Pocket vs RetroHandheld
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Experience a collection of 12 classic arcade-style games, each reimagined with a single-button control scheme. Compete for high scores on global leaderboards across various genres, from relaxing challenges to fast-paced action.
- 12 classic arcade-style games
- Single-button gameplay
- High score challenges
- Global leaderboards
- Variety of game genres
- Reimagined classic games
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Pocket-Square is a virtual handheld gaming system with 12 awesome games to play. For the most part they're classics that you know and love, but with a twist, there's only one button. Each game is all about getting the highest score possible. Some games are chill and relaxing, and others are non-stop speed and action. Each game has a global leader-board so see if you can score your way to the top. The games available now are: - Breakout (the classic brick breaking game) - Golf (try to charge up the perfect shot to make a hole in one) - Hurdle Jump (a speedy endless runner where you must jump over hurdles) - Pong (the classic arcade-style table tennis game) - Basketball (make as many baskets as you can in a moving basketball hoop) - Cave Jump (leap over stalagmites while avoiding stalactites above) - Shooter (a traditional shoot 'em up where shooting also changes direction) - Frisbee (catch as many disks as you can when they come flying into view) - Flappy (similar to Flappy Bird but not as brutally hard) - Mini Golf (bounce the ball around barriers and into the hole) - Baseball (hit as many balls as you can to bring your teammates home) - Platformer (jump from platform to platform without falling into the abyss)
RetroHandheld
Transform your iPhone or iPad into a classic gaming console. Play popular retro systems like Game Boy, NES, and PlayStation with controller support and save states. Bring your own legally owned game files for an offline, ad-free experience.
- Plays 8 classic consoles
- Controller support
- Save states and auto-save
- Offline play
- Cheat code support
- iCloud backup
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Retro Handheld turns your iPhone and iPad into a real retro gaming machine, and it plays the consoles most iPhone emulators leave out. Start for free with the classic lineup: Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, NES, and Super NES. Unlock Nintendo 64, PlayStation, GameGear, DreamCast and Sega Genesis with one purchase — no subscription and no ads, ever. PlayStation works the moment you import a game. OpenBIOS is bundled, so there is no BIOS file to hunt down and no setup to wade through. Every emulator core ships inside the app, ready to play. WHAT YOU GET Eight consoles in one app, from Game Boy to PlayStation Auto cover art box art downloads automatically when you add a game A native, uncluttered interface built for iPhone and iPad Xbox, PlayStation, Switch Pro, and MFi controller support with automatic per-console mapping Game Genie, GameShark, and Action Replay cheat code support Save states anywhere, auto-save on exit, and one-tap resume Fast-forward for speeding through slow sections Screenshot capture to save your best moments iCloud backup for save data across devices Retro TV shell on iPad, plus haptic feedback Play time tracking for every game Fully offline. No accounts, no internet, no tracking. BRING YOUR OWN GAMES Retro Handheld does not include any games. You must own the original cartridge or disc to legally use game files with the app. Import your library from the Files app and keep it on your own device. Built on proven open-source emulation cores, compiled and bundled so there is nothing extra to download before you play.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Pocket at 4.9 against RetroHandheld's 3.7. Pocket also leads on ratings volume (14 vs 3) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 16.0). RetroHandheld's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Pocket sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and RetroHandheld sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Pocket holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 14 and 3 respectively.
| Parameter | RetroHandheld | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (14 ratings) — better | 3.7 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 14 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | — | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 79 MB | 24 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Cody Mace | David Margot |
Customer experience
RetroHandheld
In-app purchases
- Disable Ads$2.99
RetroHandheld
- Full Unlock$2.99









