Retroid Pocket 6 Price Hike and 12GB Model Discontinuation Announced

Right on the heels of AYN's price increase announcement for its Thor and Odin 3 handhelds, Retroid has announced that it is also raising the price of its latest device, the Pocket 6. However, the manufacturer isn't just bumping up the price, it is also discontinuing a model.

The announcement for the price increase was made today by Retroid across its social media channels, and just like AYN, the manufacturer cited the shortage and increasing cost of RAM and storage as the reason for the upward price review. Starting Monday, March 2, the base model of the Retroid Pocket 6 which has 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage and costs $229, will have its price increased by $15. This means the Retroid Pocket 6 will now retail for $244.

Unfortunately, Retroid says it won't be raising the price of the 12GB RAM, but will instead discontinue that model. The manufacturer stated that it can't continue to offer that configuration at a reasonable price based on the new costs from the supplier. It is also unable to absorb the surge in pricing. The 12GB RAM version has 256GB of storage and costs $279.

As of the time of writing, this version of the Retroid Pocket 6 is listed as "out of stock" on the Retroid website, so it is impossible to place an order before the discontinuation. However, Retroid says it will still fulfill all orders of the 12GB RAM model that have not yet been shipped and at the original pricing.

Surprisingly, the Pocket G2 and the older Pocket 5 (available on Amazon for $249) are unaffected. However, it isn't a matter of if, but when their prices will also be adjusted.

The timing of this announcement is particularly interesting given that AYN made similar moves just days earlier, suggesting that component shortages and price increases are affecting the entire handheld gaming market. For consumers, this means that the most capable configuration of the Pocket 6 is no longer available, and the base model now costs nearly 7% more than before.

This price increase puts the Pocket 6 in a tighter competitive position against other handhelds in the $200-250 range, though it still offers strong value with its Snapdragon G3x Gen 2 processor and 1080p display. The discontinuation of the 12GB model is particularly notable as it was the preferred choice for users wanting to run more demanding Android games or multitask while gaming.

For those who were considering the 12GB version, the window for purchasing at the original price has effectively closed, though existing orders will be honored. The base 8GB model remains a capable device for most retro gaming and Android emulation use cases, but power users will need to look elsewhere for higher memory configurations.

Source: Retroid (via Discord)