They -are- decent modular chunks. They have a bit of opinion pushing you in certain directions as far as sound goes.

Each one does a pretty limited set of things and combining them can be annoying.

But you get a lot for the money you spend on them.

combining them can be annoying

The strong design opinions about how the Pocket Operators interact with other musical gear are a big part of why I haven’t had high enthusiasm for using the small PO’s when I’ve had small PO’s.

For me, Volca’s are a similar ecosystem but to a lesser extent…maybe because the Monotrons sit lower in Korg’s product portfolio while the PO’s are rock bottom of TE’s product line.