The Octopus-Packing Multi-Functional High Boy Aims to Beat the Flipper Zero
Built-in Wi-Fi gives the High Boy an edge over the competition, and an open source release has been promised post-crowdfunding.
A small Brazilian startup is looking to offer some competition to the popular Flipper Zero electronics multitool with the High Boy, a gadget that looks like a knockoff Apple iPod but offers a wealth of capabilities — and which, High Code says, will be released under an open source license.
"High Boy isn't just another gadget; it's a complete platform for creativity, electronics, and security," claims co-creator Vinícius Pinheiro of High Code's inaugural device. Developed in Brazil, it combines the power of multiple technologies in a compact, expandable, and educational device. What started as a personal garage project evolved into a mission. It's a pro-level, 100% open-source tool, created for anyone who believes knowledge should be accessible."
The device's iPod-esque design is dominated by a 2" color LCD display, beneath which is a five-way control button plus a back button. There are general-purpose input/output (GPIO) pins exposed to one side, including access to SPI, I2C, and UART buses, and a microSD Card slot at the other. At the top is an infrared transmitter/receiver, and at the bottom a USB Type-C port for charging the internal battery and data transfer.
Given the project's obvious inspiration in the Flipper Devices Flipper Zero, there's no surprise to find plenty of wireless connectivity options in the internal hardware: an Espressif ESP32-S3 provides integrated single-band 2.4GHz Wi-Fi connectivity, there's Bluetooth, Near-Field Communication (NFC), and sug-gigahertz radios — and talk of a stretch goal to add LoRa connectivity too.
Naturally, there's also an answer to Flipper Zero's animated dolphin avatar: Octobit, an animated octopus. "Just like the High Boy, he's a master of multi-functionality," Pinheiro explains of the choice. "Each of his 8 tentacles does something different. And yes, we're nerds. The name is a pun: 8 tentacles = 8 bits = 1 byte."
The project is currently crowdfunding on Kickstarter, with rewards starting at $140 — a claimed 12% discount over a planned $160 retail price. All hardware is expected to begin delivery in July next year, while a beta release of the High Boy firmware has already been published to GitHub under an unspecified license.