I've been interested for many years, but I keep ending up holding off because I want something that does a better job at emulation than my phone.

I'm not sure that "dedicated device with potentially better control scheme" beats out "the one to two generations old semi-flagship android I already have with an xbone controller clipped to it and wired in through an adapter". When I do find something that has better performance, the price point usually puts me off, which is silly because I pay more for my phone whenever I upgrade... and then the cycle perpetuates.

So I guess it comes down to that I don't want to pay again for something my phone can already do. Just wish there were more phones with microsd card slots for expandable storage, and a quality controller with the same relative form factor as the dedicated devices. Console controllers are big for a work bag. Thick. Especially with the clip to attach a phone to it well.

Right now I've been tidying up an old Game Boy Color (cleaned and reshelled, thinking about rechargable usb-c battery modding it) and saving for an Everdrive for it. If that ends up scratching an itch by being a dedicated device, it might push me over towards buying a dedicated emulation handheld.