If you haven't heard of Wonder before, don't worry, neither have I!

This cryptic new device comes from a secretive tech startup of the same name based in Los Angeles. Unlike gaming smartphones like the Red Magic or the Black Shark or even the Android-powered OUYA home console, the Wonder plans to be something different, somewhat bridging the two...

Their eventual product will consist of a smartphone, dock, controller, and access to software services that will allow access to games and other media features. What about the Nintendo Switch competitor part? That has to do, as you might have guessed, with the dock. The latter will allow gamers to enjoy their game on big screens by placing the smartphone into the dedicated slot on the controller. While Android-based, the smartphone will run a custom version, called WonderOS, allowing the company to overclock the phone’s graphics processor to beam the display to a television when docked, à la Nintendo Switch.

The Verge had an exclusive first look at a prototype of the device and described it as "what looks like a standard Android smartphone [...], sleek, square cornered, and sports a massive screen". Unfortunately, no pictures were available at the time of writing.

The company has quite the ambitious vision for its product, hoping that the Wonder device "will be the centerpiece of an entertainment ecosystem for gamers and gadget heads who are fans of forward-looking tech".

However, with all that has been revealed, there is still a lot of information missing about this ambitious device. For one, it does not even have an official name. No news about the device's and services' cost whatsoever nor did they reveal the specs of the phone itself. What we do know is that Wonder is on track to come out next year.

Andy Kleinman, the CEO and co-founder of secretive startup Wonder, further adds that the phone might not even be developed and branded by Wonder either. “We’re talking with companies that are making high-end flagships about putting out software on them, similar to Roku,” he says, speaking to The Verge. “It’s more like an OS, which is why we can’t say that anyone with a smartphone can do this. There are still ways that we can have other devices be Wonder-enabled and there are certain threshold of specs that you have to have.”

“The Switch did a really good job starting with the idea of portability, but there’s a lot of limitations on the Switch,” he says. "With Wonder, think about building a portable gaming and entertainment type platform that can deliver any type of game.”

Kleinman says further added that his team has been in talks with Valve about Steam support and game streaming. With the recent announcement of the upcoming Steam Link app which will allow gamers to stream their Steam library games to any smarthphone running the app, this might entice a wider audience. In the interview with The Verge, Kleinman said that his team is in talks with game developers about making Wonder-optimized versions of console and PC titles that run on Android and support both controller and touchscreen play.

As such, rather than being an actual hardware, Wonder aims to build a mobile-console hybrid gaming ecosystem that is potentially not restricted to one hardware manufacturer but available to Wonder-ready devices that suits the user's needs and unleash further power with its peripherals.

“What we’re doing is not super hard. We’re not trying to create Magic Leap-style revolutionary tech nobody has ever seen,” Kleinman says confidently. “We’re just trying to put together a great experience, in the way Apple does it.”

I wonder... is it reminiscent to the OUYA to you or do you think that the time has come for a true Android-based home console-handheld hybrid?

SOURCE

 

[Foxi4]

1. The only reason why vertical isn't ergonomic is because you are not using the grip or switch pro controller. Or have large hands.

2. That's a personal problem. You must have large hands. Switch fits me fine.

3. Already solved by using Switch pro controller for a dpad.

4. I personally hate shoulder triggers. They are obnoxious inclusions from the 360/PS3 generation. The Switch pro controls are basically the PS2 dual shock, the quitessential game controller ever made.

5. Large hands again.

The Pro Controller is something I must invest in, it's very comfortable and I'm more than willing to pay extra in order to improve my gaming experience. As for the vertical arrangement, it's inherently uncomfortable due to ergonomic reasons. In order to travel between the stick and buttons in a vertical arrangement, one must either slide their hand across the grip and lose contact with the bumpers *or* bend their thumb at the joint - this inherently causes muscle strain. This is why most controllers use a diagonal arrangement - this allows moving the entire thumb which is meant to swivel at the base, that kind of movement requires less travel, causes much less strain and maintains contact with the bumpers. Like I said, there's a reason why the vertical arrangement is rare and usually only seen on portable/mobile devices, it's not a stylistic choice. Your thumbs have a certain range of movement and the vertical arrangement puts them to an unnecessary test, so to speak.

 

[Deleted member 420418]

lmao it looks so bulky.

 

[Kigiru]

Give it a maximum ~150$ price and maybe...

I mean, it's a fucking android so there will be no good games, but maybe using it as dedicated emulator box would be at least possible?

 

[Bladexdsl]

but maybe using it as dedicated emulator box would be at least possible?

if your going to do that you might as well get the shield!

 

[Kigiru]

if your going to do that you might as well get the shield!

Welp, that's also a thing. But i just try to look positive at this... thing. At least it has some kind of purpose.

 

[Jayenkai]

At a time when everyone's clambering to hack their Switch, so they can play "homebrew", it amazes me that more people aren't happy to go for something like this.
This device is ALREADY UNLOCKED, you don't need to hack it and risk knackering your £250+ investment.

Contrary to popular belief, there's oodles of games available for Android that allow controllers to work. True, a lot (LOT) of things are meant for touchscreens, but as someone who plays Android games solely on a GPDxd, and previously the OUYA, I can absolutely 100% verify that pretty much all the emulators and "homebrew" you can imagine, are all ready and waiting, and controller capable.

For me, I'm quite content with my GPDxd, but .. assuming this is nice and cheap, I'd definitely recommend such a device. Let your Switch be a Switch, and play all your roms on this.

Or get a GPDxd, with it's lovely 3DS-alike form-factor.. Either/or!

 

[Deleted User]

Hopefully this is released
Thats a sexy controler and i want it
My current controller can switch between android and ios mode but its a 1 hander
It has 2 triggers 6 buttons a joystick and gyroscope but its non rechargeable and eats my batterys
Also not very sexy looking

 

[pedro702]

At a time when everyone's clambering to hack their Switch, so they can play "homebrew", it amazes me that more people aren't happy to go for something like this.
This device is ALREADY UNLOCKED, you don't need to hack it and risk knackering your £250+ investment.

Contrary to popular belief, there's oodles of games available for Android that allow controllers to work. True, a lot (LOT) of things are meant for touchscreens, but as someone who plays Android games solely on a GPDxd, and previously the OUYA, I can absolutely 100% verify that pretty much all the emulators and "homebrew" you can imagine, are all ready and waiting, and controller capable.

For me, I'm quite content with my GPDxd, but .. assuming this is nice and cheap, I'd definitely recommend such a device. Let your Switch be a Switch, and play all your roms on this.

Or get a GPDxd, with it's lovely 3DS-alike form-factor.. Either/or!

why would you get this? what this does there are countless better options already, not to mention most mainstream games that come to the switch dont even come out on android, android games are 90%+ touch based and they are all preety much crap, with very very rare exceptions there isnt a single android exclusive game even buying this thing for.

if you want a cheap as hell emulation machine you just get a shield tv or a pi 3 really. or simply use your phone and use those controller adapters, it cant be worse than using that huge controller with your phone on top lol.

 

[MasterControl90]

It will never be a switch competotor but nothing stops it to be a good android console and media device.

 

[migles]

i WONDER how did this company didn't heard about OUYA and it's failure :C
how come someone invest so much money without thinking about what happened to them ?

 

[digipimp75]

Is it April 1st?

 

[Xzi]

I'm a Day 1 Switch owner. Day 0, really, since I had access to the platform pre-release. The joycons are a joke and the comfort level is only increased in portable mode because you can rest the tablet on your lap as you play, the physical arrangement or the size of the controllers doesn't magically change once you attach them to the tablet. In fact, you lose a bit of the grip that was otherwise provided by the controller holder. I'm not the only one saying this, by the way - people are actively engaged in designing and printing various Joycon extensions, it's such a concern that Benheck outright moved the analog stick altogether on his unit. Not everyone's Benheck though, so some people are stuck with what they've got, and what they've got is sub-optimal.

I'm surprised that nobody mentions it's still better than the 3DS controller layout by quite a bit. The "controllers" on 3DS have even less surface space to work with than joycons, you get a flat disc and a nub totaling exactly zero real thumbsticks, and the trigger buttons are side to side as well as being flimsy and small. Despite all that I have no problem playing my N2DS with big hands, and I have even less issue with Switch's joycons. People really over-exaggerate the flaws and act like ergonomics are everything, but if that was the case, Shield Portable would've outsold Switch.

 

[Seriel]

Seems cool and all but, why android? I know there isn't much else as far as budget gaming platforms go, but most games on Android are either geared towards phones or just not very good in general.

 

[Veho]

i WONDER how did this company didn't heard about OUYA and it's failure :C
how come someone invest so much money without thinking about what happened to them ?

They probably also heard about the Nvidia Shield and its success. The Ouya is not the only game-oriented Android device out there, and some of them are pretty successful too.

 

[Jayenkai]

i WONDER how did this company didn't heard about OUYA and it's failure :C
how come someone invest so much money without thinking about what happened to them ?

OUYA's aim was to give indie developers a console to code for.
Over 900 developers hopped on board, everyone from Sega to Me, and released over a thousand games, and some of those indie developers have gone on to become bigger, more famous, and more profitable in the world of Steam/Nindies/etc, simply BECAUSE they got that single chance to actually release something "properly" on OUYA.

Given the OUYA didn't actually "Do" standard Android/GooglePlay/etc, (The device came out before AndroidTV was even a thing) the fact that it single-handedly managed to gain over 1000 games in its own unique library, over just the course of it's short 3 (I think?) year lifespan, I'd say that that's one heck of a decent success.

The world counts OUYA as a failure because it didn't sell well, and IMO it didn't sell well because too many people bought it expecting a cheap "AAA - Home Console", but it definitely wasn't that.
That's down to marketing. OUYA failed in a LOT of marketing ways. ... A LOT!!! .. ... WAY MORE than you're thinking!!!
But as a device, and as far as what it aimed to do vs what it did do, I'd say it was 100% successful in the original intention.

It'd be nice if a newer device could try again, and get it right, and if nobody ever attempts it then that'll never happen.
.. But yeah, I'm not sure I'd want to try throwing money into such a thing, either. It's gonna be really really hard to get it just right.

And AtariBox... LOL!!! Pricepoint is WAY off!

 

[LightyKD]

If these guys wanted to make any impact, they wpuld be smart and buy the Wonderswan name... just saying.

 

[froggestspirit]

Awesome, I've always loved fruit ninja over Super mario odyssey, splatoon 2, mario kart 8 deluxe, future pokemon title... Etc. Step aside switch!

 

[MasterControl90]

i WONDER how did this company didn't heard about OUYA and it's failure :C
how come someone invest so much money without thinking about what happened to them ?

Ouya wasn't bad but its failure can be found in three things:
1. It was released too late making it a bit outdated compared to other android boxes;
2. It lacked the play store;
3. It pretended to register a credit card just to access the main menu (fixed when too late).

In a nutshell, very late release and stupid corporate choices ruined it but in the end it was a good product.

Generally speaking, an Android console can be successful (just look at gpd XD series) and I believe that a really polished one, with up to par hardware and optimization, play store option and no corporate bullshit, can actuatually delivery what ouya didn't. Will this be the one? Who knows...

 

[netovsk]

I mean, full PC (Steam) game streaming is coming to Android soon for free, and there's always emulators, but everybody already has an Android phone. Buy an 8BitDo controller with connecting stand for your phone, and bam, it's the exact same as this "Wonder." Most phones have display output, too.

Yeah I got the SN30 Pro with the stand, it's a wonder. Awesome controller both build-quality and feature-wise.

 

[Yepi69]

Well, for starters they're using a Gamesir controller so consider the console to be a flop from day one.