The Analogue Pocket console is one of favourite gadgets of recent years, a meticulously composed homage to the classic pocketable gaming devices produced by the likes of Nintendo and Sega. The device’s chief USP wasn’t just its design, but the inclusion of a specially designed chip that handled all the emulation functions allowing it to run original games cartridges in hardware, not software.
Analogue Pocket Aluminum Edition
Now the company has doubled down on the physicality of the device with the newly announced Analogue Pocket: Aluminum Editions (note the American spelling from the Californian company). Released in limited editions of four different finishes – Natural, Noir, Black and Indigo, the Pocket takes a massive step forwards in terms of quality and feel by being precision CNC machined entirely out of aluminium.
Every piece of the new edition is made entirely from high grade solid billet 6061 aluminium. ‘There has never been a handheld video game system like it,’ says Analogue’s Christopher Taber. The casing is then given one of the four anodised finishes, promising to be the kind of object that endures long after plastic-based devices have cracked and faded.
Analogue Pocket Aluminum Edition
Analogue circumvents the tricky legal waters around retro-gaming and emulation by providing hardware that can play old games cartridges. Its own proprietary operating system, Analogue OS, is billed as the ‘definitive, scholarly operating system for playing and experiencing the entire medium [of video game history]’.
Analogue Pocket Aluminum Edition comes in four finishes
As well as huge compatibility, the new hardware features a sharp contemporary screen (as well as the ability to emulate and recreate the display modes and resolutions of much earlier consoles like Game Boys and Game Gears) and can output to a larger screen via HDMI. The operating system is incredibly flexible in terms of mapping controls to the onboard keys, with support for wireless controllers as well.
Every part has been milled from solid aluminium
Future developments from Analogue include the upcoming Analogue 3D, the first hardware-emulated 64-bit gaming system.
Analogue Pocket Aluminium Editions, $499.99, available 8am PDT (4pm BST), 15 July 2024, at Analogue.co, @Analogue.co
-
Could reimagining play reshape childhood? 21st Europe argues for playgrounds as infrastructureA new blueprint by think tank 21st Europe and Spacon calls for playgrounds to be treated as vital civic infrastructure – on par with museums, stations and energy grids
-
In Vietnam, Amanoi’s most indulgent residence yet is almost hidden on an East Sea clifftopAman’s ‘place of peace’ in Vietnam introduces the Amanoi Ocean Pool Residence, an architectural feat complete with its own private beach and spa
-
Yinka Ilori just teamed up with M.A.D. Editions on a trio of ultra-colourful watchesBut hurry – you'll need to enter a raffle to score one for yourself
-
The Hasselblad X2D II 100C takes the iconic camera brand to a new level of sophisticationSweden’s most sophisticated camera manufacturer announces a new flagship medium-format digital camera and zoom lens
-
Lava Studio is a sleek studio-in-a-box for guitarists seeking the ultimate portable toolLava Music's new Studio is an elegant touchscreen-powered guitar effects unit with multi-track recording, AI tips and tricks and a powerful integrated speaker
-
The Sinclair name is back, attached to a pocket-sized games console with an educational edgeGrant Sinclair’s name is freighted with early computing history. Wallpaper* tapped up the British inventor to find out more about his new GamerCard console and other innovation
-
Tuneshine is a new way of bringing back the lost art of the album coverThe compact Tuneshine screen uses LED tech to illuminate the artwork of whatever you’re currently streaming
-
Loewe reaches for the stars with the biggest screen in its history, the Stellar 97 televisionGerman audio specialist Loewe has revealed its new flagship, a 97-inch OLED television that’s a showcase for the company’s crafted approach
-
Dyson’s new Cool CF1 fan brings quiet, compact cooling into the homeAn evolution of Dyson’s quest to reinvent the humble desk fan, the Cool CF1 is enhanced and updated for a new, smarter generation
-
The new Polaroid Flip unfolds to bring you pin-sharp instant photographyPolaroid announces the Flip, an instant camera that blends its evergreen film technology with better results and more control
-
Could putting pen to reMarkable’s Paper Pro tablet make you more creative and less stressed?Design Museum director Tim Marlow extols the power of ‘scribbling’, and is backed up by new research from reMarkable on the benefits of its paper tablet
