This ESP32 music player can swivel to become a GBA gaming handheld

Published Nov 5, 2026, 11:57 PM EST Simon is a Computer Science BSc graduate who has been writing about technology since 2014, and using Windows machines since 3.1. After working for an indie game studio and acting as the family's go-to technician for all computer issues, he found his passion for writing and decided to use his skill set to write about all things tech. Since beginning his writing career, he has written for many different publications such as WorldStart, Listverse, and MakeTechEasier. However, after finding his home at MakeUseOf in February 2019, he would eventually move on to its sister site, XDA, to bring the latest and greatest in Windows, Linux, and DIY electronics. Sign in to your XDA account Summary This Ingenious ESP32-S3 device is a music player that swivels into a GBA-style handheld. It uses a 4-layer PCB, touch click wheel, Hall sensors, PCM5102A DAC, microSD, 240x320 screen, and USB-C. It plays MP3/FLAC up to 96 kHz/24-bit, supports Wi-Fi SD transfer, and has a 2000 mAh battery. We've seen plenty of people make ESP32-based music players and handheld consoles in the past, but why make do with just one when you can combine both into the same device? That's exactly what one ingenious tinkerer did, and I really hope they release it to the public soon. This ESP32-S3 project is a music player and a GBA gaming handheld in one Flip the underside around, and you're good to go Over on the ESP32 subreddit, user leetcodedemon showed off their incredible little device. At first glance, it appears to be a more modern take on the iPod, with all your music shown on the top screen and a physical touch dial on the bottom. You can use the touch dial to choose the song you want. However, the device has a cool secret to it: the bottom panel can swivel. Turn it around, and it's no longer a touch dial, but a Game Boy-style controller. Now your music player is a GBA emulator, and all you had to do was flip the controls around. Very cool. Here's what's running under the hood: The board My own 4-layer PCB, 50 x 70 mm, assembled by JLCPCB The click wheel is six copper pads on the PCB itself, read by the S3's touch pins The DAC has its own regulator for headphone output Hall sensors tell it which side is up Specs ESP32-S3 (16 MB flash, 8 MB PSRAM), 240x320 screen, PCM5102A DAC, microSD MP3 and FLAC up to 96 kHz / 24 bit, songs can transfer to SD via Wi-Fi 2000 mAh, USB-C charging (Battery testing ongoing!) Right now, it's just a prototype, but leetcodedemon does hope to get some crowdfunding set up to get these made for other people. Be sure to head over to their Reddit thread and let them know what you think if you have any ideas on how it can be improved.