The device supports several different systems, not just the various Game Boy iterations.
Compared to original hardware, the promise is that it will have a better screen, a sleep mode, let you play on TV, load ROMs from computer (if you're a developer), etc. Compared to software, the promise is the form factor.
You can easily buy an Anbernic device for less than one hundred dollars if you just want portable emulation, so it's not the form factor. It's specifically for people who are hung up on software emulation vs. FPGA-based emulation.
Seems to be $120 for equivalent form-factor, but still missing a large amount of what the Pocket supports (such as physical cartridges, link cable, and TV output), and with a worse display and a smaller battery. And it's not like the Pocket is that much more expensive at $220.
Irrelevant. Your claim was specifically that the only reason to get a Pocket was for people "hung up on software vs. FPGA emulation". I pointed out multiple unique features of the Pocket and differentiating aspects vs. a random Linux emulator handheld.
The FPGAs are neat, and certainly help with power efficiency here, but they're not the primary draw of this system. It's the fact that 100 pixels make each gameboy pixel and serious work was done to use those 100 pixels to look like a convincing recreation of the original screen. That's easily $100 unique.
There are a lot of software-emulation based consoles in this form factor that provide significantly more features than the Analogue Pocket. If authenticity is not your goal, I have to agree with parent that there is little reason to prefer FPGA in this space.
A Retroid Pocket or an Anerbnic seem like more all-purpose devices for cheaper with a better form factor. I'll wait to see how people feel about it after the hype goes away.
Compared to original hardware, the promise is that it will have a better screen, a sleep mode, let you play on TV, load ROMs from computer (if you're a developer), etc. Compared to software, the promise is the form factor.