The TrimUI Brick has been a fan favorite of many members of the Retro Handhelds Discord, myself included. It’s a well-made device, sporting surprising power at an affordable price, and that screen is simply gorgeous!
The TrimUI Brick Hammer is much of the same, just in a trio of stunning colors and a metal chassis. If you liked the TrimUI Brick, and you’re willing to fork over an extra $50, this one is going to come highly recommended.
TrimUI Brick Hammer: Specs and Changes
TrimUI Brick vs TrimUI Brick Hammer
The screen has to be the first thing we talk about. It’s the same screen as found in the original TrimUI Brick; 3.5-inch IPS with a resolution of 1024 x 768. This one has always wowed in terms of compatibility with most retro gaming systems and being beautifully overkill for a handheld of its size. Somehow, it looks even better surrounded by metal.
The internals remain basically untouched between the two versions, which is pretty much by design; if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
- CPU: Allwinner A133P, 1.8GHz
- GPU: Imagination PowerVR GE8300, 660MHz
- RAM: 1GB LPDDR3
- Screen: 3.2”, 1024 x 768, 4:3 Aspect Ratio
- Battery: 3000mAh
- Wireless: Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR/4.2
- Audio: Front-firing stereo speakers, 3.5mm headphone jack, mono mic
- Battery: 3000mAh – Approximately 5-6 hours of life
- Ports: USB-C (charging, data, USB host), TF card slot
- Other: Vibration motor, RGB lighting, FN keys
- Dimensions: 110 x 73 x 12-20mm, 196 grams
- Accessories: USB-C charging cable, two additional sets of shoulder buttons
In terms of weight, the TrimUI Brick comes in at 157g, and the TrimUI Brick Hammer comes in at 196g. That extra 40g is barely noticeable during play, which was a nice surprise as I expected this to feel heavier.
TrimUI Brick vs Brick Hammer – Back
It could just be me, but some of the buttons also feel firmer and of higher quality than the ones on my previous TrimUI Brick. Pressing the buttons on the side (power and volume +/-) especially felt cleaner and more responsive. The face buttons felt relatively similar, and I still hate the order of the Start/Select/Menu buttons.
The only real difference (besides the obvious metal) between the two is a new back logo and layout. The TrimUI Brick Hammer has moved the device name within a little placard-looking space at the top, while the logo remains behind and Brick Hammer is engraved beneath the shoulder buttons.
Software Options
The TrimUI Brick Hammer of course comes with stock software from TrimUI, but it’s a bit limited and not really something you should use in my opinion. There are plenty of options to choose from; MinUI, Knulli, and muOS to name a few. These will all provide a better experience over stock while gaming on the TrimUI Brick Hammer, and many come with some fun customization options.
NextUI on TrimUI Brick Hammer
I really like MinUI, and I’ve been meaning to give NextUI a try since it keeps the same simple look while adding additional customization options like deep sleep, game time tracking, etc. A couple of downloads (and some sick custom green color options) later, and I’m happy with the results. You can follow installation instructions for NextUI via their GitHub, Russ’s guide for MinUI, or even Andrew’s muOS setup guide.
Gaming
Man, do games just look crisp on this screen. Again, if you’ve played anything on the TrimUI Brick before, there’s no additional surprises here. Everything PS1 and down will run with little issue, and it looks great on this screen. That Allwinner GPU isn’t winning any foot races, so don’t even think about doing Gamecube or PS2 on this device.
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- Märchen Adventure Cotton 100
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- Astro Boy: Omega Factor
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- Hamtaro: Ham-Hams Unite
I threw a number of systems into NextUI and played a couple of games; Märchen Adventure Cotton 100% for SNES, Astro Boy: Omega Factor for GBA, and Hamtaro: Ham-Hams Unite! for GBC. Even with the 4:3 aspect ratio on the TrimUI Brick Hammer, GBA games still look great on this device on account of the small screen real estate.
Conclusion
As I mentioned at the top of the article, if you liked the original TrimUI Brick and you don’t have an aversion to metal, then you’re likely going to enjoy the TrimUI Brick. It’s twice the price of the original TrimUI Brick ($50 vs. $100), but It’s more of the same simplistic excellence that was found in the TrimUI Brick, just wrapped in a premium metal shell.
You can purchase the TrimUI Brick Hammer for roughly $100 from the TrimUI Store or GoGameGeek, and we’ve even seen it slowly start cropping up on AliExpress.
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