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Brandon Saltalamacchia profile image Brandon Saltalamacchia Updated on 10 min read

My 6 Favourite Metal Handhelds Of 2025

My 6 Favourite Metal Handhelds Of 2025

Metal retro handhelds are officially back, thanks to the RG477M and TRIMUI Brick Hammer releasing in the same month, and that makes me incredibly happy. I have a soft spot for these overweight, chunky boys that keep attempting to pull down my pants when I go out the door.

I recall experiencing my first metal retro handheld back in 2020, when I was reviewing the likes of the RG350M and the metal Bittboy Pocket Go. Since then, there have been many iterations, with better displays; some can even emulate PlayStation 2 games, and most have kept the same enormous weight.

Weight aside, there’s a wide selection of them on the market now from miniature devices that size of a match box to full-fledged metal Android devices that can emulate PlayStation 2 games at 3x native resolution, so I wanted to put together a video guide showcasing my favourites over the years, some are new, some are old, some are cheap, some are pricey, so hopefully you’ll find something that tickles your fancy.

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☑️ TL:DR - Give me the deets! ☑️

TRIMUI Brick Hammer

Pros
  • Beautifully Designed
  • Super Sleek & Simple OS
  • Pocket-Friendly
  • Competitively Priced
Cons
  • Shoulder Buttons Can Get Lost
  • Games Requiring Analogue Stick May Be Awkward To Play
  • Screen Bezels

The first on the list is the newest and one that I know many EDC nerds will love. It’s called the TRIMUI Brick Hammer, an updated metal version of the popular TRIMUI Brick that was released in late 2024.

This device is very pocket-friendly, fits in the palm of your hand, and is a similar size and thickness to that of a deck of cards, making it the perfect handheld for you, sling enthusiasts like myself.

The TRIMUI Brick Hammer is designed impeccably well, and has a modern, yet futuristic look, thanks to the square design and LED shoulder buttons that light up the back of the handheld with an LED bar on the head to give it a Tron-like look. It'll get people's attention, that's for sure (these can be turned off).

Specifications

  • 3.2" IPS Display (1024x768)
  • 1.8Ghz Allwinner A133P CPU
  • Imagination Power VR GE8300 GPU
  • 1GB of RAM
  • 3000MAH Battery
  • WiFi & Bluetooth
  • USB-C Charging
  • Linux OS

The build quality on the plastic version was already superb, but the metal shell adds that extra premium feel, matched with replaceable shoulder buttons that can be removed and customised, alongside a stunning IPS display. It really is the perfect pocket-friendly metal handheld.

Unlike many of its competitors, the user experience and custom front-end are incredibly easy to understand, very well built, and designed specifically for this console, making it a pleasure to organise your games efficiently.

It also makes it a great gift for friends or family who may not be too experienced with handheld emulators, as everything is ready from the get-go, only requiring your SD card with your legally owned ROM files.

This is why I keep coming back to it, because it's easy, reliable, and features one of the most fluid custom Linux experiences on any handheld. Hardware beauty meets software perfection.

ANBERNIC RG477M

Pros
  • Beautiful Metal Shell
  • Gorgeous Modern Display
  • Comfortable Face Buttons & Sticks
  • Great Playstation 2 & GameCube Performance
Cons
  • Poor Frontend & UX, Forced To Use Android OS
  • ANBERNIC AI Sucks
  • Loud Fan and Clicky Shoulder Buttons
  • No Grips Or Attention To Backplate

The ANBERNIC RG477M has put ANBERNIC's metal dry spell to rest, after two years of not releasing a device with a metal body, the last was the RG405M in 2023.

This device is an absolute beast, jam-packed with enough power to emulate PlayStation 2 games at 3x native resolution, using an Android OS. It's more power than I need, and I'm a greedy handheld gamer.

I was testing this with intense PlayStation 2 games like Need for Speed: Most Wanted, and it was providing smooth frame rates with no issues at all. You'll feel a little warmth after a while on the back shell, and emulating at this level will only give you a few hours of gameplay using the 5300MAH battery, but it's worth it.

Specifications

  • 4.7" LTPS In-Cell Display (1280 x 960) @ 120Hz
  • Octa-core Dimensity 8300 Procesor (1 x A715@3.35GHz + 3 x A715@3.20GHz + 4 x A510@2.2GHz)
  • Mali-G615 MC6 GPU
  • 12GB RAM
  • Android 14
  • 5300mAh Battery

The metal body and the large 4.7" display make this a very heavy device, up there with the same weight as an original Nintendo Switch, but in a much smaller form factor. So, although it's "portable", I wouldn't recommend putting this in your pocket.

ANBERNIC have perfected button placements and quality. Their DPAD is one of the best in the industry, action buttons are resilient, and the hall-joysticks feature fancy LEDs that you can customise to your liking.

The shoulder buttons are okay, too clicky for my liking, but they will get the job done. Just ignore the back; it's a little plain, with no rubber grips to stop this sliding off the table and causing a small earthquake. For some reason, they added plastic grips, which are actually very uncomfortable and a little pointless.

But if you can get passed that and the custom front-end, this is one of the most powerful metal retro handhelds on the block that will happily emulate anything you throw at it. From PS2 to Nintendo Wii and the PSP, it'll do it and laugh at you while doing so.

If you want the most powerful metal handheld on the block that feels sturdy in the hand and features a stunning display, this is it.

GKD Pixel 2

Pros
  • Emulates up to PS1, N64, & PSP
  • Wider than the previous Pixel with a better screen resolution
  • Bigger battery with 4-6 hours gameplay
  • Small enough to fit in your pocket
  • Sturdy metal shell gives a premium feel while also being durable
Cons
  • It's hard to hold for long periods of time
  • N64 games were a little hit and miss
  • Not enough change for owners of the first Pixel to upgrade for
  • Too small for DS gameplay
  • UI is a little boring

If you want something even smaller than the TRIMUI Brick Hammer, this matchbox-sized device made of metal will certainly please those of you who like miniature handhelds.

This is called the GKD Pixel 2, an updated version of the original GKD Pixel. It comes with a metal body, an adorable little device with modern touches such as the cyberpunk-style battery LEDs and a crispy 2.4" display that's good enough up to GAME BOY Advance.

Anything more and things get a little hard to read, such as PlayStation 1 games, which this is capable of emulating, but some games aren't pleasing to play on because of this.

GKD Pixel 2 vs GKD Pixel 1

Specifications

  • RK3326S CPU
  • Mali-G31 GPU
  • 1GB RAM
  • 2.4" IPS Display (640x480px)
  • 1,800mAH Battery

However, you buy this for GBA, SNES, NES, GAME BOY, Neo Geo and maybe even a little bit of Mega Drive if you don't mind small text. Just like TRIMUI, the Linux OS is matched with a light, easy-to-understand custom front-end that I thoroughly enjoy.

This device is my go-to if I want something that will fit in my pocket with my wallet, whereas others on this list are more fitted to a coat pocket or a satchel. And that's what makes this magical, and one that I use a lot.

It's compact, it's built to last, feels incredibly premium, has a very bright display and organises my games nicely. It's the best mini retro handheld on the market right now.

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AYANEO Pocket Micro Classic

Pros
  • Remarkable Build Quality
  • Minimal Yet Modern Design Aesthetics
  • Beautiful 4x GBA Emulation
Cons
  • AYANEO Space Needs Some Work
  • Little Power For Its Price Tag

This is a device that I had a love/hate relationship with, which was until AYANEO fixed the issue. The original Pocket Micro featured two pretty useless analogue sticks that just got in the way, and was barely put to use because of the consoles this couldn't emulate.

But, AYANEO saw community feedback and released a "Classic" version that removed the analogue sticks entirely and boy... does it feel much better.

This allows the minimal square CNC'ed aluminium shell to have the face it deserves and makes everything feel a little more spacious so that gamers can focus on emulating the consoles they want with the controls they want.

Specifications

  • 3.5” Borderless IPS Display (3:2 @ 960 x 640) with 330PPI
  • MediaTek Helio G99 SoC
  • 6GB-8GB RAM LPDDR4X
  • 2600MAH Battery
  • Wifi 5 & Bluetooth 5.2

The power paired with a beautiful display allows many of your retro consoles to be emulated in beautiful, upscaled resolutions. For example, the GAME BOY Advance can play naturally at 4x native resolution, and it looks phenomenal on here.

It's a device that I got specifically for GAME BOY Advance emulation. As if Apple designed the future GAME BOY Advance with metal, a glass front, great buttons and decent battery life.

It's one of AYANEO's most underrated devices, and one of their cheapest too.

ModRetro Chromatic

Pros
  • Metal Shell With Impeccable Build Quality
  • Beautiful Pixel-Accurate Display
  • Flawless Cartridge Gameplay
  • Passionate Team Behind The Brand
Cons
  • Inactive Modules Teases Me
  • Wireless Charing Would Be Nice (& I'd Pay Extra For It)

The ModRetro Chromatic is a handheld made exclusively to play GAME BOY and GAME BOY Color cartridges, designed by Palmer Luckey, who you may know as the man who invented Oculus and sold it to Facebook for millions.

Palmer also owns Anduril Industries, making drones for the US Government, so this guy has some crazy background in the tech space, and with that crazy tech money, he's made the perfect GAME BOY.

Crafted with a magnesium body and a pixel-perfect display brighter than the sun, it feels like the original, on steroids, but still takes batteries to keep that nostalgic touch.

The display is so good that it's one of my favourite ways to play GAME BOY games. It keeps the square-ness, but shows it in a way that is bright, colourful and keeps the intricacies or "flaws" of the original GBC display that we have all come to love.

It feels like a GAME BOY Color, thanks to button placement, screen size, the big black border, a working trading cable port and the large booty that houses the batteries.

It's a remarkable upgrade for GAME BOY fans and is the last GAME BOY Color you will have to buy. No more modding, this will suffice for many, many years.

ANBERNIC RG Nano

Pros
  • Metal Shell Makes It Indestructible
  • Uses The Clean FunkeyOS
  • Up To PS1 Emulation
Cons
  • Tiny Screen Makes PS1 Games Impossible To See
  • Easy To Lose Due To Its Size
  • Multiple Buttons Easy To Press Accidentally

This one goes under the radar a lot when it comes to miniature handhelds, and that's because it's well over two years old now, but that doesn't take away from the fact that it's a great little metal retro handheld.

You will need glasses to play games, and you will get frustrated by the little buttons, but it makes for an adorable gift for yourself or friends that want something to play on that can be attached to their keyring and not break after a week... because well, it's a metal brick.

I have had mine since it was released in mid-2023, and it's still going strong to this day, with scuffs, scratches, and dents... but still it persists, and for that reason alone, I wanted to feature it in this article.

Specifications

  • 1.54" IPS Display (240 x 240)
  • 1.2Ghz ARM Cortex-A7 CPU
  • 64MB RAM
  • Linux OS
  • 1050 MAH Battery

This is not a powerful device, and it only lasts up to two hours on a single charge. However, it is capable of playing up to PlayStation 1 games on this 1.5" display... impressive, I know!

The user experience is pretty good too, as ANBERNIC has used somebody else to make it, known as FunkeyOS, made specifically for the original Funkey Handheld, but it fits this screen perfectly and makes it very efficient to play and organise your games.

It's an iddy biddy metal retro handheld that works well, and as of writing this I am seeing it for as low as $35, which is an absolute steal, but i can't promise that it will be that price when you read this, I just wanted to let you know that this is an old device that gets redecued a lot, so makes for a great fit!

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Like what you are reading? If you do and want to support us, you can do so by becoming a member, tipping us or taking a look at our gaming accessory company GAMENOOK (10% off just for you). This allows us to continue what we do without succumbing to algorithms, clickbait and over-intrusive ads, while paying human writers instead of AI.
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Brandon Saltalamacchia profile image Brandon Saltalamacchia
Brandon is the founder of Retro Dodo and has loved gaming ever since his mother bought him Pokemon Yellow for the Game Boy in the late 90's. Now he writes about his passions for gaming and collecting.

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