Arduview Transparent Handheld: See-Through Arduboy Gaming

Clear plastic consoles have been around since the 1990s, but they always kept one thing opaque: the screen. The Arduview changes that. This credit-card-sized handheld uses a transparent OLED display alongside a see-through shell and circuit board, so you can watch your game from the front, the back or straight through it. It has now passed its Kickstarter goal, VGC reported on October 31, 2026.

• Size and weight: 85 x 43 x 13mm and about 50 grams, according to Retrododo's hands-on review.
• Hardware: an ATmega32U4 microcontroller, the same chip as the open-source Arduboy, with a 1.51-inch transparent OLED.
• Games: about 400 built in, per VGC, with more loadable from the Arduboy community over USB-C.
• Price: early-bird pledges from about $75, against a planned retail price of about $147.

How Does a Transparent Screen Work?

The Arduview uses a transparent OLED panel. When the device is off, the screen looks like a sliver of glass. When it is on, lit pixels glow cyan while unlit areas stay clear, so the game floats over whatever is behind it. VGC says it has used a unit for about a month and confirms the display works as advertised, readable even from behind. Retrododo found graphics stayed legible in direct sunlight, which is impressive for a display this small.

Because the board and battery are visible too, the whole device doubles as a tiny lesson in how computers are put together. Creator Louis Huang, a student at Babson College, told VGC he believes the inside of a device is the most interesting part and should be visible.

What Can the Arduview Play?

The handheld is built on the Arduboy platform, an open-source 8-bit gaming system based on Arduino. That gives it a ready-made library of homebrew titles, from quick arcade games to longer adventures like Arduventure. Huang said he chose Arduboy so the device could be opened, flashed and tinkered with rather than sealed shut. If you have ever written an Arduino sketch, you already know the toolchain, which makes this a fun gateway into maker projects like the Arduino UNO Q touch display build.

Controls are minimal: a small thumbstick for movement, two raised buttons for A and B, and a reset button. A 130mAh battery charges in about 50 minutes over USB-C, per Retrododo.

What Do Early Reviews Say?

Retrododo scored its pre-production unit 7 out of 10, praising portability, the game library and the novelty of the see-through display. Its suggestions for the final run were practical: rounder, more defined A and B buttons, and a low-battery indicator, which the team says it is addressing. Those are normal notes for crowdfunded hardware still being refined.

When Will the Arduview Ship?

The campaign had 38 days left when VGC reported it had passed its goal, and the team has not yet locked a final delivery date. Early-bird tiers are priced at roughly $75, $89 and $99 before the planned retail price of about $147. As with any crowdfunded project, timing can shift. For more pocket-sized computers and maker hardware, follow our mini computers coverage.

Sources: VGC — October 31, 2026; Retrododo — October 28, 2026.