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The Pimax Portal is a 5.5 inch 16:9 Android handheld that plays everything up to PS2 well. It came out in May 2023 at $299. Inside is the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 with 8 GB of RAM.
Who it's for
Buy it if
- You want to play everything up to PS2.
- You want a 5.5 inch screen and carry it in a bag or a jacket.
Skip it if
- You want Switch games: it scores only 40 out of 100.
- You only play up to PS1: handhelds under $60 do that.
Pimax Portal videos
What it plays
Plays up to: PS2. Chip: Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2.
Scores out of 100. 100 means the system runs at full speed with no known issues on this device. 80 or more plays well (green), 50 to 79 plays partly (yellow).
What owners say
“I have a pimax portal retro and it works great in handheld mode.”
What the specs mean
16:9 screen
PSP and Switch games fill it. 4:3 home consoles show bars at the sides, and Game Boy games look small.
Based on: Display math: native screen shapes of each system
Sharpest fit: GBA
At 13x, GBA fills 78% of the screen with even pixels. Filling the rest means stretching, which some people smooth with a filter.
Based on: Display math: largest whole-number scale that fits the screen
Small battery for its class
Only 16 of 103 Android handhelds in our database have a smaller battery than this 4,000 mAh (the middle one has 5,000 mAh). The heavier the system you run, the sooner it runs out.
Based on: Our handheld database: battery of 103 Android handhelds
DS on one screen
DS games show both screens shrunk side by side, or one big screen you swap. The touch screen stands in for the stylus.
Based on: Layout data: single screen with touch
Android 10
Besides emulators it runs Android games and game streaming apps, from your PC or the cloud.
Based on: Operating system data
Rating
How we score: what it plays 30%, how many players own and recommend it 20%, screen 15%, price compared with handhelds that play as much 10%, controls 10%, size and weight 10%, battery size for its chip 5%.
Good
- Plays everything up to PS2 well
- 144 Hz screen
- Hall effect sticks, so no stick drift
- Video out to a TV
- Analog triggers
Not so good
- LCD screen, not IPS or OLED
Screen fit
Screen: 5.5 inch, LCD, 16:9, 3840 x 2160.
| System | Original | Sharpest scale | Screen filled |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game Boy | 160 x 144 | 15x (2400 x 2160) | 63% |
| GBA | 240 x 160 | 13x (3120 x 2080) | 78% |
| NES and SNES | 256 x 224 | 9x (2304 x 2016) | 56% |
| Genesis | 320 x 224 | 9x (2880 x 2016) | 70% |
| PS1 and N64 | 320 x 240 | 9x (2880 x 2160) | 75% |
| DS, one screen | 256 x 192 | 11x (2816 x 2112) | 72% |
| PSP | 480 x 272 | 7x (3360 x 1904) | 77% |
Whole-number scales keep every pixel the same size. Screen 3840 x 2160.
Size
225 x 89 x 14.2 mm. Too big for a jeans pocket
- Pimax Portal (225 x 89 mm)
- iPhone 15 (71.6 x 147.6 mm)
True scale, front view. Jeans pocket = front no bigger than an iPhone 15 Pro Max in a case (160 x 82 mm).
Specs
| Performance | |
|---|---|
| Chip | Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 |
| CPU | Kryo 585 Prime |
| Cores | 8 |
| Clock speed | 1.8 GHz - 2.84 GHz |
| GPU | Qualcomm Adreno 650 |
| RAM | 8 GB |
| Cooling | Yes |
| Screen | |
| Size | 5.5" |
| Type | LCD |
| Resolution | 3840 x 2160 |
| Refresh rate | 144 Hz |
| Pixel density | 801 ppi |
| Aspect ratio | 16:9 |
| Touch screen | Yes |
| Dual screen | No |
| Controls | |
| D-pad | Separated Buttons, Lower placement |
| Analog sticks | Yes |
| Stick layout | Double, asymetrical |
| Hall effect sticks | Yes |
| L3 / R3 | Yes |
| Shoulder buttons | Stacked |
| Analog triggers | Yes |
| Gyroscope | Yes |
| Connectivity | |
| Storage | 128 GB |
| SD card | Yes |
| Wi-Fi | Yes (6e) |
| Bluetooth | Yes (5.1) |
| USB-C | Yes |
| Video out | Yes |
| Headphone jack | Yes |
| Build | |
| Form factor | Horizontal |
| Dimensions | 225 x 89 x 14.2 mm |
| Battery | 4000 mAh |
| Shell | Plastic |
| Speakers | Bottom |
| Software | |
| Operating system | Android |
| Android version | 10 |
Questions
Can the Pimax Portal play PS2 games?
Yes. PS2 scores 81 out of 100 on our emulation scale.
Can it play GameCube games?
Yes, GameCube scores 100 out of 100.
Is the Pimax Portal good for GBA?
GBA runs at full speed. At 13x it fills 78% of the screen with even pixels.
Does it have a headphone jack?
Yes.
How big is the battery?
4,000 mAh. The middle Android handheld in our database has 5,000 mAh.
Can it connect to a TV?
Yes, it has video out.
How much does the Pimax Portal cost?
It launched at about $299 in May 2023. Prices on the used market change, so check current listings.
Price and newer models
$299 at launch $250 and up
The newest in its line in our database, out since May 2023.
Similar handhelds
Specs and emulation scores from the retrocatalog.com handheld database. The score out of 10 is our own.