The frontier of Nintendo DS emulation devices is still defining what’s possible, even with RAM prices potentially breaking the floor out from under them. Meanwhile, the Retroid Pocket Duo is coming in with planned specs and a price point that undercuts today’s peak DS analogues.
Throughout the week, Game Boy-like device maker Retroid has been teasing more and more about its first DS emulation device, and now we finally know how much it costs. The Pocket Duo is set to retail at $270 with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, while you can get it for $250 with a preorder. The Pocket Duo is actually an entire family of emulation devices. There’s a lower-end Pocket Lite that will cost $150 on launch day, though we’re still waiting to hear when we’ll be able to buy it. You should also anticipate that Retroid will try to sell you models with more memory that cost even more.
So far, the AYN Thor has proven to be the best overall DS emulation device (just note that Gizmodo does not condone piracy for emulation purposes). However, that handheld has been ravaged by RAM-driven price hikes. The lowest-end version of the Thor starts at $260 after price increases, though a “Base” model with a higher-end chip launched for $300 (and now costs $330). The “Max” 1TB option jumped $100 to $550 earlier this year, though AYN also added a 512GB option with 16GB of RAM for $480.
Retroid is trying to undercut its competitor, and it has a very good shot considering what screens each device is packing. The Retroid Pocket Lite includes two LCD touch displays, one a 5.5-inch 16:9 screen and another a 4.2-inch 4:3 display. The non-Lite Duo complements it with a same-sized OLED top display, but the bottom OLED screen is a larger 4.5 inches. The Pocket Duo also runs at 120Hz, while the Duo Lite maxes out at 60Hz.
@everyone
Retroid Pocket Duo and Duo Lite Pricing Details! pic.twitter.com/FjnvKmxENR— Retroid Pocket Official (@Retroid0fficial) September 10, 2026
As for performance, the Pocket Duo should have enough memory to play all the DS/3DS games you’re looking for and even most past-generation consoles from the PS2 and GameCube eras. It’s running on the Qualcomm Q-7790, equivalent to the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 SoC in terms of specs. The Lite version is running on the lower-end Qualcomm QCS6125—which seems closest in performance to a mid-range Snapdragon 665 from 2019. We won’t know how well each chip performs in action until they eventually hit the scene. The company put out a video of the Lite version playing games at 2X the original DS resolution.
The screens and price make this Pocket Duo make it especially appealing, though we’ll see how long Retroid can maintain its starting price point. It’s still leagues better than devices like the Ayaneo Pocket DS that today demand $580. There are also even cheaper models out there, like the sequel to the Anbernic RG DS called the RG DS Plus. It’s a $95 handheld that actually comes with a built-in stylus. However, that device is only good enough to play original DS games, not 3DS emulation.
Being spoiled for choice is a good thing. Now we just have to wait for Nintendo to finally figure out how it wants to bring back its dual-screen handhelds to the Switch 2 generation, like it did the Virtual Boy.
