MagicX made waves in the retro handheld scene recently when they released their single-screen DS device, the MagicX Zero 40. It's a device solely tailored towards DS emulation with a portrait screen perfect for displaying both top and bottom screen action. Their newest console, however, is going to take things to the next level and add 3DS emulation into the mix.
The Retro DS, as shown in the post below from @RetroDeadFred, boasts two screens, but still in one complete unit. It looks more like the 2DS crossed with a Tiger Electronics handheld in design, with a 4.1" 1280x720 screen at the top and a 3.4-inch 960x720 display at the bottom. Size-wise, these displays sit between the original 3DS and the 3DS XL, just to give you a comparison of what you'll be working with.
MagicX updated product roadmap. Wow! pic.twitter.com/K79KhdV4Cq
— Retro Gaming With Deadfred (@RetroDeadFred) August 24, 2025
The one thing we don't know at this stage is whether the Retro DS is going to be capable of actually recreating the 3DS effect and give us 3D gaming. I would say that at this point, if they haven't mentioned that it can show stereoscopic images, then perhaps it won't - that's something that you would normally lead with in these situations to draw people in. It looks as though it will solely be able to play 3DS games in 2D format.
So in essence, a handheld that replaces the 2DS.
It features a D7350 SoC, a back grip, and an active cooling fan. Performance Reference: In our testing, the D7350 can run most 3DS games at 3x-4x resolution. It has a 7000mAh battery, which provides 7-8 hours of battery life.
- MagicX Team
The Twitter post above shows the Two 45, another device that has a vertical screen, and a horizontal handheld called the Two 48 that looks a little like the ANBERNIC RG40 range of handhelds. We don't know much about either of these new devices at this stage, apart from that they're releasing in 2026.
The post does confirm that MagicX's newest handhelds, the Magic One35 (G85) and the Magic Retro45 (A733) will be releasing in September and December respectively as planned, so watch this space for more news on those as and when we get them!
