The TrimUI Brick Takes Inspiration From The Analogue Pocket

TrimUI has recently announced the release of their new device, the TrimUI Brick, which features a design heavily influenced by that of the popular Analogue Pocket. With its wide range of FPGA cores and software emulation capabilities, the Analogue Pocket continues to draw interest from fans.

The announcement of the TrimUI Brick highlights an ongoing trend in the market—companies copying successful design elements of established products like the Analogue Pocket to create their own versions.

While the TrimUI Brick may not support physical game cartridges, it boasts an Allwinner A133 Plus chipset, providing a 3.2 inch 1024×768 IPS display, and offering the Analogue style for enthusiasts on a lower budget.

One unique feature set apart from its inspiration is the inclusion of an RGB light at the top of the device. While it shares some similarities like a stepped back design (lacking a cartridge slot) and three function buttons on the front, the overall functionality isn't as directly emulated due to the device's reliance on software emulation.

Would you consider purchasing the TrimUI Brick based on its design and features in comparison to the Analogue Pocket, or do you prefer physical console releases that support original game cartridges for authentic retro gaming experiences?

top 14 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[-] lord_ryvan@ttrpg.network 3 points 8 hours ago

I still don't see how this can beat an R36S? Is it far more powerful? Or is it for people who want to get into emulation consoles and haven't heard of the R36S, yet?

[-] mesamunefire@lemmy.world 2 points 5 hours ago

I personally like the Miyoo Mini Plus (with onion). It's such a good time to get into retro games with these consoles.

[-] AstridWipenaugh@lemmy.world 2 points 7 hours ago

Is there a "real" or primary manufacturer? I looked it up and it looks cool, but it's an endless sea of knockoffs with very different prices.

[-] lord_ryvan@ttrpg.network 3 points 1 hour ago

It's an “open source” design, so there's no brand but anyone can make one, so many manufacturers do. Perhaps it's one of the factors that drives the price down.

[-] Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world -1 points 7 hours ago

It's comments like this that I trust with my life

[-] lord_ryvan@ttrpg.network 3 points 7 hours ago

I'm not sure what you mean by this. You trust my questions with your life?

[-] Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world 2 points 6 hours ago

I mean that I've never owned or used a handheld emulator, but if I did it's gonna be the one you mentioned.

[-] lord_ryvan@ttrpg.network 3 points 1 hour ago

Happy to read it, I can really recommend it!

Depending on what SD card it came with, I could recommend you to replace the SD card cause it can sometimes come with a faulty SD card so the manufacturer saves costs. Samsung EVO Plus/Pro of 64GB or more should do and can be bought for around €15 (in NL), so I don't think that's much of an issue

[-] apfelwoiSchoppen@lemmy.world 8 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago)

The overall design is very similar, and you've even got the 'stepped' back (minus a cartridge slot, as this runs entirely on software emulation)

The author of this article doesn't realize that FPGA hardware emulation doesn't need a cartridge slot. Software emulation doesn't preclude it either. Either way, the big difference here is that Analogue is FPGA hardware emulation and this new device is all software emulation. It is a nice looking device though!

[-] stormesp@lemm.ee 7 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago)

i didnt know this website so i decided to have a quick look through their articles:

https://www.timeextension.com/reviews/saroo-a-usd60-sega-saturn-flash-cart-thats-worth-every-penny

https://www.timeextension.com/news/2024/09/please-stop-buying-unofficial-saturn-mini-consoles

Lol.

[-] Someone64@lemmy.world 5 points 10 hours ago

The second article seems actually reasonable. It even links to the first article. What it’s saying is that a Chinese company is butchering the already extremely limited number of working Sega Saturns in existence to resell them for use exclusively with their own brand of flash cart. So they basically remove the CD drive and hook up the cart directly or something.

[-] stormesp@lemm.ee 2 points 10 hours ago

I know, i did read them, it just seems absurd to keep a review up that tells people to buy them, and also at the same time do an article that talks about how those consoles are hurting the retro scene and you shouldnt buy them

[-] Someone64@lemmy.world 6 points 8 hours ago

Well to be more specific, you don’t have to fuck up the console to use the cart itself, which doesn’t seem to be the issue. You can wholly approve of the cart while disapproving of how a certain company is making bad use of them.