ZX Spectrum Next
Shares rank 14 of 16 home computers by recommenders
Owners recommend it for playing Spectrum games on the go. Critics say it feels like a clone with a body kit and that battery life is short.
Owners recommend it for playing Spectrum games on the go. Critics say it feels like a clone with a body kit and that battery life is short.
7 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 71%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 2.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Owners enthusiastically endorse it
“For me the best is the Spectrum Next. I own one.”
Comment from 31 Oct 2026 in “5 years of OqtaDrive: Microdrive emulation to Sinclair Network over the internet” “the ZX Spectrum Next is pretty badass”
Comment from 4 Aug 2026 in “ZX Spectrum System Tour: Sound”
Other home computers people recommend
The four most recommended other home computers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commodore 64 | 121 | 18 | 87% | 12 | 41 yrs18 owners | Approved |
| Commodore Amiga | 60 | 14 | 81% | 11 | — | Approved |
| ZX Spectrum | 31 | 8 | 79% | 10 | — | Approved |
| TI-99/4A | 26 | 8 | 76% | 6 | — | Approved |
| ZX Spectrum NextThis page | 5 | 2 | 71% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
All 7 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“For me the best is the Spectrum Next. I own one.”
“It appears to have a better keyboard than the original.”
“I'd have expected something more in line with 6 days of continuous gameplay with 4 AAA batteries.”
“this thing just screams "sod all that, I want to play some JetPac on the go"”
“the ZX Spectrum Next is pretty badass”
“are still great "bicycles for the mind" and a great intro to microcontrollers etc.”
“feels like a clone Spectrum with a fibreglass body kit stuck on”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.