Cyberdecks used to look like little laptops, but now they’re getting more personal

Jun 05, 2026 03:07 AM - 22 hours ago 1096

Stevie Bonifield

is a news writer covering each things user tech. Stevie started retired astatine Laptop Mag penning news and reviews connected hardware, gaming, and AI.

DIYer and TikTok personification Annike Tan, who goes by @ubeboobey, tin transportation her cyberdeck astir without anyone noticing because it doesn’t look for illustration a machine astatine all. Tan, who has been featured successful The Cut and Wired, went viral earlier this twelvemonth pinch a mermaid-themed cyberdeck she made wrong an aged purse. She has since upgraded it and built an MP3 player and a solar-powered cyberdeck.

Tan and countless different DIYers are attracting millions of views showing disconnected the individual computers they’ve built wrong purses, jewelry boxes, toys, and aged tech, hiding Raspberry Pi boards wrong creation projects.

Cyberdecks, but make it fashion

The colorful, quirky builds popping up crossed societal media are a drastic displacement distant from the emblematic look the cyberdecks we’ve featured person had, which often consisted of a 3D-printed chassis aliases a rugged container for illustration a Pelican case, usually pinch a cyberpunk-style design.

Inside, these homemade devices are fundamentally mini Linux computers for circumstantial tasks, usually done offline, for illustration reading, journaling, aliases listening to music. But now, a cyberdeck doesn’t person to look for illustration a machine astatine all.

This caller activity emphasizes utilizing recycled aliases thrifted parts and leans much into the creator broadside of making a cyberdeck. One TikTok personification who goes by @diypagancrafts created a cyberdeck retired of a retro TV-themed purse pinch the surface connected the extracurricular and the Raspberry Pi, keyboard, and a crippled controller stored inside. Almost thing pinch capable abstraction for a single-board machine and a surface tin beryllium a cyberdeck — a Dunkin’ Donuts munchkin box, a Pokeball, an Altoids tin, a plastic container stuffed pinch clone moss and flowers.

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