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Now, here's something you don't typically hear in the current climate — Retroid has just announced on Discord that it is offering some of its customers a RAM upgrade on their orders, absolutely free of charge.
This bump, as reported by Retro Handhelds, specifically applies to those with outstanding orders for the 8 GB + 128 GB configuration of the Retroid Pocket 5 and the 865 version of the Flip 2, with Retroid revealing it will now automatically upgrade customers to the 12 GB + 128 GB model instead.
As you'll no doubt be aware, if you've been paying any attention to the global hardware market, the price of RAM has shot through the roof of late, often attributed to shortages driven by AI data centres scooping up the available supply. With this in mind, Retroid's decision to upgrade customers may seem a bit odd at first, but, as you can imagine, it isn't exactly born of the manufacturer's goodness of heart.
Instead, it seems to be a knock-on effect of the company depleting its existing stock of 8 GB + 128 GB models and seemingly being unable to produce any more. With backorders to fill and customers to keep happy, it only makes sense for them to upgrade existing orders rather than cancel them outright and risk another wave of bad publicity.
As Retroid notes in the Discord message, the 12 GB + 128 GB models will replace the 8 GB + 128 GB models as the standard configuration for both devices and are also set to receive a $10 price increase, which goes into effect on July 15th. This will take the price of the Retroid Pocket 5 up to $ 209, while the Retroid Pocket Flip 2 will be priced at $ 219.
Obviously, this is good news for customers who will benefit from the jump, but it does seem a little worrying to see Retroid start to completely run out of specific RAM and storage configurations — something Retro Handhelds noted in its own coverage of the news.
Right now, only time will tell whether this will impact other devices, with Retroid currently offering an 8 GB + 128 GB model for the Retroid Pocket 6, which so far seems unaffected.