Top breaks may not be as strong, but I think the opinion among experts is that shooting whatever you shoot best with, even if it's a weaker ammo (like .22 LR, .32 Long, .38 S&W) because it's shot placement that matters and faster follow up shots is always good.
As always, this is essentially nonsense noise. What it translates to is that anyone can carry a small and inefficient gun that isn't ordinarily considered adequate for combat as long as they can make a perfect shot without fail. A person can throw a shuriken and kill a dadburned steer as long as he tears out the carotid artery.
The answer to the unasked question "am I going to survive carrying a gun that has energy levels similar to a major league pitch or even a tennis ball?"
IMO, people should be saying "get used to a stronger round and carry that if it is at all possible. Carrying an inappropriately small round and expecting that you will rise to the occasion and perform well is a real risk."
But your question was whether or not a micro pistol could be made with the convenience of a pop up cylinder and still retain the energy of a suitable cartridge and the robustness of a solid top strapped revolver.
No, I doubt it. An LCR can use a plastic frame, but if we take the top strap off of some of these mini revolvers, we would be adding unusual stresses to the frame.
Then there is the question of cost. This would be an entirely unique design that would have to be created from the very concept on paper. Nothing could be carried over from stock parts. So, it will cost a fortune for the development costs that couldn't be passed on to the consumer until maybe even tens of thousands of units were sold.
Yes, I am a pessimist. There's nothing wrong with realistically assessing the potential for failure of what seems like a great idea "at the time". I don't believe that a break open revolver can be designed cheaply enough to provide units that will fly from the shelves. I find the .32 to be too far into the just barely adequate range to suggest it. If the major reason for wanting it is to be even more compact than available pieces, i'm not sure if there will be any added benefit from the extremely small improvement.
A .380 will be better able to tear a bleeding hole through a person's flesh than the other. if a person fails to hit the major vessels the speed of incapacitation of the bad guy is the only thing that matters. It's almost certain that a hit in the same spot will cause less damage if the shot was made with a .32 instead of a .380.
So, Gramma, put the stupid little raven .32 back in the desk.
you can't shoot worth a hoot and think that just waving it or shooting it once will end the threat. carry pepper spray and a sharp knife. I'm sure that the stupid little raven can hurt or kill someone, but i won't let you carry it around believing that it will not fail to save your life.