Retro handheld devices

[SwimOdin]

I'm in the market for a emulation-based handheld, that's under $100.  Y'all have any suggestions?  This is my most likely purchase at the moment, but I'm still researching.

 

https://mangmi.com/products/mangmi-air-x?variant=51817216409967

[Greeny]

What are you trying to emulate? If you want to do PS2/GC era stuff I'd move up to the 150-200 dollar range. And there are plenty of dual screen handhelds now if you want to do DS/3DS. Those might be a bit pricier though.

Edited Monday at 04:36 PM by Greeny

[UwPp]

On 2/1/2026 at 9:31 PM, SwimOdin said:

I'm in the market for a emulation-based handheld, that's under $100.  Y'all have any suggestions?  This is my most likely purchase at the moment, but I'm still researching.

 

https://mangmi.com/products/mangmi-air-x?variant=51817216409967

I have a friend selling a bunch of his! Uhh if you have reddit find him and talk to him. 

 

antimatt_r I believe is his username. 

[UwPp]

Miyoo Mini, Anbernic RG35XXSP, Anbernic RGCubeXX, TrimUI Brick, an Odin 2 Pro (12GB model), and an Ayaneo DMG (8GB model)

[UwPp]

antimatt_r here

Having an answer to Greeny's question would help a lot. The Mangmi Air X is a pretty decent device, but if you're trying to hit PS2 and Gamecube with minimal tweaking, it might not be a great fit. It can struggle with about half the library for each.

Mangmi is releasing their Pocket Max soon, I believe it's on preorder. That has a Snapdragon 865, which can handle PS2 and Gamecube quite well, often allowing for a 2x upscale. Looks like it's selling for about $200.

Out of what I'm selling, the closest equivalent is the AYN Odin 2 Pro. It's got a Snapdragon 8 gen 2 which is a super well supported chip and even more powerful than the 865, allowing for higher upscales and more headroom. That chip was pretty much the gold standard for a couple years. I can emulate a good amount of Switch on it (I've only played Legends Arceus so far), and it can even play some light PC games by using apps like Gamehub Lite and linking your Steam account (I'm about halfway through Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo and I also played some Jackbox games with family on Christmas). I also occasionally use it to stream newer/more demanding games from my PC so I can play on the couch with it hooked up to the TV through a dock. Played through the entirety of Metaphor: Refantazio that way. I love mine, but I'm letting it go because I bought an AYN Thor, which has the same internals but is the dual screen device I've been waiting for.

The Retroid Pocket 6 is basically an Odin 2 but a little more refined. It's in the preorder stage right now. Same chip, but it has a 5.5 inch OLED vs the 6 inch IPS of the Odin 2, if that's something you care about

Now if you don't care about PS2/GC, everything above is a moot point. All depends on what systems you're targeting and how willing you are to stretch your budget. But for $100? It's hard to go wrong with the Mangmi Air X, as long as you understand the limits of what it's capable of

Edited 23 hours ago by UwPp

[André Toulon]

Nintendo online has been scratching that itch for me mostly since it has Sega and Tendo titles, but I want one with neo Geo and arcade emulation...so I'm gonna watch this thread and see if any suggestions pop up.

Edited 19 hours ago by André Toulon

[UwPp]

Those would benefit from 6 face buttons, right? If so, my favorite right now is the Retroid Pocket Classic, which has two different colors that come with six face buttons rather than four. Only other one I can think of is Anbernic's RG ARC

[Greeny]

10 hours ago, UwPp said:

Miyoo Mini, Anbernic RG35XXSP, Anbernic RGCubeXX, TrimUI Brick, an Odin 2 Pro (12GB model), and an Ayaneo DMG (8GB model)

I have the RG35XXSP. It will play PS1 and Dreamcast games very well but I wouldn't recommend it for those since it has no analog sticks. The RG34XXSP does have sticks but the screen is slightly smaller due to the different aspect ratio, but I think it has the same chipset as the 35 and is slightly more expensive. They're a bit on the small side though but that doesn't really bother me.

I also have an AYN Thor (it's dual screen) but that's not even in the same ballpark as $100.

[UwPp]

PS1 should be just fine without sticks since it released with a dpad only controller. Most of the games are either designed exclusively around the dpad or with the option to choose, and off the top of my head there's only two major games that require it - Ape Escape and Alien Resurrection. Some games are definitely a better experience with it, though

I didn't know it could handle Dreamcast though! That definitely needs sticks. I know it can do *some* N64 and that's analog heavy too

Love my Thor, that's the reason I'm selling almost all the rest, lol. Keeping that and a Retroid Pocket Classic