UPDATE – 6/24: Pricing and shipping information have finally been confirmed for both the Brick Pro and Hammer Pro U. The former is expected to begin shipping on June 30, giving us just one more week to go, while the latter won’t ship until July 30.
Initially, prices for the Brick Hammer Pro U were expected to be around $150, with discount codes dropping that to around $120-$130. However, retailers have updated pricing for the Pro U, and here’s how it shakes out:
- GoGameGeek
- Retail: $287.49
- After Discount:Â $244.37 w/ code RH15
- MechDIY
- Retail: $294.99
- After Discount:Â $250.74 w/ code RH15
- LITNXT
- Retail: $293.99
- After Discount:Â $249.90 (Automatically applied)
- TrimUI.net
- TrimUI Store
- Retail:Â Pricing not yet updated
Those who jumped on the hype train early and pre-ordered through GoGameGeek are starting to receive emails like the one seen below. Essentially, the retailer is offering three different options, which include paying the difference in price, exchanging it for the standard TrimUI Brick Pro, or accepting a full refund.
Over on the RH Discord, another screenshot was shared that provided insight into why the price of the Brick Hammer Pro U is changing.
While definitely disappointing, at least we’re getting some clarity as to why, along with pricing and availability details being shared.
UPDATE – 6/13: Pre-orders of the TrimUI Brick Pro have started to appear at retailers including GoGameGeek and LITNXT. Retail pricing starts at $99.99, but this can be dropped down to $85 with code RH15 at GoGameGeek or PRO15 at LITNXT.
Although listings for the Brick Hammer Pro U are also starting to appear at more retailers, pricing has yet to be revealed, and pre-orders are not yet open.
Things have been quiet on the TrimUI front ever since we saw supposed leaked packaging for the Brick Pro back in April. However, the hype train is back on track thanks to a new teaser video that was released on the “TrimUI Official” YouTube account.
The video isn’t all that long, but provides a bit of confirmation that we didn’t previously have. The most important of which is that TrimUI is actually going to be releasing two different handhelds, with the Brick Pro and the Brick Hammer Pro U.
With the Brick Pro, it’s essentially just a larger TrimUI Brick, sporting a 3.95-inch IPS display, along with the dual joysticks that we previously knew about. It’s also been confirmed that the Brick Pro will be running TrimUI’s flavor of Linux, which is good news for the custom firmware community.
As for the Brick Hammer Pro U, it too features a 3.95-inch display and dual joysticks. However, instead of being powered by the A133 Plus and Linux, TrimUI is turning to the Qualcomm Snapdragon G2 Gen 1. This is paired with the Adreno A21 GPU, and according to the video, the Pro U will also include 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, expandable with a microSD card.
TrimUI Brick Pro and Brick Hammer Pro U Specs
| TrimUI Brick Pro | |
|---|---|
| Hardware | |
| CPU | Allwinner A133 Plus |
| GPU | PowerVR GE8300 |
| RAM | 1GB |
| Display | |
| Screen Size | 3.95-inch |
| Resolution | 1024 x 768 |
| Aspect Ratio | 4:3 |
| Refresh Rate | 60Hz |
| PPI | 324.05 |
| Storage | |
| Internal Storage | 8GB |
| External Storage | microSD |
| Connectivity | |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 4.2 |
| Ports | USB-C |
| Additional Details | EDR2.1 |
| Controls | |
| Sticks | Hall Effect |
| Triggers | Digital |
| Shoulder Layout | In-line |
| D-Pad | Top Left |
| Additional Details | ABXY – ALPS Switches |
| Software | |
| Operating System | Linux (ARM) |
| TrimUI Brick Hammer Pro U | |
|---|---|
| Hardware | |
| CPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon G2 Gen 1 |
| GPU | Qualcomm Adreno A21 |
| RAM | 6GB |
| Display | |
| Screen Size | 3.95-inch |
| Resolution | 1024 x 768 |
| Aspect Ratio | 4:3 |
| Refresh Rate | 60Hz |
| PPI | 324.05 |
| Storage | |
| Internal Storage | 128GB |
| External Storage | microSD |
| Connectivity | |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.1 |
| Ports | microSD, USB-C |
| Additional Details | EDR 2.1 |
| Controls | |
| Sticks | Hall Effect |
| Triggers | Digital |
| Shoulder Layout | In-line |
| D-Pad | Top Left |
| Additional Details | ABXY – ALPS Switches |
| Software | |
| Operating System | Android |
The Brick Hammer Pro U also marks the first handheld from TrimUI to be released with Android, which is a rather surprising decision.
Unfortunately, we still don’t know when either the Brick Pro or Pro U will actually arrive, nor do we have any idea of how much they will cost. However, unless these handhelds are exorbitantly priced, TrimUI might have a tough time actually keeping these in stock.
Not only that, but with AYANEO’s announcement of the KONKR Pocket Block late last month, these handhelds will breathe a bit of fresh air into the space. Outside of the onslaught of R36S clones, things have been uncharacteristically quiet when it comes to retro handhelds, likely in large part due to RAMageddon pushing component prices through the roof.
