Cyber Fidget Alternatives: 6 Electronic Fidgets (2026)

People who search for Cyber Fidget alternatives usually want one of two things. Some want a pocket gadget with a screen and buttons that they can also code. Others saw the word "fidget" and want something to keep their hands busy that feels better than a phone. Those are different purchases, so this page splits them.

What the Cyber Fidget actually is

The Cyber Fidget comes from Dismo Industries, a small maker in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and was created by Sam Steele. The official product page describes it as "a fun, retro, cyber, fidget, gadget thing." In hardware terms:

• a 0.96-inch OLED screen at 128 x 64 pixels
• six clicky buttons plus a slider
• a speaker and microphone
• motion sensing for tilt, shake and taps
• four RGB+white LEDs and a microSD slot
• an ESP32 with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
• a machined aluminum case, "Made in Michigan"

It is open source. You can write apps in C++, Arduino or MicroPython, and there is a browser code editor, a no-code Pixel Sandbox and an App Builder. The Kickstarter page adds that it ships mainly as a kit. You screw it together with no soldering, following a build guide written with beta testers.

The slider is worth a note because it matters for this comparison. The Kickstarter page calls it a sliding potentiometer. That makes it an analog input for apps. One example game uses it to set how fast the character runs. It is smooth and precise on the metal version, not a set of clicks you push through.

Cyber Fidget price and Kickstarter status

When we checked in September 2026, there was no public price. The buy page says the first production batch is being prepared and offers an email signup. The product page says "Pricing announced at the launch." The Kickstarter page was titled "Coming soon." On it, the creator says he is asking for $15k for raw materials and components.

Two versions are planned. One has a machined metal case. The other is a 3D-printed kit that the creator says exists "to offer a more accessible price point." The creator says the printed one has all of the same functionality. If price is what you are waiting on, follow the Kickstarter page; that is where the tiers will show up first.

Six alternatives, and who each one suits

None of these is a clone. Each overlaps with the Cyber Fidget in one or two ways.

Arduboy FX-C: the closest in spirit

A credit-card-sized game system, 5 mm thick, with a 128 x 64 1-bit OLED, six tactile buttons and a piezo speaker. It comes with over 300 games and is programmable through the Arduino IDE. The Arduboy shop lists it from $79. It was sold out on arduboy.com when we looked. It's for you if you want the retro screen-and-buttons feel and a big library on day one.

Playdate: games first, crank second

The Playdate has a 400 x 240 reflective 1-bit screen, a D-pad, A/B buttons, an accelerometer and a fold-out crank. The SDK is free, in Lua and C, and there is a browser game maker called Pulp. Play.date lists it at $229. The crank is an unusually good fidget input. But this is a game console you'll want to sit and play, not something you'd grab without looking.

M5StickC Plus2: the budget tinkerer's pick

A 48 x 24 x 13.5 mm stick weighing 16.7 g. It has a 1.14-inch color screen, three buttons, a passive buzzer and a six-axis IMU. You can program it with UiFlow, Arduino IDE, ESP-IDF or PlatformIO. M5Stack's store listed it at $19.95 but marks it end-of-life. It is a development board first. Nothing about it is tuned for feel, so treat it as a coding gadget.

SmartKnob: if programmable feel is the point

Scott Bezek's SmartKnob is an open-source knob with "software-configurable endstops and virtual detents." You decide in code where it clicks and where it stops. The View version adds a 240 x 240 round screen. The catch is that it is strictly DIY. The README says it needs advanced surface-mount soldering and "is not yet a mature plug-and-play project." It also lives on a desk, not in a pocket.

A plain haptic slider: if "fidget" was the important word

If what you liked about the Cyber Fidget was the clicky buttons and the metal case, a well-made magnetic slider may be the more honest answer. It has no screen, no charging and no apps. Take the Lowrey from Bruce Charles Designs as one example. It's 25 x 44 x 18 mm, 2.6 oz, has three clicks and costs $69.95. The maker describes "a satisfying, audible pop every time the slider fires." What it can't do is change. The three clicks you buy are the three clicks you keep. Our guide on how to choose an EDC fidget slider covers what to check before buying one.

A programmable slider: the in-between

This is the direction echoPi is taking. It's an EDC fidget slider with real clicks that you can program, and it is still in development. The clicks are physical stops under your thumb, with seven as the design target. You choose how many there are and where they sit along the travel. Each click can also play a note through a built-in speaker, with piano, guitar, rain or just-the-click sounds. It works without a phone. The app, connected over Bluetooth, is where you create, save and share setups. There is no price or release date. The images on the site are concept renders. More on the category in what a programmable fidget slider is.

Side-by-side comparison

How to pick between them

Want to write code on the train? Cyber Fidget or M5StickC Plus2. The Cyber Fidget has the nicer case and more things to make noise and light up. The M5Stick is cheap enough that you won't worry about bricking it.

Want games? Arduboy FX-C if you like tiny and retro, Playdate if you want a real library and a crank.

Want something your hands do without your eyes? Skip the screens. A screen pulls your attention, which is the opposite of what a lot of people want from a fidget during a meeting. Get a slider.

Want the feel itself to be programmable? SmartKnob if you can solder and want a desk project. A programmable slider if you want it in your pocket.

One common mistake is buying the Cyber Fidget, or any screen gadget, expecting slider-style clicks. Its buttons click. Its slider is a smooth analog control, which is great for games and wrong for thumb-pushing through detents. The opposite mistake happens too: people buy a metal slider hoping to tinker, then find there's nothing to tinker with once the magnets are set.

If you want a slider whose clicks and sounds you can change, you can hear the sounds in the play area and join the echoPi list to find out when it's ready.