For those in the handheld community excited about clamshell designs, it would seem that Miyoo is considering a Mini Flip.
Recent design images have leaked on Discord, leaving us to believe that Miyoo intends to add a new product to their lineup.
Knowing their history and ability to deliver quantity or in a timely manner… I wouldn’t get your hopes up just yet.
But as per usual, it is exciting to imagine the possibilities. So let’s take a stroll down fantasy lane and consider the Miyoo Mini Flip.
[ Images discovered by Lei on Retro Handhelds Discord. That guy always seems to be ahead in the handheld game. ]Update October 31, 2023: A Reddit user (u/sakseid) has shared this image of the Miyoo Mini Flip currently set for release in December - January.
Update May 18, 2023: New images coming from NITTRX show the future Miyoo Mini Flip as a working test unit. And as we can see, this new device looks nearly identical to a Game Boy Advance SP.
Miyoo Mini Flip
The new Miyoo Mini Flip is a compact clamshell handheld console.
The name “Miyoo 355” was also mentioned, which suggests a 3.5 inch display. Which is exactly what we would have guessed.
That’s our favorite screen size for retro games, and it is the screen used in the most recent from Miyoo, the Mini +.
Unfortunately, we only have design images available yet, no official specs. But still quite revealing about the intentions with this new clamshell design.
The design features a dpad, four action buttons, four triggers, and surprisingly – two analogue sticks.
The inclusion of these joysticks suggest that the game play power inside the new Miyoo Mini Flip should exceed that of their previous Mini and Mini+.
The Mini and Mini+ both were capable of Playstation, but the button configuration meant that you’d only want to attempt 8-32 bit era games.
The addition of two analogue sticks in a Miyoo device means you’d start getting into 64 bit games such as Nintendo 64, Dreamcast, and PSP.
Something to notice about these particular joysticks is that they appear to be somewhat normal in size. They are recessed into the shell enough to allow them to fit in a clamshell design.
This should be more enjoyable to use than the sliders used on the new Retroid Pocket Flip.
The design of the Miyoo Mini Flip is obviously inspired heavily by the Game Boy Advance SP. Much like the Funkey S and Powkiddy V90 was. Two wonderful emulators.
And with only one screen, this inspiration makes more sense than referencing the Nintendo 2DS and 3DS line.
I felt like the new Retroid Pocket Flip has a lot of wasted space for this reason, and I think those who purchased one agree.
One keen user on the Retro Handhelds Discord (User Powkiddy Fanboi III) pointed out this:
“it has 2 usb c ports and a mini hdmi in the render” “so if that’s accurate it’s not using the same chipset as the mini” “potentially an rk3566” “since that’s the exact port config on my 353VS”
That’s some pretty smart detective work. So all signs pointing to a much more powerful console and a lot more options like the HDMI out. I absolutely approve of that.
One thing that I feel confident about is that the colors used in this design draft do not reflect the colors they intend to make this console.
While it does look a bit interesting and I’d love a handheld with those kinds of colors, I believe this was simply to differentiate the parts.
Producing the shell with this variety of colors would cost much more and make the production process more complicated. And we know Miyoo already has problems with production.
Early Thoughts
With new design leaks, I tend to stay a little more reserved. I want to see a little more proof.
But I am also often wrong when I say “that doesn’t look real to me”. So I will just lean on the opinions of my peers and say this might be real. It does share some of Miyoo’s design sense.
So this leads me to an important thought: if Miyoo can’t keep up with demand for the Mini and Mini+, why rush to create a new product? We know that they do not have the production capabilities to handle more.
But it would seem that Miyoo is hoping to bank on the current excitement of clamshell handhelds.
FunkeyS did it well, Powkiddy did it, now GoRetroid is doing it. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Anbernic pop up from the shadows saying “we can do that, too!”.
Miyoo’s new Mini Flip design does look quite nice. I just hope they aren’t biting off more than they can chew.
At the end of the day, it’s our job to have an opinion. And sometimes our opinion is a bit harsh. But you know darn well that I’d be picking one or two up if this became a reality.
So bring it on, Miyoo!
