I'm so glad to see that you actually spent time with the product before reviewing it and laid out genuine and meaningful criticisms, unlike most other creators in this space that just rushed their review out on the day of release. This is the kind of thing that lets me know that you're really interested in getting good information out to your viewers instead of pandering for views by trying to be the first to upload a review of the product, so thank you for that. You are what content creators should aspire to be Tito.
Great review and man that intro is fire, your production quality seems like the gold standard compared to many creators and even legacy media out there.
As much as I love some of the detailed reviews of this thing's specs and features, real world usage over several weeks is a way more valuable way to find out if something is worth buying or not. Thanks for the video!
Totally agree! I wanted to go over my experience rather than go over all the features since there are a lot of great videos that go over that information.
If you unplug the dock from power and HDMI, the same sound persists. This tells me it’s just the USB-C port pins releasing from the connector on the dock and less an electrical discharge.
@@MachoNachoProductions Electronics engineer here. That definitely sounds mechanical, not electrical in nature. Plus the voltages at play in those connectors would need a very tiny gap and an entirely unlikely voltage build-up to get a voltage that would make a noise that audible. I'd tell you that I'll let you know when I get mine, but that won't be until Q4 I'm afraid.
On a weirder note... I would love a bare-bones cell phone/gameboy combo actually. I'd ditch my smart phone for something like that! The point here is to get out of the attention economy and sticking to games/content I choose to keep on hand.
If you want to, you _can_ actually delete most apps from your smartphone and just use the Analogue Pocket, a modded GB(C/P/A) or emulation device for gaming to achieve the main goal. Arguably even with better feel than some mobile phone that tries (and fails) to combine gaming inputs with either a keyboard or touch interface.
@@fryke I don't really play apps/games on my phone, but I do like the old days of just carrying my Gameboy around haha. I think what I mean by "attention economy" is that we seem to all have 20-30 games on whatever devices we play. But when you stick to carts, you have to carefully choose one at a time and enjoy it more thoroughly because you have to physically swap games to do something different.
@@stephendallasdraws2929 for so many years I’ve been saying the same thing. I honestly would ditch the smartphone entirely if, for example, my 3ds xl could make calls and send texts. Same with something like a switch lite, if it was a bit more ergonomic. I really think Sony was on to the right idea with the ps phone, they were just too early and didn’t continue the dev process
Thanks for your review! Also I loved the shots of the Analogue Pocket itself. I feel like they were the best representation of what the Pocket looks like overall without actually having one in hand.
Just watched RetroBreak talk about the Analogue Pocket a few days ago, so it’s great to see this! Love that you spend time testing the system before talking about it. Really makes it feel in-depth!
Man, I still need to know how you made all of those sexy intro shots. People who aren't into cinematography won't understand that good effort went into those shots a reality.
Great review but one major call out: Switch has support for Bluetooth headphones now. It has had it for a few months now. I ordered my Pocket and will hopefully be getting it by the end of the year. I'm hoping they make a simple shell mod to better support and "protect" GB/GBC carts inserted in the console.
Yeah, it was added a few months back. Would be great for Pocket to at least support USB C bluetooth adapters, if not built in bluetooth. Currently it is limited to AUX to bluetooth dongles.
@@UnknownUserY2K I and others have been asking for USB-C Bluetooth audio adapter support on the Pocket and Analogue subreddits. Hopefully Analogue sees those posts and adds support
@@gumbyx84 Yeah, I have seen on the subreddit that people have already confirmed that ones like the Genki Audio USB C adapter usually used for Nintendo Switch doesn't work.
Can't wait to get mine...Can't believe I have to wait until Q4 2022, I'm really surprised they can't scale up production given the huge amount of interest and orders they have coming in. I'm aware of the chip shortage but even with that most other manufacturers have better pipelines.
Which ones? I've been on a preorder list for a RTX 3080 PC graphic card for more than a year. And buying a PS5 here is borderline impossible. For as much as I would love to blame it on Analogue, that clearly isn't their fault.
The chip shortage is a huge problem. If Analog scrounges up the parts to manufacture more this year I'd be very surprised. The two Intel Cyclone FPGAs used in the design are completely unavailable from any supplier as far as I can tell. In fact nearly all of the Cyclone FPGA catalog atmre out of stock. Suppliers don't care about small outfits like Analog. They prioritize major manufacturers and critical technologies.
I like the bulkier handheld over the nintendo form factors. I'm not a little kid anymore. Bigger screens and bigger grips are better for me going into my 30's soon.
Everytime I watch your videos I'm so impressed with the editing quality, sound design etc. The intro with the pockets doing the apple style flower thing was amazing. Your B roll is really good.
I'm glad you mentioned the open source core development. I questioned the purpose of 4 face buttons, but when you think about a potential snes core...it makes sense. Glad to see I wasn't the only one with these thoughts! Here's hoping it comes true! Also, How are you liking the White pocket? It looks so good but I'm afraid of buying a premium product only for it to turn pee yellow in the future.
One of my complaints about Analogue is shipping. I wanted to order a Game Gear adapter, but with them wanting to charge me $26 to ship to the US, I backed out. I'm not paying roughly 90% of the cost of the item for shipping. Mind you this wasn't "overnight" or "priority" shipping.
@@MachoNachoProductions Oh wow, I never got the notification anyone replied, which is strange since YT almost always notifies if a RUclipsr replies, especially the channel owner. Sorry for not responding sooner lol!
@@cd4playa1245 Sorry for just seeing this. Never got a notification. But yeah that sounds like it is the reason. It sucks, but like, how many customers are you turning off as a result? Oh well...
Macho Nacho Productions is the hidden treasure on the RUclips platform. I sincerely hope more and more people find your channel. This channel is Crimally underrated right now.
Hey Tito, I really appreciate your terrific review of the Analogue Pocket. I'd love a companion video of alternatives to the Pocket like you suggested. I'm definitely interested in the machine, but the one thing that's preventing me from investing in it is game cartridges. Since I don't have any old carts lying around buying aftermarket carts can get extremely expensive, or if I opt for the cheaper end then they're just reproductions anyway. So, for me it's trying to determine if I'd rather just get a flash cart and use it on my modded GBA, or invest in a higher end emulation only device.
Nice call on the play it loud colours, my pink analogue pocket arrives today. I built an unhinged SP last year as a replacement, but that was pure copium. I'm very excited, thanks for another top tier video bro.
About the crackling sound from the USB-C port on the dock. This is totally normal, it happens with my dock too. I even have experienced this with other USB-C cables and chargers on other devices. I wouldn't worry about that.
I recently got one for my birthday, and honestly it's been great. I adore GBA and GBC games, so being able to play them on such a high quality device has been amazing. The updates that have come out since this video are great too, I easily installed several community made cores to play SNES, Genesis, arcade games, etc. Sucks that stock has still been an issue, but apparently the latest pre order for the new color variants actually went over pretty well, actually lasting for several hours this time, letting a bunch of people who couldn't snag one before finally get their hands on a Pocket.
i do wish that the price of the device would be frontloaded in the review it helps me to put all the review comments into context, my biggest gripe with this channel is i often find myself pausing the video to google information about a device that should have been provided
The strange noise with the dock is mechanical not electrical. It will happen even with the dock unpowered and plugging and unplugging a bare USB connector on the usb port where the pocket docks.
I would love an in-depth video going through these consoles, comparing it to the consolizer and maybe the polymega. FPGA vs emulation devices, it would be super interesting to review all these types of devices and your recommendations Tito.
This device looks so sleek and elegant. Very premium. But it's 2022 now, and I'm not about to lug around all of my cartridges around with me again when I can store all of them on a single memory card and play them beautifully on an OLED PS Vita or a cheaper Chinese retro handheld with a crisp IPS display, which are both available now, and not late 2023....
I can not wait to get mine it's on it way but like I'm so nervous that it won't live up to the hype but everything I can see says yes i just hope it gets here soon and I can get it in my hands especially thinking that I'll be transported to a time when I was 7 years old trading pokemon with my friends at lunch and recess
I'm really surprised that most reviewers don't bring up the second FPGA core, which is for developers who wish to port cores over to it. I'm hoping to see most of the 8-bit systems make their way over, as well as some 16-bit cores (Gen, SNES, Neo•Geo), and some arcade cores. The future looks bright for the pocket.
You should do a comparison video with the pocket and other consolizers that similarly bring the gba to the tv. Features, picture and audio quality, lag, etc. I think it would be a great video!
Hey Tito! I have a recommendation for a case. I use the Drive Logic DL-64 portable carrying case, which can be found on Amazon and some other places. It fits my original DMG and Color without any issues. Since the Analogue Pocket is the same height/width but actually thinner than the DMG, I think it would be a good fit. Let me know if you would like to see photos of my handheld cases. Thanks for the great review!
Man this console is extremely nice in term of features. I would undoubtebly recommand it to a new retro pocket games enthousiast as it would be very practical to use for him. However in my case I like to keep the original hardware as much as possible in order to keep the original gaming sensations (the feeling of holding the real hardware etc). I only do screen mods in order to refresh my Pocket, color and SP. And If I ever want to play on a bigger screen I already own a modded gameboy player (and by doing that I can play games using my SP as a controller, keeping the original sensation as well). I still think the Analogue is a fantastic console and a great package (the screen is trully awesome), but to me it will never beat the feeling of playing your games on their original hardwares :)
Saaaaame; however I wouldn’t recommend this to newbies as it’s cheaper to get the original hardware. Plus waiting till 2023 or paying upper 600 for one just isn’t really for the new collector. I always advise the newbies to get the original hardware and mod it to there liking. It helps them learn about the console and maintaining it.
@@brianguerrero3752 yes for sure, I would only recommend it to people that want to play on cartridges but don't own a gameboy and want the best modern features without modding
That's my opinion too. Most people are unlikely to be playing anything other than gb games on this, and it'd be cheaper and more authentic to mod an ags-001 or gbc.
15:55 they can only disrupt the retro gaming landscape if they can sell more than 6 consoles of any given line they release. But for real great video man. You're the best in the game imo.
I spent a lot of coin on a pair of pocket pre orders, one white and one black. Knowing what I know now, I'd have paired it back some. Ditched the hard cases, ditched the screen protectors, ditched the chargers (since I got two docks) and probably only order one GameGear adapter instead of two. I think the value over something like a GBA consolizer is well worth it honestly. The kit with 3D printed case costs well over $200 on it's on, without taxes or shipping. Add your own GBA motherboard into the mix, and your well over $250. If you can't install it yourself, your in exactly the same price range as the Analogue Pocket. I don't know who would do it, but paying $500+ for a pre assembled unit on the suppliers web page is a bit nuts to me. Eh? To each their own? I think the pocket is looking good, but some obvious early issues and some real missed opportunities. Incidently enough, I think GBA games looked better on your unhinged GBA vs the Pocket.
No mention of loose cart pins at all was a surprise. Save states not working with Everdrives I haven't heard yet which is kind of a bummer. Everything else we've heard before from previous reviewers just only a handful have this production value, good job Nacho :) It's just a shame that this device could be perfect but still would have an apathetic fan base because of supply chain woes. 4 min into the 2nd pre order window and I still get Q4 2022, add to the fact that they charge you upfront to wait a year feels like a slap in the face
Such a cool idea and system. Great review! I do kind of wonder when we’ll start to see releases like this for touch screen handhelds like the DS. You can still buy a 3ds these days, but I’m surprised there hasn’t been a system that releases with emulation / hardware replication that can play DS games. (Unless I’ve missed it, which is very possible lol)
Sony added a video output for the PSP2000 , 3000, PSP vita…you could literally play your games on your TV….meanwhile nintendo did a third party so you could play GBC and GBa on super nintendo or gamecube. But they did nothing for the DS or 3DS…🤬 I just cant imagine they never thought about it…
For a product that should have been in my hands almost a year ago, and that was prototyped almost 2 years ago, I'm disappointed that the operating system and dock firmware are not in a more finished state. Supply issues or not, Analogue's developers must have had access to the hardware and software since the prototype stage.
Still waiting for that OS, and getting more and more disappointed with Analogue. Especially considering that now the cart connectors on my lightly used NT Mini Noir V2 have loosened up to the point that it behaves just as badly as an original NES.
Great video as always. And look at you flexin’ with that Mogami headphone cable!! 😂 Seriously though, they make the absolute best audio cables for production.
I've been salivating for various Analogue products, but haven't been able to justify buying one yet. I don't need any of them, but they're so cool!! If you were to "pre-order" an Analogue Pocket now they promise to deliver it sometime in 2023... x)
Commenting again thank you for this in-depth review especially the dock part. That helped a lot. I think i will unplug my dock to rid the static sound.
I wonder how long the dock with its USB-C connector will last. We know how fragile this connector is on the Nintendo Switch, and there the dock is made so that the mechanical stress on the console USB port is as minimal as possible. Retro future / Elliot Coll has a teardown of the Analogue Pocket on his channel. It seems that the USB-C Port does use troughhole pins to the PCB. If this is the case it would be much easier to replace the connector on the pocked compared to the switch. It would have been nice to have the port on its own daughter board to make it easy for everyone to exchange by just unplugging a flexcable. But as electric engineers know, the data lines from the processor to the port must be designed in a way to have not a long distance, no sharp curves,... otherwise it may produce communication problems. Therefore I think the port must be soldered directly on the main PCB as Analogue did. But the dock could have been designed with some kind of a rail to assure that the pocket can only be place straight on without any ability of tilting. Overall, the pocket PCB, screen and Case looks pretty well designed! The dock looks more like a design piece to showcase the console but I am afraid the USB Port will get more stress than necessary.
A couple of things to note: 1 The Nintendo Switch does indeed support BT headphones now 2 it's possible to play ROMs from the SD card, you just have to IPS patch a ROM, rename the file extension (.pocket) and open it in GB Studio. 3 my dock doesn't make any electro-staric noise or buzz when removing the Pocket.
Just want to say, I love getting notifications for your new videos. My favorite creator on RUclips. This was a great, fair review. I'm ultimately not sure this console is for me since I'm more of a collector than player when it comes to retro games, but it's definitely appealing to me. I'll have to monitor inventory and I might get one down the road.
Thanks for this! I’d been waiting on your impressions because I figured you’d be one of the only people to compare it to currently available mods. For $15, I feel like analogue could at least offer a 2nd protector and a aligning bracket.
I agree with all of the problems you have with the device. It is really well built and very high end. It is however not the device for everybody. If you liked the DMG and the GBA SP then you will probably look over the comfort of the triggers and lack of Bluetooth, otherwise you would probably want to look else where.
The electric discharge sound was something I experienced on my Essential phone a few years ago; it eventually went away, and I never had any issues using the USB port on the phone. I am not worried about this on the pocket at all.
I make my Pocket bluetooth capable by using a tiny bluetooth sender / receiver connected to the headphone jack. It's an AptX LL one so while the audio takes a small hit in quality it's at least virtually lag free since it stays below 40ms end to end. I do like the adapter I got because it's very small and works with all headphone jacks, if you need one for an old console I fully recommend these. It's the small 5.0 bluetooth one from hagibis, supports AptX, AptX LL, and AptX HD, comes in a version with battery and one without, obviously the one with battery is the correct one.
Tito you hit the nail on the head with scarcity. Not to pile up on analogue but they're leaving so much money on the table with all these production limitations. I ordered one literally minutes after they opened up pre-orders only to be hit with an email a week later that I would have to wait a year to get mine. That's not a big issue to be honest but when you're taking close to 300 dollars for pre-order up front like that, that's when I took issue and cancelled my order. I have way too many ways to play all these systems than to do that to myself. I think they should've take a page out of stream's book and only took like 5 dollars deposit to order versus taking the full amount of money up front like that.
I really don't know what to think about the Analogue Pocket and Analogue product in general.. Don't get me wrong, they do high quality product, and FPGA console is going to be one of the key to have high quality retro gaming experience, original hardware and software is start to be less and less accessible. But maybe I just don't like the way Analogue do it with Vintage/Retro Gaming. I more like the reverse, Upgrade the Original Hardware with brand new mod/accessories like ODE, flash cart, RGB/HDMI output, IPS/TFT Screen, wireless controler and more. But after all, who cares how we play our vintage video game, more important is to enjoy play it, regardless if it's Original hardware, FPGA based, Emulation, real cartridge, reproduction, Flash card or a rom files. Great video stuff 👍.
I have seen a lot of people on Reddit using cases designed to protect portable hard drives for their Pockets. I would love to see Analogue make a Pocket XL with a wide layout like the GBA (only using bigger D-pad and buttons than the GBA) and somewhere around a 5 inch screen. I have been thinking about trying to mod a GBA into a GBA XL actually. I think one of the Consolizer Kits might be a good place to start.
I’m surprised you weren’t able to use the 2.4ghz controller. I have the snes one and have been using it since day 1. Very good review though. Really enjoying watching your videos.
@@MachoNachoProductions No problem. By the way, 3DS XL cases work great for the Pocket. The fit is nearly perfect. Not exactly perfect but VERY close. Many ppl including myself are now using 3DS XL cases for the Pocket with great results. I ordered a basic $10 one & it works great.
I loveeeee my analogue pocket so much. I've played it every night. One huge issue with mine is its defective. There are crack lines that go from thr bottom left side all the way up that it seems deep down in thr screen. I didn't drop this as I still have the plastic it came with on it waiting for an Amazon replacement to not scratch it. I showed it on the reddit and a few people said there's has the same thing. I reported it to analogue but they are very busy so im sure it will take them awhile to get to me.
I'm kind of glad I went with the black model. The crop bars when using GBA games is much less obvious when they blend with the rest of the case. I am happy with the system, but it needs a jailbreak. That would make it much more portable friendly, as well as make the wait for the other cart adapters, a bit easier.
7:00 I noticed this spark when I disconnected it in the dark, i was extremely concerned and haven't used the dock since. I couldn't tell however if this was a spark, or the bottom LED light flashing on/off, it happened too quickly to know, but if you are experiencing the same thing, my bet would be it's sparking.
That shot in your intro of the screen protector is so good. Awesome taste man. My dock disappointed me we I pulled the Pocket out, but not perfectly straight up, and now the back of it is just permanently scrapped.... I really have a problem with that. Why is the dock not designed in a more conscientious way so I don't have to stop and remove the system with great focus. I do absolutely love it, but I could list some grievances to be sure. I would REALLY love a GBA shaped version of it for the L&R buttons, and the cartages need more of a cradle than what the Pocket offers. Anyway, thanks for the balanced video, I completely agree with your pros and cons!
Thanks for the great, in-depth and honest review! This along with further research led me to pre-order one today. I’ll have to wait till 2023 but I’m patient and it appears to be worth it for me. Having over 70 original GB, over 20 GBC and over 80 GBA makes me the perfect consumer for this. Can’t do the emulation!
This console is perfection and it can only get better... Many mods are price similar to the pocket and this is as good as it gets... The lack of Bluetooth is sad but I see a bright future on this new system Analogue outdid themselves
3DS XL Cases seem to fit the Pocket very well. I ordered a $10 basic 3DS XL case off Ebay & it works great for the Pocket! I'm not the only one either, many ppl are now using 3DS XL cases for their Pocket with great results. The fit is near perfect, not exact but VERY close. If you put the Pocket side by side with a 3DS XL you'll see that their dimensions are nearly identical.
The dock noise definitely scared me. I have a support email with analogue awaiting a response. Saw the pin explanation and started using again. Still hopefully we will get an official response as it seems to be a concern with multiple pocket owners.
I'm so glad to see that you actually spent time with the product before reviewing it and laid out genuine and meaningful criticisms, unlike most other creators in this space that just rushed their review out on the day of release. This is the kind of thing that lets me know that you're really interested in getting good information out to your viewers instead of pandering for views by trying to be the first to upload a review of the product, so thank you for that. You are what content creators should aspire to be Tito.
Mlig had access to theirs early too.
Thank you so much MrlcySack 🙏! Really appreciate the kind words buddy! I’m happy you found the video informative
He wanted to make sure he didn't miss any features before he rubbed it in our faces
Great review and man that intro is fire, your production quality seems like the gold standard compared to many creators and even legacy media out there.
Thank you Serge! Really appreciate it dude! ☺️🙏
Yeah it's also a taken from the credits of Delayed Input lmao, macho has good tastes
Couldn't agree more!
As much as I love some of the detailed reviews of this thing's specs and features, real world usage over several weeks is a way more valuable way to find out if something is worth buying or not. Thanks for the video!
Totally agree! I wanted to go over my experience rather than go over all the features since there are a lot of great videos that go over that information.
If you unplug the dock from power and HDMI, the same sound persists. This tells me it’s just the USB-C port pins releasing from the connector on the dock and less an electrical discharge.
Exactly. If it was arcing there would also additionally be some visual indication of which there doesn't seem to be any
I hope that’s the case, I would feel much better knowing that
@@MachoNachoProductions If you turn all the lights off and give it a go you'll be reassured that its not anything electrically related.
@@MachoNachoProductions Electronics engineer here. That definitely sounds mechanical, not electrical in nature. Plus the voltages at play in those connectors would need a very tiny gap and an entirely unlikely voltage build-up to get a voltage that would make a noise that audible. I'd tell you that I'll let you know when I get mine, but that won't be until Q4 I'm afraid.
Yeah exactly, it should just be friction
On a weirder note... I would love a bare-bones cell phone/gameboy combo actually. I'd ditch my smart phone for something like that! The point here is to get out of the attention economy and sticking to games/content I choose to keep on hand.
You should check out the smartboy if you are not scared of roms
That would be pretty neat!
If you want to, you _can_ actually delete most apps from your smartphone and just use the Analogue Pocket, a modded GB(C/P/A) or emulation device for gaming to achieve the main goal. Arguably even with better feel than some mobile phone that tries (and fails) to combine gaming inputs with either a keyboard or touch interface.
@@fryke I don't really play apps/games on my phone, but I do like the old days of just carrying my Gameboy around haha. I think what I mean by "attention economy" is that we seem to all have 20-30 games on whatever devices we play. But when you stick to carts, you have to carefully choose one at a time and enjoy it more thoroughly because you have to physically swap games to do something different.
@@stephendallasdraws2929 for so many years I’ve been saying the same thing. I honestly would ditch the smartphone entirely if, for example, my 3ds xl could make calls and send texts. Same with something like a switch lite, if it was a bit more ergonomic. I really think Sony was on to the right idea with the ps phone, they were just too early and didn’t continue the dev process
Thanks for your review! Also I loved the shots of the Analogue Pocket itself. I feel like they were the best representation of what the Pocket looks like overall without actually having one in hand.
Just watched RetroBreak talk about the Analogue Pocket a few days ago, so it’s great to see this! Love that you spend time testing the system before talking about it. Really makes it feel in-depth!
A platform vs platform comparison between the consolized alternatives and the Pocket would be really cool!
Yes, please do this
Doesn’t matter. You CAN’T buy it.
13:00 Fun fact last year Nintendo pushed a switch update that actually allow bluetooth audio now. It's in the system settings around the bottem now.
Man, I still need to know how you made all of those sexy intro shots. People who aren't into cinematography won't understand that good effort went into those shots a reality.
Great review but one major call out: Switch has support for Bluetooth headphones now. It has had it for a few months now.
I ordered my Pocket and will hopefully be getting it by the end of the year. I'm hoping they make a simple shell mod to better support and "protect" GB/GBC carts inserted in the console.
Yeah, it was added a few months back. Would be great for Pocket to at least support USB C bluetooth adapters, if not built in bluetooth. Currently it is limited to AUX to bluetooth dongles.
@@UnknownUserY2K I and others have been asking for USB-C Bluetooth audio adapter support on the Pocket and Analogue subreddits. Hopefully Analogue sees those posts and adds support
@@gumbyx84 Yeah, I have seen on the subreddit that people have already confirmed that ones like the Genki Audio USB C adapter usually used for Nintendo Switch doesn't work.
I can't belive I didn't know that 😅, thank you for the heads up
Can't wait to get mine...Can't believe I have to wait until Q4 2022, I'm really surprised they can't scale up production given the huge amount of interest and orders they have coming in. I'm aware of the chip shortage but even with that most other manufacturers have better pipelines.
Which ones? I've been on a preorder list for a RTX 3080 PC graphic card for more than a year.
And buying a PS5 here is borderline impossible.
For as much as I would love to blame it on Analogue, that clearly isn't their fault.
The chip shortage is a huge problem. If Analog scrounges up the parts to manufacture more this year I'd be very surprised. The two Intel Cyclone FPGAs used in the design are completely unavailable from any supplier as far as I can tell. In fact nearly all of the Cyclone FPGA catalog atmre out of stock. Suppliers don't care about small outfits like Analog. They prioritize major manufacturers and critical technologies.
I like the bulkier handheld over the nintendo form factors. I'm not a little kid anymore. Bigger screens and bigger grips are better for me going into my 30's soon.
Everytime I watch your videos I'm so impressed with the editing quality, sound design etc. The intro with the pockets doing the apple style flower thing was amazing. Your B roll is really good.
I'm glad you mentioned the open source core development. I questioned the purpose of 4 face buttons, but when you think about a potential snes core...it makes sense. Glad to see I wasn't the only one with these thoughts! Here's hoping it comes true!
Also, How are you liking the White pocket? It looks so good but I'm afraid of buying a premium product only for it to turn pee yellow in the future.
I love the white color. I am too a bit afraid at how it will hold up with time. Fingers crossed it doesn’t change color or get dirty 🤞
Excellent shots in this video. You have a gift!
Great review, your content is always so solid! Also that unhinged SP is still so so beautiful!
Thank you so much! Really appreciate it Dave!
One of my complaints about Analogue is shipping. I wanted to order a Game Gear adapter, but with them wanting to charge me $26 to ship to the US, I backed out. I'm not paying roughly 90% of the cost of the item for shipping. Mind you this wasn't "overnight" or "priority" shipping.
That’s true the shipping is quite high. Not sure of the reasoning
Yeah their shipping is insane. Part of it is just simplicity on their end so they don’t have to worry about calculating freight costs.
@@MachoNachoProductions Oh wow, I never got the notification anyone replied, which is strange since YT almost always notifies if a RUclipsr replies, especially the channel owner. Sorry for not responding sooner lol!
@@cd4playa1245 Sorry for just seeing this. Never got a notification. But yeah that sounds like it is the reason. It sucks, but like, how many customers are you turning off as a result? Oh well...
Macho Nacho Productions is the hidden treasure on the RUclips platform. I sincerely hope more and more people find your channel. This channel is Crimally underrated right now.
Dude that intro 😍 Nice work.
Thank you 🙏☺️
I have been waiting so long for your review about analogue pocket!!!
I hope it was informative and that you enjoyed it 😁
I was interesting in learning more about this device and this is literally the perfect video, thank you.
Hey Tito, I really appreciate your terrific review of the Analogue Pocket. I'd love a companion video of alternatives to the Pocket like you suggested. I'm definitely interested in the machine, but the one thing that's preventing me from investing in it is game cartridges. Since I don't have any old carts lying around buying aftermarket carts can get extremely expensive, or if I opt for the cheaper end then they're just reproductions anyway. So, for me it's trying to determine if I'd rather just get a flash cart and use it on my modded GBA, or invest in a higher end emulation only device.
Thank you so much Chris! Glad you enjoyed the video. Yeah, I think I may do an alternative video since folks seem to be interested in one 👍
Am subscribing just in case you do this video on the alternatives:-)
Bro that intro though.. that's some level of production value
Nice call on the play it loud colours, my pink analogue pocket arrives today. I built an unhinged SP last year as a replacement, but that was pure copium. I'm very excited, thanks for another top tier video bro.
Hey man, I love the production quality of your videos. All the B-roll and overall production is really nice.
About the crackling sound from the USB-C port on the dock. This is totally normal, it happens with my dock too. I even have experienced this with other USB-C cables and chargers on other devices. I wouldn't worry about that.
That’s good to hear, thanks for the insight
I recently got one for my birthday, and honestly it's been great. I adore GBA and GBC games, so being able to play them on such a high quality device has been amazing. The updates that have come out since this video are great too, I easily installed several community made cores to play SNES, Genesis, arcade games, etc. Sucks that stock has still been an issue, but apparently the latest pre order for the new color variants actually went over pretty well, actually lasting for several hours this time, letting a bunch of people who couldn't snag one before finally get their hands on a Pocket.
Thanks for this review, it was fantastic. I noticed the "arcing" sound as well and it has not dissipated. Thanks again buddy! 👏
I can only repeat the others here: finally a review, that was made after a couple of weeks actual usage. Thank you!
this is the first kinda 2-weeks in review i've seen - excellent, thank you!
Dude I already told you in the past, but you have an exquisite taste for editing 👍
This was the review I was waiting on !
i do wish that the price of the device would be frontloaded in the review it helps me to put all the review comments into context, my biggest gripe with this channel is i often find myself pausing the video to google information about a device that should have been provided
The strange noise with the dock is mechanical not electrical. It will happen even with the dock unpowered and plugging and unplugging a bare USB connector on the usb port where the pocket docks.
top notch production!!! I love your videos!
You didn't have to go so hard on that intro, but I'm glad you did!
Fantastic review. I just received mine after an over 1½ year wait. Looking forward to diving into it this weekend.
I would love an in-depth video going through these consoles, comparing it to the consolizer and maybe the polymega. FPGA vs emulation devices, it would be super interesting to review all these types of devices and your recommendations Tito.
This device looks so sleek and elegant. Very premium. But it's 2022 now, and I'm not about to lug around all of my cartridges around with me again when I can store all of them on a single memory card and play them beautifully on an OLED PS Vita or a cheaper Chinese retro handheld with a crisp IPS display, which are both available now, and not late 2023....
I hope this device has an sd card slot…not interested to bring hundred cartridges in my bag…
Happy new year. Thanks for all your hard work and I look forward to possibly working with you this year.
All the best
I totally agree with your analysis of the hard case!
I can not wait to get mine it's on it way but like I'm so nervous that it won't live up to the hype but everything I can see says yes i just hope it gets here soon and I can get it in my hands especially thinking that I'll be transported to a time when I was 7 years old trading pokemon with my friends at lunch and recess
I'm really surprised that most reviewers don't bring up the second FPGA core, which is for developers who wish to port cores over to it. I'm hoping to see most of the 8-bit systems make their way over, as well as some 16-bit cores (Gen, SNES, Neo•Geo), and some arcade cores. The future looks bright for the pocket.
You should do a comparison video with the pocket and other consolizers that similarly bring the gba to the tv. Features, picture and audio quality, lag, etc. I think it would be a great video!
You can definitely use bluetooth headphones for the Nintendo Switch. I use my airpod pros all the time with it.
They just updated that a little bit ago very nice and should have been there to start
Yep, this was added with a software update. There is a warning that you might have some audio latency when using bluetooth.
Good luck finding one. Might be able to get the next version in 3 years
the production quality is insane man, really great video.
Hey Tito! I have a recommendation for a case. I use the Drive Logic DL-64 portable carrying case, which can be found on Amazon and some other places. It fits my original DMG and Color without any issues. Since the Analogue Pocket is the same height/width but actually thinner than the DMG, I think it would be a good fit. Let me know if you would like to see photos of my handheld cases. Thanks for the great review!
I also would recommend retro mod ding’s neoprene sleeves as well for additional protection (also fits inside case listed above.) ⬆️
Awesome, thank you Matthew! I’ll definitely take a look at it! Cheers!
It also looks like Waterfield (San Francisco) made an Analogue Pocket case!
ruclips.net/video/UotF2WCr8lo/видео.html
That intro was smooth! Fantastic work as always Tito, hope you had a great time away from us for the holidays!
Also, those play it loud renders looked sweet!
Crazy that you predicted a limited run color scheme. Especially since it’s opening up in 10 hours
Man this console is extremely nice in term of features. I would undoubtebly recommand it to a new retro pocket games enthousiast as it would be very practical to use for him. However in my case I like to keep the original hardware as much as possible in order to keep the original gaming sensations (the feeling of holding the real hardware etc). I only do screen mods in order to refresh my Pocket, color and SP. And If I ever want to play on a bigger screen I already own a modded gameboy player (and by doing that I can play games using my SP as a controller, keeping the original sensation as well).
I still think the Analogue is a fantastic console and a great package (the screen is trully awesome), but to me it will never beat the feeling of playing your games on their original hardwares :)
Saaaaame; however I wouldn’t recommend this to newbies as it’s cheaper to get the original hardware. Plus waiting till 2023 or paying upper 600 for one just isn’t really for the new collector. I always advise the newbies to get the original hardware and mod it to there liking. It helps them learn about the console and maintaining it.
I love original hardware too! This is a great complement to original hardware!
@@brianguerrero3752 yes for sure, I would only recommend it to people that want to play on cartridges but don't own a gameboy and want the best modern features without modding
That's my opinion too. Most people are unlikely to be playing anything other than gb games on this, and it'd be cheaper and more authentic to mod an ags-001 or gbc.
glad youre not just going to read a spec sheet that means nothing to 90% of people. Great review!
15:55 they can only disrupt the retro gaming landscape if they can sell more than 6 consoles of any given line they release. But for real great video man. You're the best in the game imo.
I spent a lot of coin on a pair of pocket pre orders, one white and one black. Knowing what I know now, I'd have paired it back some. Ditched the hard cases, ditched the screen protectors, ditched the chargers (since I got two docks) and probably only order one GameGear adapter instead of two.
I think the value over something like a GBA consolizer is well worth it honestly. The kit with 3D printed case costs well over $200 on it's on, without taxes or shipping. Add your own GBA motherboard into the mix, and your well over $250. If you can't install it yourself, your in exactly the same price range as the Analogue Pocket. I don't know who would do it, but paying $500+ for a pre assembled unit on the suppliers web page is a bit nuts to me. Eh? To each their own?
I think the pocket is looking good, but some obvious early issues and some real missed opportunities.
Incidently enough, I think GBA games looked better on your unhinged GBA vs the Pocket.
I really like this in white and probably prefer it over the black one. But I agree, some additional “Play it Loud” colors would really be great.
Nice work with that intro. I can tell you put a loooot of effort into making it.
No mention of loose cart pins at all was a surprise. Save states not working with Everdrives I haven't heard yet which is kind of a bummer.
Everything else we've heard before from previous reviewers just only a handful have this production value, good job Nacho :)
It's just a shame that this device could be perfect but still would have an apathetic fan base because of supply chain woes. 4 min into the 2nd pre order window and I still get Q4 2022, add to the fact that they charge you upfront to wait a year feels like a slap in the face
Such a cool idea and system. Great review! I do kind of wonder when we’ll start to see releases like this for touch screen handhelds like the DS. You can still buy a 3ds these days, but I’m surprised there hasn’t been a system that releases with emulation / hardware replication that can play DS games. (Unless I’ve missed it, which is very possible lol)
Sony added a video output for the PSP2000 , 3000, PSP vita…you could literally play your games on your TV….meanwhile nintendo did a third party so you could play GBC and GBa on super nintendo or gamecube. But they did nothing for the DS or 3DS…🤬 I just cant imagine they never thought about it…
The waiting has been worthwhile! Gorgeous video, Tito! Hope you had a good rest while on holidays. Have a great year!
Thank you Felipe! Hope you had a wonderful holiday as well!
Editing skills are fire dude! Missed the pre order and am so bummed. Now I'm q4 of 2022 lol
That screen! Everything else makes me want more colors of the childhood handheld I already have.
For a product that should have been in my hands almost a year ago, and that was prototyped almost 2 years ago, I'm disappointed that the operating system and dock firmware are not in a more finished state. Supply issues or not, Analogue's developers must have had access to the hardware and software since the prototype stage.
Still waiting for that OS, and getting more and more disappointed with Analogue. Especially considering that now the cart connectors on my lightly used NT Mini Noir V2 have loosened up to the point that it behaves just as badly as an original NES.
Great video as always. And look at you flexin’ with that Mogami headphone cable!! 😂 Seriously though, they make the absolute best audio cables for production.
This review was great! Very professionally done. Now I want to grab one of these.
For travel cases: YNOT Tech Case. Lightly padded and water resistant. Made in Toronto. I use one for my DSes and Vita.
Your b roll is always top tier Tito, loved the part with the different colored pockets
This is an excellent review, well rounded.
I've been salivating for various Analogue products, but haven't been able to justify buying one yet. I don't need any of them, but they're so cool!!
If you were to "pre-order" an Analogue Pocket now they promise to deliver it sometime in 2023... x)
Commenting again thank you for this in-depth review especially the dock part. That helped a lot. I think i will unplug my dock to rid the static sound.
I wonder how long the dock with its USB-C connector will last. We know how fragile this connector is on the Nintendo Switch, and there the dock is made so that the mechanical stress on the console USB port is as minimal as possible.
Retro future / Elliot Coll has a teardown of the Analogue Pocket on his channel. It seems that the USB-C Port does use troughhole pins to the PCB. If this is the case it would be much easier to replace the connector on the pocked compared to the switch.
It would have been nice to have the port on its own daughter board to make it easy for everyone to exchange by just unplugging a flexcable. But as electric engineers know, the data lines from the processor to the port must be designed in a way to have not a long distance, no sharp curves,... otherwise it may produce communication problems. Therefore I think the port must be soldered directly on the main PCB as Analogue did.
But the dock could have been designed with some kind of a rail to assure that the pocket can only be place straight on without any ability of tilting.
Overall, the pocket PCB, screen and Case looks pretty well designed! The dock looks more like a design piece to showcase the console but I am afraid the USB Port will get more stress than necessary.
The Switch now does have Bluetooth headphone support in the latest updates. Just an FYI for anyone out there thinking it’s still not a thing. :)
A couple of things to note:
1 The Nintendo Switch does indeed support BT headphones now
2 it's possible to play ROMs from the SD card, you just have to IPS patch a ROM, rename the file extension
(.pocket) and open it in GB Studio.
3 my dock doesn't make any electro-staric noise or buzz when removing the Pocket.
Just want to say, I love getting notifications for your new videos. My favorite creator on RUclips. This was a great, fair review. I'm ultimately not sure this console is for me since I'm more of a collector than player when it comes to retro games, but it's definitely appealing to me. I'll have to monitor inventory and I might get one down the road.
Thanks for this! I’d been waiting on your impressions because I figured you’d be one of the only people to compare it to currently available mods.
For $15, I feel like analogue could at least offer a 2nd protector and a aligning bracket.
When buttons are smushed together, it makes damage from wear and tear more much destructive.
I agree with all of the problems you have with the device. It is really well built and very high end. It is however not the device for everybody. If you liked the DMG and the GBA SP then you will probably look over the comfort of the triggers and lack of Bluetooth, otherwise you would probably want to look else where.
Damn Your B-Roll is absolutely Amazing
Thank you 🙏☺️
The electric discharge sound was something I experienced on my Essential phone a few years ago; it eventually went away, and I never had any issues using the USB port on the phone. I am not worried about this on the pocket at all.
I make my Pocket bluetooth capable by using a tiny bluetooth sender / receiver connected to the headphone jack. It's an AptX LL one so while the audio takes a small hit in quality it's at least virtually lag free since it stays below 40ms end to end. I do like the adapter I got because it's very small and works with all headphone jacks, if you need one for an old console I fully recommend these. It's the small 5.0 bluetooth one from hagibis, supports AptX, AptX LL, and AptX HD, comes in a version with battery and one without, obviously the one with battery is the correct one.
Awesome review Tito! 🤩 I’m a huge fan of your videos bro, which help with my own in a lot of ways. Keep em’ comin dude! 😎👍✨
Tito you hit the nail on the head with scarcity. Not to pile up on analogue but they're leaving so much money on the table with all these production limitations. I ordered one literally minutes after they opened up pre-orders only to be hit with an email a week later that I would have to wait a year to get mine. That's not a big issue to be honest but when you're taking close to 300 dollars for pre-order up front like that, that's when I took issue and cancelled my order. I have way too many ways to play all these systems than to do that to myself. I think they should've take a page out of stream's book and only took like 5 dollars deposit to order versus taking the full amount of money up front like that.
I really don't know what to think about the Analogue Pocket and Analogue product in general..
Don't get me wrong, they do high quality product, and FPGA console is going to be one of the key to have high quality retro gaming experience, original hardware and software is start to be less and less accessible.
But maybe I just don't like the way Analogue do it with Vintage/Retro Gaming. I more like the reverse, Upgrade the Original Hardware with brand new mod/accessories like ODE, flash cart, RGB/HDMI output, IPS/TFT Screen, wireless controler and more.
But after all, who cares how we play our vintage video game, more important is to enjoy play it, regardless if it's Original hardware, FPGA based, Emulation, real cartridge, reproduction, Flash card or a rom files.
Great video stuff 👍.
That was a damn fine intro! Amazing work. Happy I stumbled upon this !
Thank you!
I have seen a lot of people on Reddit using cases designed to protect portable hard drives for their Pockets.
I would love to see Analogue make a Pocket XL with a wide layout like the GBA (only using bigger D-pad and buttons than the GBA) and somewhere around a 5 inch screen. I have been thinking about trying to mod a GBA into a GBA XL actually. I think one of the Consolizer Kits might be a good place to start.
I’ll have to check out hard drive cases. Thanks for the tip 👍
That intro man 🤌🏻
I’m surprised you weren’t able to use the 2.4ghz controller. I have the snes one and have been using it since day 1. Very good review though. Really enjoying watching your videos.
I really liked that intro! Very cool!
Thank you!
@@MachoNachoProductions No problem. By the way, 3DS XL cases work great for the Pocket. The fit is nearly perfect. Not exactly perfect but VERY close. Many ppl including myself are now using 3DS XL cases for the Pocket with great results. I ordered a basic $10 one & it works great.
You actually can use bluetooth headphones on the switch now! They added an update towards the end of last year
you are so good at editing!
I loveeeee my analogue pocket so much. I've played it every night. One huge issue with mine is its defective. There are crack lines that go from thr bottom left side all the way up that it seems deep down in thr screen. I didn't drop this as I still have the plastic it came with on it waiting for an Amazon replacement to not scratch it. I showed it on the reddit and a few people said there's has the same thing. I reported it to analogue but they are very busy so im sure it will take them awhile to get to me.
I'm kind of glad I went with the black model. The crop bars when using GBA games is much less obvious when they blend with the rest of the case. I am happy with the system, but it needs a jailbreak. That would make it much more portable friendly, as well as make the wait for the other cart adapters, a bit easier.
7:00 I noticed this spark when I disconnected it in the dark, i was extremely concerned and haven't used the dock since. I couldn't tell however if this was a spark, or the bottom LED light flashing on/off, it happened too quickly to know, but if you are experiencing the same thing, my bet would be it's sparking.
It's just the LED light, it's not a spark. There have been some reddit posts around disproving any sort of spark.
Yes please, alternatives video
That shot in your intro of the screen protector is so good. Awesome taste man. My dock disappointed me we I pulled the Pocket out, but not perfectly straight up, and now the back of it is just permanently scrapped.... I really have a problem with that. Why is the dock not designed in a more conscientious way so I don't have to stop and remove the system with great focus. I do absolutely love it, but I could list some grievances to be sure. I would REALLY love a GBA shaped version of it for the L&R buttons, and the cartages need more of a cradle than what the Pocket offers. Anyway, thanks for the balanced video, I completely agree with your pros and cons!
Thank you Jim! Glad you liked the video buddy!
Thanks for the great, in-depth and honest review! This along with further research led me to pre-order one today. I’ll have to wait till 2023 but I’m patient and it appears to be worth it for me. Having over 70 original GB, over 20 GBC and over 80 GBA makes me the perfect consumer for this. Can’t do the emulation!
Would love to see the alternatives video you mentioned, great video thank you.
This console is perfection and it can only get better... Many mods are price similar to the pocket and this is as good as it gets... The lack of Bluetooth is sad but I see a bright future on this new system Analogue outdid themselves
3DS XL Cases seem to fit the Pocket very well. I ordered a $10 basic 3DS XL case off Ebay & it works great for the Pocket!
I'm not the only one either, many ppl are now using 3DS XL cases for their Pocket with great results. The fit is near perfect, not exact but VERY close. If you put the Pocket side by side with a 3DS XL you'll see that their dimensions are nearly identical.
The dock noise definitely scared me. I have a support email with analogue awaiting a response. Saw the pin explanation and started using again. Still hopefully we will get an official response as it seems to be a concern with multiple pocket owners.