The Retroid Pocket Nova starts shipping, as a price increase could already be on the way

After months of waiting, the Retroid Pocket Nova is finally starting to ship to buyers as of today. This 4:3-screened handheld, powered by a Qualcomm QCS8550 chip running Android, comes in two configurations: 8GB RAM with 128GB storage at $229 (Black, 16Bit, and GC colorways), and 12GB RAM with 128GB storage at $274 (Ice Blue, Crystal, Watermelon, and Clear Purple colorways).

Retroid plans to work through its entire order backlog over roughly three weeks, rotating shipped colorways every one to two days in the following order: Black, 16Bit, Crystal, GC, Ice Blue, Clear Purple, then Watermelon. More details are available on Retroid's official website.

Still feeling the RAMpocalypse's aftershocks

In the same announcement, however, the manufacturer warned that «Qualcomm has signalled possible industry-wide price hikes», a direct reference to the memory cost surge that has already been hitting the entire retro handheld sector since early 2026. That raises the prospect of a price increase on the Pocket Nova before even all current buyers have received their console.

Source: Time Extension