The emulation of video games is probably one of the main types of use for a system like the Mangmi Pocket Air. We would like to point out the often very critical legal situation here, unless old Cardrightes are read out – which is certainly possible, but is probably rarely actually done. Mangmi itself offers the installation of the corresponding emulators, but does not supply any ROMs. In our experience, the performance of the Mangmi Pocket Max is completely sufficient for displaying titles up to the Nintendo 3DS; depending on the platform, rendering is also possible at a much higher resolution. This makes old games more attractive, but although this results in a higher resolution, the titles are not necessarily more detailed with additional objects. The PlayStation 2 represents the limit here. According to user reports, at least some Switch titles are playable with the Snapdragon 865. The large screen of the Mangmi Pocket X also offers significantly increased playability when emulating Nintendo (3)DS titles, as both screens can be displayed properly.

Streaming video games locally is also possible without any problems, and the user experience with Steam Link, for example, is excellent. Half Life: 2, for example, could be streamed at 140 Hz and therefore very smoothly and with little delay. Display latencies of well under 15 milliseconds were achievable in this specific example. We don’t want to artificially fabricate any points of criticism at this point, but the Snapdragon 865 only supports WiFi 6, so a poorer connection compared to WiFi 7 is conceivable. Two rooms away and connected to a WiFi repeater, we were still able to achieve latencies of less than 20 milliseconds, which is also absolutely playable.

Image output is supported via USB Type C, but not with 4K resolution. This works very well in principle. It is possible to use a dock or hub, in which case a keyboard and mouse can be used – as well as the freeform mode, which is not yet fully developed under Android 13. The Mangmi Pocket Max is not a real replacement for a PC, but this setup is certainly suitable for writing emails or short research sessions. In our opinion, the positioning of the USB port on the underside has a negative effect on the image output, as no adapted docking station is available.