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ModRetro Chromatic

ModRetroHandheld console

Chromatic

Released December 2024.9Reviewcgmagonline.com/review/modretro-chromatic-reviewRead 21 October 2026Review dated January 9, 2025 says it released in mid-December. First reviews of finished units ran November 18 to 24, 2024 and ModRetro targeted Christmas 2024. The July 2025 relaunch added Gorilla Glass and Cloud and changed the hardware revision, per iFixit. This date is for the first edition. Last checked 21 October 2026.

Chip
FPGA-based system (part not published)
Screen size
2.56in
Refresh rate
Not available
Weight
175.77g

43 of 165 fields known.

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At a glance

Ports

  • USB-C
  • 3.5 mm audio
  • Other Link cable port
  • Other Cartridge slot

All specs

SourceCalculated

General

Series
Not available
Model numbers
CHROM-CLD-G, CHROM-CLD-S, CHROM-MID-G, CHROM-MID-S, CHROM-WAV-G, CHROM-WAV-S, CHROM-LEF-G, CHROM-LEF-S, CHROM-INF-G, CHROM-INF-S, CHROM-VLT-G, CHROM-VLT-S, CHROM-BBL-G, CHROM-BBL-S2Maker product pagemodretro.com/products/chromatic-tetris-bundle.jsRead 15 October 2026Shop SKUs, which follow the CHROM-XXX-Y model pattern in ModRetro's EU declaration of conformity. XXX is the colour and Y is G for the Gorilla Glass display or S for the Sapphire display.6Maker spec sheet (PDF)cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0829/2034/1806/files/Declaration_of_Conformity_Chromatic.pdfRead 15 October 2026EU declaration of conformity No. 15451709, dated 11/3/2024, names the apparatus model CHROM-XXX-Y.
GTIN / EAN
850064323450, 850064323467, 850064323405, 850064323320, 850064323436, 850064323351, 850064323412, 850064323337, 850064323399, 850064323238, 850064323429, 850064323344, 850064323443, 8500643233682Maker product pagemodretro.com/products/chromatic-tetris-bundle.jsRead 15 October 2026Barcodes of the 14 shop variants.
Announced
June 20248Press articleretrohandhelds.gg/modretro-chromatic-a-new-fpga-game-boyRead 15 October 2026Article dated June 7, 2024 reports the reveal and pre-orders. heise.de dated June 4, 2024 and Wikipedia also give June 2024.
Status
Available1Maker product pagemodretro.com/products/chromatic-tetris-bundleRead 21 October 2026Add to cart is live. Some colour and glass options show as sold out or unavailable at times.
Predecessor
Not available
Successor
Not available
Launch price (US)
$199.998Press articleretrohandhelds.gg/modretro-chromatic-a-new-fpga-game-boyRead 15 October 2026Pre-orders at $199 including Tetris for Chromatic. Press rounds to $199. Nintendo World Report says the original sapphire model sold for $199.99. The Gorilla Glass relaunch price is $199.99 on the maker page. USD, tax not included.
Launch price (EU)
Not available
Markets
AU, AT, BE, CA, CN, HR, CZ, DK, EE, FI, FR, DE, GR, HU, IE, IT, JP, LU, NL, NO, PL, PT, SI, ES, SE, CH, GB, US1Maker product pagemodretro.com/products/chromatic-tetris-bundleRead 21 October 2026The shop's country selector lists the destinations the store sells to: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States.
Colours
Cloud, Midnight, Wave, Leaf, Inferno, Volt, Bubblegum1Maker product pagemodretro.com/products/chromatic-tetris-bundleRead 21 October 2026Color options Cloud, Midnight, Wave, Leaf, Inferno, Volt and Bubblegum. The first run had six colours. Cloud came with the July 2025 relaunch. Display Material options are Gorilla Glass and Sapphire.
Device class
Retro handheld1Maker product pagemodretro.com/products/chromatic-tetris-bundleRead 21 October 2026Cartridge console that plays Game Boy and Game Boy Color games on FPGA hardware.
Form factor
Vertical3Owner's manualsupport.modretro.com/en_us/welcome-to-chromatic-know-your-chromatic-SJS5feAZgRead 15 October 2026Manual front and back diagrams show a portrait body with the screen above the controls, as on the original Game Boy.

Platform and software

OS family
Not available
OS at launch
Not available
Latest OS
Not available
Built-in game stores
Not available
Physical games
Game card1Maker product pagemodretro.com/products/chromatic-tetris-bundleRead 21 October 2026Compatible with Game Boy and Game Boy Color game cartridges and Chromatic game cartridges.
Backward compatibility
Game Boy, Game Boy Color and ModRetro Chromatic cartridges1Maker product pagemodretro.com/products/chromatic-tetris-bundleRead 21 October 2026Plays Original Cartridges. Fully compatible with original Game Boy, Game Boy Color and ModRetro Chromatic Cartridges. It does not play Game Boy Advance cartridges.
Upscaling and frame generation
Not available

Processor and graphics

Chip
FPGA-based system (part not published)1Maker product pagemodretro.com/products/chromatic-tetris-bundleRead 21 October 2026Data: FPGA-based architecture. ModRetro does not name the FPGA part and no teardown names it.
Chip brand
Other1Maker product pagemodretro.com/products/chromatic-tetris-bundleRead 21 October 2026The FPGA vendor is not named, so the chip brand is other.
Core configuration
Not available
CPU cores
Not available
Max CPU clock
Not available
Process
Not available
GPU
Not available
GPU architecture
Not available
GPU compute units
Not available
GPU max clock
Not available
GPU compute (claimed)
Not available
Power modes
Not available
Lowest TDP
Not available
Highest TDP
Not available
Highest TDP on battery
Not available
Custom TDP
Not available

Memory and storage

RAM
Not available
RAM type
Not available
RAM speed
Not available
Memory bandwidth
Not available
Storage
Not available
Storage type
Not available
Installed drive PCIe generation
Not available
Storage slots
Not available
M.2 slots
Not available
Memory card
None3Owner's manualsupport.modretro.com/en_us/welcome-to-chromatic-know-your-chromatic-SJS5feAZgRead 15 October 2026The 15-part list has no card slot.
Card speed class
Not available
Max card size
Not available

Display

Screen size
2.56in(6.5 cm)1Maker product pagemodretro.com/products/chromatic-tetris-bundleRead 21 October 2026Display: 160X144 pixel 2.56 inch IPS backlit LCD. Gorilla glass or sapphire front.
Native resolution
160 × 144px1Maker product pagemodretro.com/products/chromatic-tetris-bundleRead 21 October 2026160X144 pixel display.
Pixel density
84.1ppi
Aspect ratio
10:91Maker product pagemodretro.com/products/chromatic-tetris-bundleRead 21 October 2026No page prints the ratio. 160 x 144 pixels reduces exactly to 10:9, so the value is the exact reduction of the maker's resolution and not an estimate.
Panel type
IPS1Maker product pagemodretro.com/products/chromatic-tetris-bundleRead 21 October 2026IPS backlit LCD.
Native panel orientation
Landscape3Owner's manualsupport.modretro.com/en_us/welcome-to-chromatic-know-your-chromatic-SJS5feAZgRead 15 October 2026160 pixels wide by 144 tall, a landscape panel in a portrait body.
Screen surface
Not available
Touchscreen
Not available
Built-in display refresh modes
Not available
Max refresh rate
Not available
Adaptive sync
Not available
VRR lower limit
Not available
Brightness (SDR, claimed)
Not available
Peak brightness (HDR, claimed)
Not available
DCI-P3 coverage (claimed)
Not available
HDR formats
Not available
Second display
Not available

Controls

Stick sensor
Not available
Stick layout
Not available
Touch-sensitive sticks
Not available
Replaceable stick modules
Not available
Trigger sensor
Not available
Trigger stops
Not available
D-pad
Cross3Owner's manualsupport.modretro.com/en_us/welcome-to-chromatic-know-your-chromatic-SJS5feAZgRead 15 October 2026Maker product photos show a single cross-shaped D-pad.
Face button labels
Other3Owner's manualsupport.modretro.com/en_us/welcome-to-chromatic-know-your-chromatic-SJS5feAZgRead 15 October 2026Two operation buttons, A and B, as on the Game Boy, shown on the maker product photos. No X or Y button, so none of the four-button label sets fits. Stored as other.
Extra rear and grip buttons
03Owner's manualsupport.modretro.com/en_us/welcome-to-chromatic-know-your-chromatic-SJS5feAZgRead 15 October 2026The full part list shows only front controls, the menu button and the volume wheel. No rear buttons.
Trackpads
Not available
System-level remapping
Not available
System buttons
Power switch, Menu, Volume wheel, Start, Select3Owner's manualsupport.modretro.com/en_us/welcome-to-chromatic-know-your-chromatic-SJS5feAZgRead 15 October 2026Manual part list: Power Switch, Menu Button, Volume Control wheel. Start and Select appear in the hotkeys page.
Detached controller connection
Not available
Controller mouse sensor
Not available
Fingerprint
Not available

Motion and feedback

We could not find any of these 3 fields. Show them
Gyroscope
Not available
Rumble
Not available
RGB lighting
Not available

Measured

Brightness (measured)
Not available
HDR peak brightness (measured)
Not available
Contrast ratio (measured)
Not available
DCI-P3 coverage (measured)
Not available
Colour accuracy (measured Delta E)
Not available
PWM frequency (measured)
Not available
3DMark Time Spy graphics (measured)
Not available
3DMark Steel Nomad Light (measured)
Not available
3DMark Wild Life Extreme (measured)
Not available
Cinebench 2024 single-core (measured)
Not available
Cinebench 2024 multi-core (measured)
Not available
AnTuTu (measured)
Not available
Game frame rates (measured)
Not available
SSD sequential read (measured)
Not available
Memory card read (measured)
Not available
Battery runtime per test (measured)
Not available
Shortest gaming test runtime (measured)
Not available
Longest gaming test runtime (measured)
Not available
Video runtime (measured)
Not available
Full charge time (measured)
Not available
Power draw gaming (measured)
Not available
Fan noise per mode (measured)
Not available
Max fan noise (measured)
Not available
Fan noise while gaming (measured)
Not available
Back surface under load (measured)
Not available
Grips under load (measured)
Not available
Chip temperature while gaming (measured)
Not available
Stick tests (measured)
Not available
Speaker loudness (measured)
Not available
Weight (measured)
252g(8.9 oz)12Reviewtheshortcut.com/p/modretro-chromatic-transparent-reviewRead 15 October 2026The review lists the magnesium Chromatic at 252 g with three AA batteries inside. It lists the transparent model at 219 g. Retro Dodo's review of the transparent model gives about 250 g with batteries for the magnesium one.

Audio

Speakers
11Maker product pagemodretro.com/products/chromatic-tetris-bundleRead 21 October 2026Audio: Custom ultra-loud speaker module. The manual lists one built-in speaker.
Speaker direction
Bottom-firing10Reviewnintendoworldreport.com/review/69118/chromatic-hardware-reviewRead 15 October 2026Review: the speaker is located on the bottom alongside the power-level LED and the USB-C port.16Reviewtimeextension.com/reviews/modretro-chromatic-is-so-close-to-the-real-thing-youd-think-nintendo-made-itRead 21 October 2026Review: the bottom edge has a single speaker, a 3.5mm headphone jack and the USB-C connection.
Audio features
Not available
Microphones
Not available
3.5 mm jack
Yes1Maker product pagemodretro.com/products/chromatic-tetris-bundleRead 21 October 2026Audio: 3.5mm headphone output.

Ports and dock

Ports
TypeVersionCountSide
USB-CNot available1Bottom
3.5 mm audioNot available1Bottom
OtherLink cable port1Left
OtherCartridge slot1Not available
Source3Owner's manualsupport.modretro.com/en_us/welcome-to-chromatic-know-your-chromatic-SJS5feAZgRead 15 October 2026Manual part list: link cable port, 3.5mm headphone jack, USB-C port, game slot for GB, GBC and Chromatic cartridges. The IR port is an infrared window and is not a connector.9Reviewcgmagonline.com/review/modretro-chromatic-reviewRead 21 October 2026Review: USB-C is on the bottom next to the 3.5mm headphone jack.10Reviewnintendoworldreport.com/review/69118/chromatic-hardware-reviewRead 15 October 2026Review dated November 18, 2024: the link cable port is on the left-hand side. The speaker, power-level LED and USB-C port are on the bottom.
USB-C ports
1
USB4 or Thunderbolt
Not available
USB-C charging
Not available
Video out
Yes1Maker product pagemodretro.com/products/chromatic-tetris-bundleRead 21 October 2026Product details: USB-C lagless video out to PC, Mac, or Oculus Quest. The features list calls it native video streaming to a Mac or PC via USB-C. CGMagazine says it is used to capture gameplay in OBS, so this is a stream to a computer and not a signal for a TV or monitor. No output resolution is published, so display_output_max is left out.9Reviewcgmagonline.com/review/modretro-chromatic-reviewRead 21 October 2026Review: the USB-C port lets you capture gameplay footage via OBS capture software without extra hardware.16Reviewtimeextension.com/reviews/modretro-chromatic-is-so-close-to-the-real-thing-youd-think-nintendo-made-itRead 21 October 2026Review: the USB-C port acts as a video-out port as well as a power socket. It gives no resolution.
Max external display
Not available
External GPU
Not available
Dock
Not available
Max output through dock
Not available
Dock ports
Not available

Wireless

We could not find any of these 6 fields. Show them
Wi-Fi
Not available
Wi-Fi bands
Not available
Bluetooth
Not available
NFC
Not available
Cellular
Not available
Network
Not available

Battery and charging

Battery energy
Not available
Battery capacity
Not available
Claimed battery life
Not available
Battery life (claimed, min)
Not available
Battery life (claimed, max)
Not available
Wired charging
Not available
Charging standards
Not available
Charge 0 to 100 % (claimed)
Not available
Charge limit
Not available
Bypass charging
Yes4Owner's manualsupport.modretro.com/en_us/welcome-to-chromatic-power-options-ryhxbg_RxRead 15 October 2026Manual: while connected via USB-C, the device operates on external power without depleting the battery.
Charger in box
No1Maker product pagemodretro.com/products/chromatic-tetris-bundleRead 21 October 2026The packing list has no charger or cable.
Included charger
Not available

Cooling

Fans
015Spec databaseheldgames.com/devices/modretro-chromaticRead 15 October 2026Page lists the fan as none and the cooling as passive.
Vapor chamber
Not available
Custom fan curve
Not available

Build

Built-in kickstand
Not available
Dust and water rating
Not available
User-replaceable parts
AA batteries, D-pad, A and B buttons, Start and Select buttons, Menu button, IR window, On/Off switch, D-pad and button membranes7Maker product pagemodretro.com/products/mod-kitRead 15 October 2026Mod Kit, sold separately, lists D-Pad, A and B buttons, Start and Select buttons, Menu button, IR window, On/Off switch and membranes as swappable parts with no soldering. AA batteries sit behind a user-removable battery cover.13Reviewifixit.com/Guide/Disassembling+ModRetro+Chromatic+(Released+Mid-2025)/192722Read 15 October 2026iFixit disassembly guide for units from mid-2025 shows the battery cover opening by a lock for user access and parts held by tri-wing screws.

Dimensions and weight

Front and side, drawn to scale.

Dimensions
Width76.2Height132.08mm(3 × 5.2 in)1Maker product pagemodretro.com/products/chromatic-tetris-bundleRead 21 October 2026Specs: Console 5.2x3x1.2 inches. Width 3 in is 76.2 mm and height 5.2 in is 132.08 mm, exact conversions. The 1.2 in thickness has no stated maximum, so depth is left out.
Weight
175.77g(6.2 oz)1Maker product pagemodretro.com/products/chromatic-tetris-bundleRead 21 October 2026Specs: 6.2 oz, converted exactly to 175.77 g. iFixit's device page says console only. Reviewers measure about 250 g with three AA batteries inside, which is about 70 g more.
Weight without controllers
Not available

Certifications

Game compatibility programme
Not available
FCC ID
Not available
Other certifications
CE: Low Voltage Directive 2014/35/EU, EMC Directive 2014/30/EU and RoHS Directive 2011/65/EU, FCC Part 15 Class B, ISED license-exempt RSS5Owner's manualsupport.modretro.com/en_us/chromatic-compliance-fcc-SknfoCi0lRead 15 October 2026FCC page states Class B under Part 15. The ISED page states license-exempt RSS compliance. The CE page names the LVD, EMC and RoHS directives. The device contains an ESP32-MINI-1 radio module (FCC ID 2BMRH-ESP32MINI1), which is the module's ID. The console's own FCC ID is not published.

In the box

In the box
Chromatic, Chromatic Tetris cartridge, 3x AA ModRetro batteries1Maker product pagemodretro.com/products/chromatic-tetris-bundleRead 21 October 2026What's Included: Chromatic, Chromatic Tetris Cartridge, 3x AA ModRetro Batteries. What's in the box repeats the same three items.
Carrying case
None1Maker product pagemodretro.com/products/chromatic-tetris-bundleRead 21 October 2026The packing list has no case. The Chromatic Case is a separate accessory.

Warranty

Manufacturer warranty (source market)
1year1Maker product pagemodretro.com/products/chromatic-tetris-bundleRead 21 October 2026Page header: 1-YEAR WARRANTY. The shop is the US store in USD.

Compare with

Pick a handheld console to see both side by side. Differences are marked yellow.

More handheld console comparisons

Variants

Each variant lists only what differs from the specs above.

Model numberGTINLaunch price (US)Colours
CHROM-CLD-G850064323450$199.99Cloud
CHROM-CLD-S850064323467$299.99Cloud
CHROM-MID-G850064323405$199.99Midnight
CHROM-MID-S850064323320$299.99Midnight
CHROM-WAV-G850064323436$199.99Wave
CHROM-WAV-S850064323351$299.99Wave
CHROM-LEF-G850064323412$199.99Leaf
CHROM-LEF-S850064323337$299.99Leaf
CHROM-INF-G850064323399$199.99Inferno
CHROM-INF-S850064323238$299.99Inferno
CHROM-VLT-G850064323429$199.99Volt
CHROM-VLT-S850064323344$299.99Volt
CHROM-BBL-G850064323443$199.99Bubblegum
CHROM-BBL-S850064323368$299.99Bubblegum

Sources

We read 16 sources for this handheld console. The numbers match the markers in the sheet.

  1. Read 21 October 2026Backs 22 fields
  2. Read 15 October 2026Backs 3 fields
  3. Read 15 October 2026Backs 9 fields
  4. Read 15 October 2026Backs 1 field
  5. Read 15 October 2026Backs 1 field
  6. Read 15 October 2026Backs 1 field
  7. Read 15 October 2026Backs 1 field
  8. Read 15 October 2026Backs 2 fields
  9. Read 21 October 2026Backs 3 fields
  10. Read 15 October 2026Backs 2 fields
  11. Read 15 October 2026Backs 1 field
  12. Read 15 October 2026Backs 1 field
  13. Read 15 October 2026Backs 1 field
  14. Read 15 October 2026Backs 1 field
  15. Read 15 October 2026Backs 1 field
  16. Read 21 October 2026Backs 2 fields

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