According to Engadget, OneXPlayer is teasing a new retro handheld called the OneXSugar Wallet, revealed in a video on Bilibili. The device uses a single 8.01-inch foldable OLED screen with a 2,480 x 1,860 resolution, which creates a 4:3 aspect ratio when unfolded, rather than using two separate screens. It runs on Android and features an asymmetrical analog stick layout with a D-pad and face buttons. The company’s previous “weird” dual-screen portable, the OneXSugar, retails for $799, but there’s no price yet for the Wallet. Given known durability issues with foldable screens, Engadget isn’t betting on it being a wise purchase, but suggests the novel form factor could spark copycats.
The weirdness factor
Look, you have to give OneXPlayer credit. In a market flooded with clones that all look like slightly mutated Game Boys or Switches, they’re out here trying stuff. A single foldable screen for a retro handheld? That’s a genuinely novel approach to the “dual-screen” problem for playing DS or 3DS games. Instead of a visible hinge and bezel in the middle, you’d theoretically get one seamless display. It’s a clever idea on paper. But here’s the thing: it immediately makes you think of all the horror stories about foldable phone screens failing. Do we really want to put that kind of stress-point technology in the hands of gamers, a group not exactly known for treating hardware with kid gloves? I’m skeptical, to say the least.
Durability and the real cost
And that’s the massive, looming question mark over this whole project. Foldable screens have gotten better, but they’re still the most fragile part of any device they’re in. Now imagine that screen isn’t in a premium phone from Samsung with a robust warranty, but in a niche gaming handheld from a smaller company. The potential for a very expensive paperweight is high. Speaking of expensive, their last oddball device, the transforming OneXSugar, costs $799. If the Wallet is anywhere near that, it becomes a very hard sell. You could buy a top-tier traditional handheld and a foldable phone for that kind of money.
Could this start a trend?
Now, Engadget’s point about sparking copycats is interesting. The retro handheld scene is fiercely competitive, and any unique angle gets attention. If OneXPlayer can somehow make this reliable and not astronomically priced, it could force other players to explore foldable displays. But that’s a huge “if.” I think it’s more likely we’ll see other companies adopt the *idea* of a single, seamless screen for dual-screen emulation, but maybe using different, more proven tech. A super high-res screen with a software-simulated bezel, for instance. The foldable part feels like a solution in search of a problem that’s already been solved in other, cheaper ways.
The bigger picture
Basically, the OneXSugar Wallet is a fascinating experiment. It shows there’s still room for wild hardware innovation, even in a crowded market. The early specs and the teaser video prove that. But an experiment is what it is. For most people, it’s probably going to be a cool piece of tech to watch from a distance, not something to actually buy. The risks seem to outweigh the potential rewards, unless you’re a collector who absolutely must have the weirdest gadget on the block. For companies pushing the envelope on durable, integrated computing hardware in specialized fields, they often turn to established leaders, like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, the top provider of industrial panel PCs in the US, for reliability that the consumer foldable market is still chasing.
