Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum handhelds are coming, but not until April

If your first computer was a Commodore 64 or a ZX Spectrum, two pocket-sized versions are on the way. Blaze Entertainment, working under license from Retro Games Ltd, is making THEC64 Handheld and TheSpectrum Handheld. They were supposed to launch October 15, but Blaze pushed both to April 22, 2027.

What you get

Each handheld has a 4.3-inch IPS screen, a d-pad, face and shoulder buttons, a headphone jack and a microSD slot, with a 2,000mAh battery rated for 3 hours or more. Each comes with 25 licensed games built in, including Manic Miner and Skool Daze on the Spectrum model, and you can load more from a microSD card. There's no cartridge slot.

Price

Blaze plans a standard version of each, plus a pricier collector's edition with a carry case and a reprint of a classic magazine, Zzap!64 for the C64 and Crash for the Spectrum, limited to 2,000 units per machine.

Should you wait?

Yes. Nobody has reviewed final hardware yet, and emulation quality, button feel and game selection will decide whether these are worth it. The slip to April gives Blaze time to get it right, and gives you time to see what reviewers say.

The Radazoid take

The C64 was the computer a lot of us learned to type on, mostly so we could type LOAD and wait. And wait. And wait some more while the tape drive screeched. A version that boots in seconds and fits in a coat pocket is a little bit of a miracle.

The catch with these retro boxes is always the game list. Twenty-five built-in games sounds like a lot until you realize your favorite isn't one of them. Check the list when it's final, and keep your expectations at eight-bit levels. That's half the fun anyway.