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Pocket Mini: New LG Wing-shaped and Retroid Pocket Classic DIY solution details emerge in ongoing display saga

Retroid's DIY display replacement kit will only be available in black, original model pictured. (Image source: Retroid)
Retroid's DIY display replacement kit will only be available in black, original model pictured. (Image source: Retroid)
Retroid has now confirmed that it will be offering the display from the Pocket Classic as a DIY solution for the Pocket Mini. Based on a new investigation, it turns out that Retroid's pocketable gaming handheld may have been using the secondary display from the LG Wing.

The mystery of the Retroid Pocket Mini's display issues may have by an intrepid hardware modder behind last year's homemade PlayStation 1 gaming handheld. In short, the display inside the Pocket Mini is not all that it seems.

On the face of it, Retroid equipped the Pocket Mini with a 3.7-inch OLED panel that delivers a 1,280 x 960-pixel native resolution. As a result, Retroid compares the Pocket Mini with the Pocket 2S in its marketing materials, rather than the newer Pocket 4 or Pocket 4 Pro (curr. $199 on Amazon).

As we have discussed previously, Retroid blamed a hardware issue for the Pocket Mini being incapable of rendering CRT shaders properly in all instances. While the company has decided against clarifying further, YveltalGriffin appears to have determined the root cause.

Who knew that LG's last smartphone would be put to use in a future Retroid Pocket gaming handheld. (Image source: Notebookcheck)
Who knew that LG's last smartphone would be put to use in a future Retroid Pocket gaming handheld. (Image source: Notebookcheck)

Apparently, the Pocket Mini utilises panels intended for use in the LG Wing's secondary display. Although not an issue in itself, the Wing's secondary display measures 3.92-inches and outputs at 1,240 x 1,080.

As Retro Handhelds explains, this panel cannot natively output at 1,280 x 960 with a 4:3 aspect ratio. Instead, it can only reach 1,240 x 930 pixels, which the Pocket Mini then upscales to 1,280 x 960.

Therefore, the display was never capable of hitting its advertising resolution in the first place without the Pocket Mini distorting its image to get there. On top of recent solutions, Retroid has confirmed it will be offering a replacement DIY display replacement kit using the 3.92-inch and 1,240 x 1,080-pixel panel from the recent Pocket Classic.

(Image source: Retroid)
(Image source: Retroid)
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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2025 03 > Pocket Mini: New LG Wing-shaped and Retroid Pocket Classic DIY solution details emerge in ongoing display saga
Alex Alderson, 2025-03-20 (Update: 2025-03-20)