See how the Playdate’s crank cranks in new teardown
Photo: iFixit The Playdate is one of the most interesting pieces of new gaming hardware in years, with a fun, colorful design that evokes old handhelds like the Game Boy and a unique crank for interacting with games.
And thanks to the good folks at iFixit (to whom Panic sent a Playdate specifically for disassembly purposes), we've now gotten a good look inside at the upcoming handheld - and how that crank actually works.
Most of the internal pieces more or less track with what you'd expect from a diminutive console: a 2.74Wh battery (about a quarter of the size of an iPhone 12), an LCD display, and an easily replaced headphone jack.
Photo: iFixitBut the star of the show is, of course, the crank, which uses a Hall effect sensor....