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FunKey News #3
Hello dear retro backers! We're super happy to talk with you today, as it's been a long time without an update. We hope you've been doing great! We have a lot of ground to cover, let's get started!
Supply chains and shipping
As you may know, factors such as COVID, flooding, and significant electronics demand have had a significant impact on the electronics component industry in recent months, with products such as graphics cards, MacBooks, and PS5s having experienced shortages. While component shortages have made it increasingly difficult for us to source the materials needed for production as well, we're doing the best we can to keep the previously-mentioned April shipment on schedule. While the current uncertainties in the supply chain means that there remains the possibility that April devices not ship until May and the May devices not ship until June, the important thing is that we're doing everything we can to keep production on track so that devices can be delivered as soon as possible. All pre-orders up until today (April 9th) have been placed into the April or May batches, while subsequent pre-orders will be fulfilled in June. Before continuing on, we'd like to reassure backers who have yet to receive their devices despite having had shipping notifications for several days or weeks. We completely understand your frustration and have not at all forgotten about you! When packages are inconsistently scanned or are being processed through customs (especially for UK backers, in our experience), it can be days or, at worst, weeks before the package's tracking information is updated. While only a dozen of the thousands of fulfilled devices have been stuck in this worst-case scenario, we still empathize with the backers who have had to wait so long for their devices. As we don't want to have our paying customers waiting indefinitely without a device or solution, anyone stuck in such a situation should send us an email so that we may discuss the possibility of a replacement device.
Media and community
Since our last update the FunKey S has continued to gain traction, with articles including this great one by Gizmodo. Several amazing videos have come out recently as well, such as this one by Nintendrew demonstrating gameplay of Super Mario 64 from start to finish on the FunKey S! We'd like to thank him for his amazing video, as it shows how with a bit of practice, even challenging games such as Super Mario 64 are playable on the FunKey S! Playing the same port of Super Mario 64, NovemberJoy, a FunKey S developer and community Discord manager, not only finished the game, but also collected all 120 of the game's stars in the process! We're thrilled to see people challenging the FunKey S and pushing it to its limits. Another one of the community Discord managers, CoolieCoolster, has recently uploaded a series of videos about the FunKey S on his youtube channel, with the latest one detailing the FunKey S setup process. On the subject of the community Discord server, the last few days have been marked by a great milestone as the community reached a thousand members! We'd like to thank the community managers as well as all the developers, artists, and other members for contributing to, discussing, and helping others with the FunKey S! We strongly recommend that anyone new to the FunKey S join the community Discord server to discuss the device with the hundreds of people there who have already received their devices.
Have a nice week-end, and thank you for your continued support!
Sincerely,
The FunKey Team
What is the purpose of this wiki?
The purpose of this wiki is to serve as a database of information related to the FunKey S. This includes information about the FunKey S hardware, firmware, compatible homebrew games, and third-party software released for the device. As the FunKey Wiki is run by the community independently of the FunKey Team, there may at times be erroneous or inconsistent information listed. If there is a piece of information that you are unsure or have further questions about, you are encouraged to contact the FunKey Team directly. If you see information that you know is incorrect, you may leave a message on the talk page of the wiki admin, who will fix the error as soon as possible.
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What is the FunKey S?
The FunKey S is a foldable portable emulation device that is designed to fit onto a keychain. Through emulators on its FunKey-OS operating system, the FunKey S can emulate a wide variety of systems, including the NES, PS1, and GBA. Greatly resembling the larger Game Boy Advance SP, the FunKey S is currently sold in three colors, Original Purple, Retro Grey, and Atomic Purple. The system comes with a 32GB MicroSD card to store the system's firmware and any software the user wishes to install onto the device and can be replaced by the user with higher capacity MicroSD cards. While the FunKey S has only been tested and verified to work with MicroSD cards with capacities up to 128GB, MicroSD cards with capacities up to the 2TB maximum of the MicroSDXC standard should also be compatible. To facilitate attaching the device to a keychain, the FunKey S has a metallic needle built into the bottom left corner of the device around which a keychain lanyard can be tied.
What is included with the FunKey S?
Included with the FunKey S is a 32GB MicroSD card to store the device's firmware and added software, a Micro-USB cable to charge the device, update its firmare, and add games, a keychain lanyard to attach the device to a keychain, a user manual, and four replacement button sets (red, blue, yellow, and green) that can be used to change the colors of the system's buttons.
What buttons does the FunKey S have?
The system has thirteen buttons built into it: four directional buttons, four action buttons, two trigger buttons, a START button, and two system buttons. The top-right system button is the Menu button, while the one to the left of the START button is the Fn button. The Menu button has two purposes: a short press activates the system menu, allowing the user to modify settings or return to the main menu, while a long press turns the system on or off. The Fn (Function) button has several functions to extend the capabilities of the system's limited number of buttons. Pressing the Fn button by itself is registered as SELECT, while pressing it in conjunction with L or R is registered as L2 or R2, respectively. The other uses of the Fn button are shortcuts to modify several system settings without needing to go to the system's settings menu. The settings that can be modified with the use of the Fn button are brightness (X and B), volume (Y and A), zoom (RIGHT and LEFT), and aspect ratio (DOWN). Additionally, screenshots can be taken using the Fn plus UP shortcut. While FunKey S systems come by default with either white or grey buttons (depending on which system color is ordered), aside from the L and R buttons these can be swapped out individually with the included green, blue, red, and yellow extra button sets.
Which systems can the FunKey S emulate?
The currently supported systems are the NES, Master System, TurboGrafx-16 (PC Engine), Sega Genesis (Sega Mega Drive), Game Boy, Atari Lynx, Game Gear, SNES, PlayStation, Game Boy Color, Neo Geo Pocket, WonderSwan, and Game Boy Advance. While a native port of Super Mario 64 to the FunKey S was made possible by that game's decompilation, general Nintendo 64 emulation is not, and likely will not be, possible. The Sega CD (Mega-CD), 32X, and TurboGrafx-CD add-ons are not currently fully supported and therefore may have mixed compatibility. Of the three, only 32X games can be played by the device "out of the box" by placing zipped 32X games in the device's Sega Genesis folder. To emulate Sega CD or TurboGrafx-CD games, two steps should be followed. First, download and run this OPK program on your device via the Gmenu2x launcher to allow the RetroFE launcher to recognize additional file extensions. Next, source and add the BIOS_CD_U.BIN Sega CD BIOS file or syscard3.pce TurboGrafx-CD BIOS file to the /mnt/Funkey/.picodrive location of the FunKey S file system or /mnt/Funkey/.mednafen location of the FunKey S file system, respectively. The implementation of improved system add-on emulation and additional emulated systems is planned for future updates to FunKey-OS. Additionally, third-party emulators can be used to emulate additional, currently unsupported systems via the Gmenu2x launcher.
What software is pre-installed onto the FunKey S?
The FunKey S runs FunKey-OS, a custom Linux-based operating system. The system comes with several emulators and games out of the box, with future updates to the operating system adding support for more emulators. Users can add their own games to the device by connecting it to a computer and placing ROM files in the game folders of the corresponding emulators. The files used to build the FunKey-OS firmware are open source and available on the FunKey Team's GitHub page.
Why are there no commercial games included with the FunKey S?
As the unlicensed distribution of video game properties on an emulation system such as the FunKey S would constitute illegal piracy, only freely distributable homebrew games are included on the system. This means that users seeking to play games originally released commercially on emulated systems must extract ROM backups from their own copies of such games for use on their own systems. Alternatively, a number of games originally licensed for emulated systems are now available digitally on platforms such as Steam, with the ROMs of those games often extractable for personal use in external emulators such as the FunKey S. A list of such games is available on this page of the FunKey Wiki.
Which games are included on the FunKey S?
Where can I find additional software for the FunKey S?
While users can put ROM backups of physical and digital commercial games that they own onto the FunKey S, there are also many freeware options that can be legally downloaded and used on the system. Since the FunKey S operating system, FunKey-OS, is open source, developers are able to develop and share their own apps and games for the platform. Additionally, hundreds of freely available homebrew games have been released for various systems over the past three decades, many of which being available for download on homebrew lists across the Internet. The FunKey Wiki maintains lists of emulatable software, including freeware games, commercial games, and utilities.
How many games can fit on the FunKey S?
As the game library file sizes of all the cartridge-based consoles emulated on the FunKey S add up to only 13.4 GB, a user could, in theory, have thousands of games on their FunKey S without needing to upgrade its 32 GB MicroSD card (with 27.8 GB of this being accessible with the factory configuration). Since CD-based games (PlayStation, Sega CD, TurboGrafx-CD) have significantly larger file sizes than cartridge-based games, only fifty to sixty CD-based games could fit on the FunKey S before a larger MicroSD card would be needed. While 27.8 GB of available storage is more than enough to fit the libraries of most users, any user with more than fifty CD-based games should check the total file size of their game library to see whether or not they require a larger MicroSD card. The chart below documents the average game file sizes for each of the thirteen consoles that the FunKey S officially emulates, with several file size totals corresponding to theoretical game libraries that have the same number of games from each system. As illustrated by the proportions listed below, the number of games a user can fit onto their FunKey S is directly related to number of CD-based games present in their game library. For instance, the average PlayStation game takes up the same amount of space as approximately 2,566 NES games, 2,277 Master System games, 1,395 TurboGrafx-16 games, 433 Sega Genesis games, 2,740 Game Boy games, 2,667 Atari Lynx games, 1,717 Game Gear games, 363 SNES games, 414 Game Boy Color games, 368 Neo Geo Pocket games, 313 WonderSwan games, or 78 Game Boy Advance games.
| System | Avg. ROM Size | Proportion | # of Games Each | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NES | 220.85 KB | 0.04% | 15 (195 overall) |
30 (390 overall) |
45 (585 overall) |
| Sega Master System | 248.90 KB | 0.04% | |||
| TG16 / PC Engine | 406.29 KB | 0.07% | |||
| Genesis / Mega Drive | 1.31 MB | 0.22% | |||
| Game Boy | 206.78 KB | 0.04% | |||
| Atari Lynx | 212.50 KB | 0.04% | |||
| Game Gear | 329.97 KB | 0.06% | |||
| SNES | 1.56 MB | 0.27% | |||
| PlayStation | 566.67 MB | 97.17% | |||
| Game Boy Color | 1.37 MB | 0.23% | |||
| Neo Geo Pocket | 1.54 MB | 0.26% | |||
| WonderSwan | 1.81 MB | 0.31% | |||
| Game Boy Advance | 7.31 MB | 1.25% | |||
| Total | 583.20 MB | 100.00% | 8.75 GB | 17.50 GB | 26.24 GB |
Is multiplayer possible on the FunKey S?
As the FunKey S has neither system link cable support nor the ability to connect additional controllers, multiplayer modes that require these features are not useable on the device. However, multiplayer modes that are implemented in a hotseat manner (one controller with one system) are useable on the FunKey S. While the majority of games that implement this mode do so using a "pass-and-play" method where players take turns (usually turn-based sports, strategy, and tabletop games), several instead have two players use the same controller simultaneously. Users interested in seeing which games emulatable on the FunKey S use hotseat multiplayer may view the wiki's comprehensive list of such games.
Where can I find game box art?
Users searching for game box art are recommended to visit Libretro's GitHub page of thumbnail repositories. Due to several of these lists being truncated or having sub-par box art scans, however, it is also suggested that users visit the subsequently linked-to repositories for NES, TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine, Genesis/Mega Drive, SNES, GBA, and PS1 game box art. Since the image representing a game on the FunKey S is the image in the file directory that shares a name with that game, users may also use other images, such as custom box art, in either JPG or PNG format to represent their games on the FunKey S. Since large image files take longer to load in on the main menu of the FunKey S, for an optimal scrolling experience it is recommended that users downscale their thumbnails to at or below 240x240, the maximum resolution of the FunKey S. For the convenience of users, the wiki editors have compiled a database of box art for a number of systems resized to more efficient 240 pixel horizontal and/or vertical maximum resolutions. If there is missing box art that you wish to add to the database or are having trouble finding, you may message a wiki editor on the FunKey community Discord server or leave a message on this page's talk page.
What are the technical specifications of the FunKey S?
Dimensions (folded)
1.67 x 1.75 x 0.54 inches
42.5 x 44.5 x 13.8 mm
Dimensions (unfolded)
2.99 x 1.75 x 0.40 inches
75.9 x 44.5 x 10.1 mm
Display (240x240 LCD IPS)
1.54 inches
39.1 mm
Weight
1 ounce / 30 grams
Operating system
FunKey-OS (Linux distribution)
Processor
ARM Cortex-A7 @ 1.2 GHz
RAM
64 MB DDR2
Refresh rate
50 hz (FPS)
Storage
32 GB MicroSD (expandable)
Audio
∅10 mm mono at 500 mW
Battery
410 mAh lithium-ion
Ports
Micro-USB and MicroSD
Dimensions (folded)
1.67 x 1.75 x 0.54 inches
42.5 x 44.5 x 13.8 mm
Dimensions (unfolded)
2.99 x 1.75 x 0.40 inches
75.9 x 44.5 x 10.1 mm
Display (240x240 LCD IPS)
1.54 inches
39.1 mm
Weight
1 ounce / 30 grams
Operating system
FunKey OS (Linux distribution)
Processor
ARM Cortex-A7 @ 1.2 GHz
RAM
64 MB DDR2
Refresh rate
50 hz (FPS)
Storage
32 GB MicroSD (expandable)
Audio
∅10 mm mono at 500 mW
Battery
410 mAh lithium-ion
Ports
Micro-USB and MicroSD
Where can I find FunKey S device schematics and 3D files?
The FunKey Team has FunKey S schematics, STL files, and a project STEP file for the device's shell components available on Grabcad. Schematics for the device's electrical components are available on the FunKey Team's GitHub page. As the device's hardware is open source, users are free to download, modify, and redistribute the listed files.
How long does the FunKey S battery last?
On a sixty minute full charge, the FunKey S has a median battery life of two hours. Since the device's battery life is impacted by CPU usage and brightness and audio levels, there can be significant deviation from the median by roughly thirty minutes in either direction. In practice, this means that low-intensity emulation such as that of the Game Boy will result in above-average battery life, while high-intensity emulation such as that of the PlayStation will result in below-average battery life. Additionally, the device has a blue LED light that indicates when it is charging, with a battery symbol in the top right corner of the main menu indicating the current charge level. When the FunKey S begins to run low on charge, a charging notification appears on screen.
Does the FunKey S support RTC (real-time clock) functionality?
The FunKey S supports the RTC functionalities used by Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance games, such as Harvest Moon GBC, Pokemon Crystal, and Pokemon Emerald. It does this by siphoning an extremely small amount of charge from the FunKey S battery, allowing games that employ the feature to keep track of time. RTC functionality is still preserved even if the FunKey S is turned off or runs out of charge, as there is a buffer of charge persevered for such an instance. To best make use of the RTC feature, it is recommended that users save in-game, as save states and automatic FunKey S saves can affect the RTC timing of games.
Why does the FunKey S need emulated system BIOS files?
Emulators function using either low-level emulation (LLE) or high-level emulation (HLE), with the former directly emulating the processes of the original system and the latter merely simulating them. While both methods are commonly used and have distinct benefits, the truer 'emulation' of LLE means emulators that use this method require the system ROM of the original hardware to function. This ROM, known as the BIOS, performs system-critical tasks for many systems, with neither the original hardware nor an LLE emulator of that hardware being functional without the associated BIOS file. In the case of the FunKey S, while the majority of its emulated systems do not require BIOS files, there are two that do: the PlayStation and Game Boy Advance. While some PlayStation games can be emulated without a BIOS file and alternate, albeit slower, Game Boy Advance emulators that don't require BIOS files are available, to properly emulate either system using the default emulators a BIOS file for each is required. As with video game ROMs, BIOS ROMs are protected by copyright restrictions and thus also cannot be legally distributed with the FunKey S. Users may extract BIOS ROM files from PlayStation and Game Boy Advance units that they own and add them to the FunKey S emulators for those systems to render them functional. A tutorial for adding emulator BIOS files to the FunKey S can be found here.
Why doesn't the FunKey S have more than 64 MB of RAM?
The FunKey S has 64 MB of RAM due to that being the amount built into its system on a chip (SoC), the Allwinner V3s. While several handheld emulation systems with similar capabilities to the FunKey S include several times more RAM than it, the lightweight Linux distribution used by the FunKey S, in addition to its carefully chosen and optimized collection of emulators, allows it to emulate games at relatively high levels of accuracy while using comparatively little RAM. The inclusion of additional RAM in the FunKey S would not result in improved performance or additional emulation capabilities.
Why doesn't the FunKey S have a 60 FPS refresh rate?
The display of the FunKey S refreshes at a maximum rate of 50 FPS due to that being the maximum writing speed of data being sent from the processor to the internal graphics memory of the display, which, if not limited by the processor, would have a maximum refresh rate of 120 FPS. Since NTSC games are still emulated accurately, however, games with framerates higher than that of the FunKey S function normally, only missing ten frames each second while experiencing no screen tearing between the remaining frames.
Why doesn't the FunKey S have USB-C and auxiliary (headphone jack) ports?
The small form factor of the FunKey S made the use of Micro-USB instead of USB-C necessary and left no room for an auxiliary port for headphones or external speakers. While the Micro-USB standard supports the output of video and audio data signals by a host device, the limited space inside the device also made adding this functionality to the FunKey S not possible. Despite this, the FunKey Wiki lists such hardware suggestions at the wiki's Suggestion Center, as there is a chance that they could be implemented in future devices released by the FunKey Team.
Are there any games that aren't emulated properly on the FunKey S?
While the average emulation quality of the FunKey S emulators is relatively high, the device does have several games that are not able to be emulated properly on it for a variety of reasons. These include incompatible controls, unemulated specialty hardware, and emulation imperfections, among others. The current list of games that are believed to be incompatible with the FunKey S is listed here.
How do I combine a PlayStation game's multiple BIN files into a single BIN file?
As all of a PlayStation game's BIN files are listed in the FunKey S game list, to minimize the time is takes to scroll through one's game library, each game should only have one BIN file. If your PlayStation game has multiple BIN files across multiple disks, follow these instructions. If these BIN files are all for one disk, to merge them you will first need to download IsoBuster. Once this is done, open the program and select Open Image File, indicated by an icon of a folder containing a blue downwards arrow. Navigating to and selecting the CUE file of the game in question will make a CD icon appear in the IsoBuster interface, which you then right click, selecting the Raw .bin option under the Extract CD <Image> category. After you save the BIN and CUE files, place these new files into the PS1 folder of the FunKey S.
How do I combine files from multiple PlayStation disks into a single ROM file?
If the files from multiple disks of a PlayStation game are added to the FunKey S, they will all appear in the game list, complicating game library navigation and disk transferring. To merge all of these files into a single PBP file, begin by downloading PSX2PSP. Once this is done, extract the folder from the RAR archive, open it, and select the Clasic mode shortcut. From within the program select the Options button at the bottom left, which will open a page where you should change the Compression level to 1 (worst) and the toc setting to CUE File. Once this is done, save your settings to return to the main program interface. From here, press the three dot icon next to ISO/PBP File 1 - No file selected at the top left and select the BIN file of the first disk. Repeat this process for each subsequent disk by selecting the arrow icon to the left of the aforementioned three dot icon, selecting each disk number in turn. Once this process is complete, select the folder on your system where you wish the PBP file to be saved to and press the Convert button at the bottom of the program window. Once the conversion process is finished, navigate to the completed EBOOT.PBP file, rename it, and place it into the PS1 folder of the FunKey S.
Where can I buy a FunKey S?
The FunKey S is currently available for pre-order on BackerKit for €65 (~US$77.25) plus shipping costs. While applicable taxes may vary depending on region, VAT (value added tax) is generally included in the price of the FunKey S.
Where can I get accessories for the FunKey S?
Although the FunKey Team is not currently selling any accessories for the FunKey S aside from what is included with it, the editors of this wiki have compiled a list of products that can be used in conjunction with the FunKey S, including adapters, power banks, cables, pouches, and keychain decorations. To match the FunKey S keychain aesthetic, all accessories listed have been checked to not exceed size or weight levels that would make putting them on a keychain difficult and/or inconvenient. Additionally, all items on the list have been checked (to the best ability of the editors) for description accuracy, payment security, and product reliability. Despite this, prior to buying any accessory please be sure to verify that it meets your requirements, as neither the FunKey Wiki editors nor the FunKey Team is responsible for the reliability of third-party products.
Can I develop software for the FunKey S?
As both the hardware specifications and operating system of the FunKey S have been open sourced on the FunKey Team's GitHub page, users are able and encouraged to create their own software for the device and share it with others. To facilitate this, an SDK has been created and made available for FunKey-OS software development. Additionally, a development guide is available on the documentation page of the FunKey website. The FunKey Wiki maintains a database of all publicly available software developed for the FunKey S, so developers who wish to create an article for their program or add it to one of the lists can either edit the wiki themselves or ask a wiki editor to do so for them.
Who is the FunKey Team?
Based in the city of Bordeaux in southwestern France, the FunKey Team is comprised of four people: Vincent, Michel, David, and Killian. Having originated from the Keymu system designed by Vincent and Michel in 2017, the group expanded and developed the FunKey S based on positive viewer and media reactions to their initial Keymu prototype.
How can I contact the FunKey Team?
While the FunKey Team's numerous social media pages are represented with the icons at the top of this page, they can be contacted directly via the contact page on their website. If you wish to email them, questions regarding the FunKey S can be sent to their support email address, while other inquiries can be sent to their contact email address.
Where can I find FunKey S news updates?
In addition to the email newsletter on their website, the FunKey Team posts regular updates about the FunKey S on Kickstarter. Recent news updates are regularly reformatted and posted on the main page of The FunKey Wiki, with summaries of past news updates available at the The FunKey Times .
Who edits The FunKey Wiki?
The FunKey Wiki is a community-managed database of FunKey S information, operated and edited independently of the FunKey Team. Currently, the Administrator of and primary contributor to The FunKey Wiki is CoolieCoolster, but anyone is free to contribute to the improvement of the wiki!
How can I edit The FunKey Wiki?
Since The FunKey Wiki uses the MediaWiki wiki engine, the same markdown format that is used to edit other MediaWiki wikis such as Wikipedia is also used here. If you wish to learn the MediaWiki markdown format, MediaWiki has several tutorials on their website in addition to a Discord server where users can ask questions, but if you have any specific questions about editing or templates used on The FunKey Wiki, you may also ask the FunKey Wiki admin.
How can I translate The FunKey Wiki?
Users who are fluent in a language other than English are encouraged to translate one or more of the wiki's pages into that language to improve the helpfulness of the wiki. To translate any page marked for translation, select the "Translate" text above the list of the available languages at the top of that page. If a page has already been translated into a language that you speak fluently, you are free to analyze and improve the translation. If you have translated a page but are unsure on how to implement the translation, feel free to ask the FunKey Wiki admin for assistance. For more information about translating on the FunKey Wiki, visit the Translation Center.
What platform does The FunKey Wiki run on?
The FunKey Wiki is powered by MediaWiki, an open-source wiki engine that is used by many wikis, including Wikipedia. The FunKey Wiki is hosted by Miraheze, a non-profit wiki farm that hosts thousands of wikis ad-free at no charge. If you wish to support the hosting of The FunKey Wiki or create a wiki of your own, visit their website!
