So there’s good news and bad news for folks who’ve been following the development of the Smach Z handheld gaming PC for the past four years. The good news is that, as promised, Smach is showing off an alpha prototype at Embedded World this week.
The bad news is that it’s a non-working prototype.
The company has finalized the specs, updated the processor to a Ryzen V1605B with Radeon Vega 8 graphics, designed a motherboard and daughter board, and created a case prototype. But the whole thing is tucked away behind glass at Embeded World, where the folks at Computer Base got to look (but not touch).
That said, we now have the most accurate idea to date of what the finished product will look like if and when it ships.
Smach has also confirmed that the Smach Z will have a retail price of $699, while the Smach Z Pro (with a 5MP camera and twice the memory and storage) will sell for $899.
Both models will have a 6 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel touchscreen display with touchpads and gaming buttons on the sides. The Smach Z should support Windows 10 or Linux and it’s designed first and foremost as a gaming machine: there’s no physical keyboard.
Other features include USB Type-A, Type-C and micro USB ports, an SD card reader, a headset jack, and WiFi. It even has a full-sized DisplayPort output.
The Smach Z project got its start as a concept device called the SteamBoy in 2014, and after a few false starts, Smach launched a crowdfunding campaign for the device in 2016.
The many delays and setbacks that have affected the project have led some to wonder whether it’s some sort of scam. With Smach finally showing off something closer to the final design, it certainly looks like the company is trying to bring the Smach Z to market. And with AMD’s Ryzen 1605B processor, it could offer 2-3 times the gaming performance of the upcoming GPD Win 2, which is probably its closest rival.
But it remains to be seen how big a market there is for $699 handheld gaming systems when you can buy a Nintendo Switch for half the price.
Awesome! either this or gpd win 2! With a market price of $699 it seem right from a performance standpoint! Much better than GPD Win 2
The GPD Win 2 is not perfect, but at least it is a known value. The Smach Z is still vaporware and with its thermals will need a huge fan and an enormous battery in order to have any kind of run time.
GPD win 2 definitely isnt great at $649. Nintendo Switch is so good and it priced well. These PC handheld devices look ridiculous at those market prices!
You may be forgetting you need to shell out around 60 bucks per Switch game. With these PC handhelds you have a massive list of great games readily available to play even when you’ve never bought a PC game before.
Plus you can use them for so much more than the Switch. Use it as a full PC and connect a keyboard and mouse as well as an external display, bring it to lans, browse the web – why is there not even a web browser on the switch is what I can’t wrap my head around.
This absolutely. Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft all tend to sell their consoles below margin or with a very smal margin since the main income comes from the (overpriced) games afterwards. GPD doesn’t have that advantage, they literally make 0$ on game sales so they need to ensure a justified margin for their console. Comparing normal consoles with the GPD win in terms of pricing is unfair.
Agreed, except for that point on Nintendo. Unlike the others, Nintendo tends to make a killing on each console sold since their stuff tends to be overpriced. Nintendo’s probably the only console manufacturer these days who make plenty of profit from both consoles and games (and accessories).
It’s unfortunate that they don’t have a functional prototype. Well, I’m still keeping an eye on this since Ryzen in a handheld would be pretty amazing.
I glad GPD win 2 is a thing just in case
If this actually comes out and doesn’t melt, I’d get it. The price is a bit on the high side though.
Well I doubt GPD will want to keep their price so high if smach z release! : D
The Smach Z has been in development for 4 YEARS now.
And they could NOT even in that time develop a SINGLE working unit.
They’ve been deceptive and blatantly lied about the product and the progress many times, that they’ve lost the tiny amount of trust and excitement of the initial. Remember the PGS Handheld?
I’m not saying its a scam, but if I had to make a wager it would be borderline between a scam and lazy development. I feel sorry for the backers who weren’t knowledgeable enough to spend their money on something better like the Nintendo Switch, Nvidia Shield, GPD XD, GPD Win… or the phenomenal GPD Win 2.
Very much agreed. Smach Z finally updated their FB after many months with a picture of the boards at Embedded World 2018. Funny thing is Smach Z did not post the picture of their casing from the same venue. Quite a number of people have already caught on to the casing’s oddities such as the recessed buttons, surface striations, rough edges and vent imperfections as if it was still made with 3D printing. Location for the camera is also in question. Back to the boards, there does not seem to be any WiFi+BT module nor any slot for the WiFi+BT module. And I have not even talked about the LTE part yet.
They don’t see the Smach Z as competition or even any kind of threat, I think according to wade. By the time Smach Z releases, GPD could already be working on a Win 3 or they would have sold enough Win 2s to start working on Win 3 soon after. Also, the Win still has other use cases, so even if the Smach Z is more powerful the Win 2 has more utitlity.
Is that “non-working prototype” or more appropriately a mock-up? Notice the same recessed buttons as in the earlier photos. Probably there is nothing inside the casing. Far from being finished. Can expect more missed deadlines.
Lmao! Yea I doubt will make it on time
Look closely at the case especially the defects in the vents and the rough edges. This still looks like its 3D printed. Can you find the location for the camera? This is not the final production case.
If the Coleco Chameleon taught us anything, it’s that having a shell ready to go is like 75% of the whole thing. Disappointing to hear there is no working prototype yet, though they’ve been waiting for this processor for a while. I wonder if this case and the two PCBs are really indicative of any progress as they may have to be reworked. As it is, without a working prototype, they’ll still have a lot of work to do on their thermal management and how it works in the case. A lot of unexpected issues can arise. It may or may not be common, but even the Nintendo Switch has been reported to warp slightly and I suspect it was tested quite a bit.
I probably won’t get either because the prices are so high, but I think I’d honestly still rather have a Win 2 over this. If that Ryzen gets decent battery life and doesn’t run insanely hot, it’s almost perfect spec-wise, but I’d rather have a traditional d-pad somewhere on the device than the Steam-style touchpads. Plus, the keyboard makes the Win 2 more useful for things other than gaming, and the clamshell makes it slightly more portable than this thing, which looks to be the size of a small skateboard. Probably going to stick with my Vita either way, though I’m probably the only person who’s saying that specifically.
Why downvote? I rather sticky with my switch or buy that HP envy laptop
If I can’t put it in my pocket -it’s hardly a “handheld”. “Portable” at best
“”it certainly looks like the company is trying to bring the Smach Z to market””
AHAHAHAHA
You forgot that they make this in the past? Why you don’t call this scam a scam?
That is silly sized, way too big for a handheld.
Something like a portable DVD player size with a separate controller would make more sense.
Let it release for more options in the PC handheld market.
This one needs a looong custom pocket.
Took forever to devolop. Just recently lost the manufacturer of the board. Have prototype. This is the same as several months ago (empty shell)
Have new motherboard and since no eorking prototype it has not been tested. People expecting this in may will be disapointed again.
Dude I literally think the same thing! Backers will be pissed
Just look the dragonbox pyra… 4 Years… Just saying