TRIMUI SMART PRO, Review: The retro console of the moment with PSP style

Today we will test the retro console TRIMUI SMART PRO in our analysis or review. An economical and very popular console.

The TRIMUI SMART PRO undoubtedly stands out for its low price, but also for its design, inspired by the PSP. It has a 4.96″ IPS screen in 16:9 format and as engine we have the Allwinner A133 Plus SoC, a Quad Core with Cortex-A53 cores running with a Linux operating system. A machine compatible with games in general up to 16 bit although it can handle simple 3D stuff. It also supports Portmaster games to some extent if we don’t demand too much.

Let’s see how this console performs and how it compares to the competition in the industry.

TRIMUI SMART PRO Details

Description

The small TRIMUI SMART PRO console is available in white, black and beige colors with a nice touch. This format offers us a PSP style distribution and has a 4.96″ IPS screen with 720p resolution. In the front area we find two speakers that give us basic audio. The system comes by default in the internal eMMC memory, but you can use the one you want from the microSD.

As for controls, on the front we have d-pad, two analog controllers with RGB lights and four buttons, we also have menu key, select and start. The rear buttons L1 and R1 and triggers L2 and R2, are simple, but by its geometry are comfortable to press.

In the upper area we have power, USB-C OTG and volume. In the lower area we have a microSD for OS or games. USB-C charging, audio jack, microphone and programmable FN key.

• SD cards: microSD slot for OS or games.
• Backup: Before modifying anything on the console, create a backup of the original SD card.
• NOTE: The default cards that come with the consoles are very bad and may stop working. We recommend other quality microSD cards like Samsung or Sandisk with high capacity.

Screen

The front screen is 4.96″ IPS 720p has a brightness sufficient for normal indoor use, the quality of colors, angles and contrast is correct. A screen that is ideal for emulating 16:9 games.

• Light output: Manual brightness / Good contrast / Display without light leakage.

Controls

As for the controls, we have two small analogs, but they are defended, but they work adequately. On the other hand, the crosshead is not bad, it could be better in diagonals. The front buttons are adequate, the triggers are quite comfortable to press, especially the inner ones. The volume controls are in the correct position, we have besides start and select the FN key for the mappable system.

System and performance

Software installed

We start the TRIMUI SMART PRO console and go through an automatic initial configuration phase. The operating system is a Closed Proprietary Linux running RetroArch which is the default for the emulators. Fortunately this console has a large community that develops as far as it can certain improvements.

Power and performance

In terms of power, the TRIMUI SMART PRO has an Allwinner A133Plus Quad Core chip, a low-priced integrated chip. This SoC integrates 4 Cortex-A53 CPUs at 1.8 GHz and in the graphics section integrates a PowerVR GE8300 GPU which is in the low range. An SoC manufactured in 28 nm keeps without thermal problems, but playing for a long time to heavy games can get hot to have no ventilation.

• Performance: Allwinner A133 is similar to the low-end Rockchip RK3326.
• Power: We can squeeze the system a little more in Apps > Max CPU.

Battery and temperature

The TRIMUI SMART PRO retro console has a simple 5000 mAh battery, which as we have found has an autonomy in normal use that can reach up to about 3 hours depending on the brightness. As we can see, the thermals are good, but it is a factor that depends on the game we run.

• Battery: Use in heavy 3D games 2 hours / Simple 2D games 3 hours.
• Charging: 7W maximum, somewhat slow.

Emulators and Streaming

Emulator Testing

The TRIMUI SMART PRO console has hardware that allows you to play very basic PSP titles, but in heavy games it drags quite a bit. But for the best experience, the ideal is to emulate 16bit in 16:9 format games. It can also be used with Portmaster which allows us to load simple PC games compiled for ARM processors, but it does not have as much compatibility as with Rockchip consoles, for example the POWKIDDY X55.

Test table

Game streaming

In the streaming games section it is possible to use Moonligth systems that we can find installed by default. To connect to the system we have Wifi 4 Bluetooth, quite limited compared to Wifi 5 for game streaming.

CONCLUSIONS AND PURCHASE LINK

Opinion

The retro console TRIMUI SMART PRO attracts attention for its PSP-style design for nostalgic people and for its adjusted price. It has a closed Linux system, but has a good community that offers some improvements. In terms of power, the SoC Quad Core Allwinner A133 Plus offers a decent performance for simple 16 bit emulators, but as we see in demanding PSP titles it falls short.

The ergonomics are quite good and the weight is adequate to reach it anywhere. We have simple speakers and a somewhat limited Wifi 4 adapter for use with streaming. The controls are acceptable and in general it feels good to use it with emulators, perhaps the crosshead could be better.

After testing the TRIMUI SMART PRO, we can say that this is a cheap and quite good looking console. However, it is short of power for emulation of demanding games, although it is saved a little by its community.

Where to buy

Rating