Apple Pocket Pi Emulator

Today it’s not terribly complicated to construct a Raspberry Pi-powered emulation setup for your TV or computer monitor, but making it portable and stylish takes a bit more finesse. As a great example of that, the Apple Pocket Pi is a homemade retro gaming console based on the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, complete with a 3D-printed housing and controls.

The device features a directional pad as well as six buttons on the front and a pair of shoulder buttons for input. A 2.4-inch 320x240 screen is used to view the action, while an amplified mono speaker plays the corresponding sound. A 3000mAh battery provides around four hours of play on a single charge, and a USB-C port keeps everything topped off.

Inside, a custom PCB mounts the buttons, Pi Zero 2W, and display, along with a series of daughter boards that take care of charging and amplified sound output. There’s also a power switch, volume potentiometer, and an LED that indicates when the battery is low. Per the restricted space, some interesting soldering techniques were employed in the build. These include soldering the Pi directly to the main PCB without headers, and using a support to attach the screen at the correct height.

Printing and construction instructions are nicely laid out in the project write-up, and the PCB files are available for download you want to build your own. The example build features a nice purple-and-blue motif, but you could, of course, print it in whatever color you want!