I recently did a brief overview of the TrimUI Brick Hammer over on SteamDeckHQ. I talk about how it compares to the original Brick (spoiler alert: it’s basically the same) and how I feel its status as an everyday carry king has only been reinforced over time.
I also spend a bit of time talking about how the device feels like a celebration of the metal handheld era in essence.
“The TrimUI Brick Hammer feels like a celebration of the original Brick. It keeps the same screen, specs, battery, and overall experience, but wraps everything in a full aluminum body. It adds a level of class and premium feel typically reserved for higher-end devices, and the Brick has more than earned that status among its peers.”
With that, I have a few additional thoughts.
Additional Thoughts
The Brick Hammer feels like a celebration of metal handhelds and the appeal that comes with each of their releases. It might even be the only device that has truly earned its status as a metal handheld, which sounds a little strange to say at first.
We see devices get metal shells pretty regularly, usually once they’ve proven popular or when manufacturers know they’re sitting on something people will buy. The RG Nano sold out completely, the RG477M was the go to 4:3 retro handheld before the RG477V showed up, and the Analogue Pocket still stands as one of the most fully featured FPGA handhelds out there.
The TrimUI Brick Hammer is different. It launched, was widely praised, and then got an update that feels more like a deluxe version of the same device rather than a replacement. That’s rare, and it works.
Maybe I’m biased. I tend to go for metal whenever I can. The Miyoo Mini is one of my favorite handhelds ever released. It’s small, games look great on it, and OnionOS makes everything feel clean and intuitive. I liked it so much I ended up getting a custom metal shell for it and turned it into the avatar for this site. If you ever see the site out in the wild, check the avatar. That’s the one.
Anyway, check out the overview. It’s a nice reminder of how good the TrimUI Brick already is, while showing how the Brick Hammer builds on it without losing what made it work in the first place.
