flip?

Both devices are relatively comparable, except the Retroid Pocket Flip has a clamshell design and the RG405M usually can run games at a better performance than the Flip.

Are PSP and PS2 games compatible with the Retroid Pocket Flip?

Again, similarly to emulating GameCube games, you’re better off looking for another device if you’re looking to emulate PSP and PS2 games well. It isn’t quite powerful enough to run PS2 games well, but the Retroid Pocket Flip runs many other older retro games from other systems very well. The game support will vary depending on how intensive it is to run it.