Retroid Pocket Duo Lite+: Cheap shell, expensive chip

Another handheld from Retroid. The company announced the Pocket Duo Lite+ on its X account on 20 September. Pre-orders for the Duo and the Duo Lite hadn't even been open two weeks.

The recipe is simple: the Duo Lite's shell and LCD screens, the pricier Duo's processor. That processor is the Qualcomm Dragonwing Q-7790 (the IoT version of the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4). Alongside it you get 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, and there is no other configuration. According to Notebookcheck, the device also has 27W fast charging, Wi-Fi 6E and 4K 60Hz DisplayPort output. The Android version depends on which source you read; some say 16, some say 15.

List price is 219 dollars. With the code LITEPLUS it drops to 199 dollars on pre-order, but the code expires on 31 October. Shipping is expected to start in mid-November. For comparison: the Duo Lite starts at 149 dollars, and the Duo with its OLED screens is 269 dollars.

Mind you, at the time of writing there was no page for the Lite+ on Retroid's store. People who had pre-ordered the Duo Lite were given the option to switch to the Lite+ by paying the difference. That door shut on 23 September as well. Looked at on paper, it's not a bad picture. How hot it runs and how long the battery lasts we'll only know once it's in owners' hands.