Playdate
Panic · Released Apr 2022 · 2022
A tiny, delightful yellow handheld with a 1-bit screen and a hand crank, delivering a curated drip-feed of inventive indie games.
Pros
- +Utterly charming, pocketable design
- +The hand crank is a genuinely novel input
- +A steady stream of inventive indie 'Season' games
- +Friendly developer tools (Pulp & SDK)
Cons
- −Niche appeal and small library
- −1-bit black-and-white screen
- −No backlight
What can it play?
Emulation performance by platform, based on real-world testing.
Full specifications
Hardware
- Chipset (SoC)
- STM32 (ARM Cortex-M7)
- CPU
- ARM Cortex-M7 @ 180 MHz
- GPU
- None (1-bit display controller)
- RAM
- 16 MB
- Storage
- 4GB internal
- Weight
- 86 g
- Dimensions
- 74 x 76 x 9 mm
- Cooling
- Passive
Display
- Size
- 2.7″
- Resolution
- 400x240
- Panel
- Sharp Memory LCD (1-bit, reflective, no backlight)
- Refresh rate
- 30 Hz
- Touchscreen
- No
Battery & Connectivity
- Battery
- 740 mAh
- Real-world life
- ~8 hours
- Wi-Fi
- Wi-Fi
- Bluetooth
- Bluetooth
- Ports
- USB-C, 3.5mm headphone
- Expandable storage
- No
Controls
- Analog sticks
- 0
- D-pad
- Yes
- Face buttons
- Yes
- Analog triggers
- No
- Gyroscope
- Yes
- Hall effect sticks
- No
Software & custom firmware
Ships with: Playdate OS
Also plays natively: Playdate games (Catalog & Season), Sideloaded indie games
No third-party custom firmware tracked for this device.
Our verdict
Made by software studio Panic, the Playdate is unlike anything else: a pocket-sized yellow handheld with a crisp 1-bit Sharp Memory display and, famously, a fold-out hand crank used as a genuine control in many games. Its 'Season' model delivered new games week by week, and an easy SDK has fostered a lively indie scene. It is niche and monochrome, but as a joyful, original device it is a small marvel.