Don't worry, this will be the last post about [[Less Doomscrolling More Silly Lil Tech Toys|silly little]] [[Review - Anbernic 34XX|tech toys]] for a while, I promise. Anyways, there are two categories of retro handhelds, more or less: vertical and horizontal. Of course there's a bunch of other criteria to consider, but *V* or *H* is the thing you want to think about first, because aspect ratios are a big part of being able to enjoy a retro console. As an example, My GBA games feel great at 3:2 on the [[Review - Anbernic 34XX|34XX]], because it's horizontal. But I'd never play an SNES game on it, because SNES games are 4:3 ratio, and thus better on vertical handhelds that have more square-like screens. ![[Thoughts on the TrimUI Brick-20250129163601532.png]] The point of this boring lesson is that the TrimUI Brick is probably the best vertical handheld I've gotten to try out. I grabbed it after giving my sister my Miyoo Mini+ because she was having a bad time, and I wanted a new pocketable handheld. I have an Anbernic 40XXV, but despite the fact that its 4 inch screen is great on this old man's eyes, it's not what I'd call an EDC.[^1] I wanted something smaller to compensate, and the TrimUI Brick is the best option out there - pocketable or not. This comes down to a few things. ## The Feel I love playing around with these silly little things, but I'm not an idiot - when it comes down to it, they're pretty much all plastic shells with some electronic components inside. Some of them are better plastics than others, but the best of them are still plastic, and the worst of them feel like McDonald's Toy Plastic. The TrimUI Brick sets itself apart from these other handhelds with its absolute premium feel and build. Rather than plastic, it's made of hefty metal. It makes the whole thing feel more legitimate in its existence, if that makes sense. I don't worry as much about dropping it throwing it into my pocket because I know it can handle it. Besides that the buttons are all super nice. Clicky but quiet enough that you could play it in bed without disturbing a neighbor. And not so much resistance that you feel like you have to press hard to get any travel. The d-pad similarly feels good, with no false diagonals. The shoulder buttons could be a little hard to reach, especially the L2 and R2, but I only ever use those buttons for fast forward and save states which means I don't press them that often, and they still feel good too. Also it has cool LEDs all over the place. I know people laugh at them but whatever, I love RGB lighting. I've never said I *wasn't* a big ole nerd. ## The Screen My biggest worries with handhelds this small are two-fold: 1. It'll be too small for my **[BIG, MEATY, CLAWS!!!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqIL-mniAMM)** 2. My old man eyes won't be able to see what's going on. I still wouldn't use the Brick for a 4 hour straight session because of said giant hands, but what's surprised me the most is the screen. Despite being 3.2 inches - and possibly smaller if you're using integer scaling - it still looks so crisp that I never have issues looking at it. That's because it has a 1024x768 resolution and is brighter than a damn flashlight, even at medium levels. ![[Thoughts on the TrimUI Brick-20250129162956163.png]] I never had to squint or bring the Brick up close to my face to see what was going on because the screen was so clean. Honestly the screen is so nice it's difficult to look at my 40XXV. It's like putting on a new pair of glasses and not being able to go back to the old ones. It's that good! ## MinUI I flashed [MinUI](https://github.com/shauninman/MinUI) as the firmware for this thing and it matches perfectly given its simplistic design philosophy. Makes it really easy to just boot up in sub-10 seconds to play a little bit, then shut it down when you're done. MinUI instantly makes a save state on shut-down, so you'll never lose your place. --- With that said, here are what I'd consider issues after a few days of use. ## The Heat The thing heats up! On metal??? Who'd have thought. Even when only playing from GBA and below, the panel on the back starts to get a little hot. Not scalding, but it could be uncomfortable. Luckily the way you hold the device makes it so that you'll never feel it unless you're actively trying to, but it's a little irritating. ## It's Still Smol That could be a deal-breaker for you, regardless of the screen quality. I love it because I can actually keep it in my pocket, but ymmv depending on hand size and eyesight. But like. That's it! Only two cons is not bad at all. Since I have a [[Review - Anbernic 34XX|34XX]] I don't play GBA on the Brick[^2], but it's been perfect for GBC, SNES, Genesis, and a bunch of other 4:3 consoles. It's especially perfect for RPGs, since they're slow-paced and won't strain your hands too much. Between the 34XX and this thing, I'd say I'm pretty much set as far as handhelds go. [^1]: Every Day Carry [^2]: Though you certainly could, it scales perfectly with a negligible loss of real-estate