MagicX XU Touch One will be a uniquely welcome Nintendo DS Emulation Handheld

MagicX recently revealed their upcoming handheld roadmap which included the XU Touch One. These I assume renders of the handheld have begun to surface and this could be a pretty exciting handheld. We will address the specs we have so far as well as pricing for the new handheld.

We have a lot of details surprisingly about the XU Touch One which include the A133P 1.8GHz processor 4-core A53 chipset with optional 1GB of 2GB DDR4 RAM. I’m not sure if it’s because this is a young company causing us to get so much info upfront but thank you. If the A133P sounds familiar it’s the chipset currently used in the TrimUI Smart Pro which has recently seen lots of love from the development community.

If you are wondering what your eyes will be staring at as far as the screen goes we are looking at a 960×640 3:2 vertical 3.5” screen. The screen seems primed for Nintendo DS Emulation though the DS has a 4:3 aspect ratio that is 256×192 for each screen. This will likely have bezels to makeup the difference if you don’t want to stretch the screen. Something of note here is the default resolution of the XU Touch One being 3.75x’s the resolution based on pixel density compared to the Nintendo DS screen. This will take burden off the emulation software for upscaling.

When it comes to Retro Gaming this screen layout should be more than perfect for vertical shooter emulation. Though unneeded in most retro system when emulating I think a second joystick where the start and select buttons are would have been a welcome addition. It may have made vertical shooters more natural to the layout of an arcade cabinet. But it’s a handheld so I digress. They did however give us a hall-stick for the solo placement so we shouldn’t get stick drift.

I’m sure you are curious about pricing as some handheld pricing is getting out of control. One of the things I like about MagicX though may be due to it being a newer company is their willingness to release handhelds that are high quality and affordable to almost everyone. Previously releasing the XU10 and recent XU Mini M which are each quality designed and built handhelds. The MagicX XU Touch One will pre-sale for $60 or $65 depending on how much RAM you chose for your device.

For the R&D that likely went into this handheld I expected pricing to be roughly 30% more than it is. They didn’t have an opportunity to “barrow” the design and specs from any competitors current lineup which normally increases cost. If it stays with the quality of MagicX’s current handhelds this will be a great deal. Also if this pops off expect similar handhelds from Anbernic and Powkiddy if they don’t get their teams to work and release ahead of MagicX now that we have the specs.

The only thing I’m not looking forward to is MagicX’s completely locked down and featureless operating system. This might be great for people new to the hobby but after a week with a handheld even the newest of enthusiasts want to be able to make the backend changes to enhance their personal experience.

I wonder if MagicX is looking for someone to review these units pre-production? MagicX if you’re listening I know a guy!

What do you think of the MagicX XU Touch One? Are you brave enough to be seen in public with a handheld like this?

GameOn

CellPhish

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