Divoom Pixoo 64 Review: Display Live Subscriber Stats and Crypto Prices

The Divoom range of pixel art displays is a gorgeous addition to any workspace or wall, and always a talking point when they're featured in our videos. But I've found myself wishing they were a bit smarter—perhaps able to display live stock quotes or weather forecasts. Well, they've only gone and done it.

The Pixel 64 is a Wi-Fi-enabled large-format pixel art display, capable of pulling live information on a selection of specially designed clock faces— everything from YouTube stats to game wins, stock quotes, cryptocurrency prices, and more.

It can be mounted anywhere, and as suited to the kitchen wall or shop window as it is in the background of your vlog. This is simply the most featured packed pixel display you'll find, and it's now available to all on Divoom official for $199.

Kickstarter Disclaimer

This is a Kickstarter, which means your money is at risk, and there may be delays in delivery or a lack of support compared to purchasing through standard retail channels. Having said that, we're confident Divoom will deliver. Divoom is not a new company, and we have reviewed many of its other products, all of which were successfully delivered to backers.

The Pixoo 64 Hardware

If you didn't already guess from the name, the Pixoo 64 is 64 by 64 pixels resolution, making it much more suitable for displaying textual information. It's also the largest pixel art display they've made yet, at roughly 26cm square, and 18mm deep.

The frame is plain black, with sharp edges, like a photo frame. There's no skeuomorphic TV shape or garish colors to pick from; it's square and black. It's elegant but unremarkable to look at when not powered on.

Speaking of power, it consumes up to 10W via a two-meter 5V braided USB-C cable (included). But there is no internal battery, nor is there an AC adaptor. I won't say you can use any old adaptor you find in your drawer of dead electronics, because it needs to output 2A. Older phone chargers are often limited to 1A, and computer USB ports output 500mA. There's a chance you'll damage the port (or worse) if you try to plug it into an unsuitable supply, so do check first.

You might also notice a micro-SD card inserted into a port at the rear: don't touch this unless instructed to by support. It contains the firmware for the device and isn't a generic storage area for you to put photos and artwork. It does however mean that if you ever brick the device with a failed update, you should be able to download some new firmware and restore it easily.

Mounting the Pixoo 64

The Pixoo 64 has a range of options when it comes to mounting it.

It can be hung on the wall, as you would any typical picture frame. However, I'll point out that unlike some of the promotional images on the Kickstarter page, the cable must be plugged in for power at all times. There is no internal battery, and unless you have holes in the wall, you'd struggle to hide a power bank behind it. While I've got no issue with the lack of internal battery (after all, batteries are often the first thing to go, rendering a device useless), some of those marketing images are a little deceptive. You'll always have a cable dangling out somewhere.

Built-in to the rear of the case is also a small plastic stand; remove and insert this at the base to have it freestanding at about a 5-10 degree angle.

In addition, you'll find a single tripod screw mounting point on the top edge; and a pair on the bottom edge too. These appear to be for attaching a chain to hang the frame, though one isn't included in the package.

You'll find options for rotating the display in the app in case you have mounted it upside down.

Using the Pixoo 64

Like all Divoom displays, the primary method of interacting and configuring the Pixoo 64 is via the Divoom app (iOS or Android). This is the same app for the whole product range, so if you have another Divoom product you’ll be familiar with this already.

You can mark a piece as a favorite, subscribe to a particular artist, save them to your smartphone, or save them to your Pixoo 64 in up to three different "channels". These are actually saved to the memory, so they'll still be accessible even if your internet is out.

• Social stats: subscribers to YouTube channel, views on a YouTube video, Twitter followers, Twitch followers, and some other random Chinese streaming platforms I've never heard of. There's also a generic "influencer" clock face, that includes a mix of social stats.
• Financial data: US stock quotes, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency prices, as well as exchange rates.
• Generic clocks: because you don't have enough devices that display the time already.
• Game stats: total number of kills or match wins for League of Legends, APEX Legends, Overwatch, and Fortnite.
• Holiday countdowns: although the selection appears to be limited at first glance, you can completely customize the graphical and text elements, and select any date you're looking forward to.
• Tools: various message scrollers, a weather display, and a world clock.

Each of the smart clock faces has a differing degree of options to configure. For instance, the cryptocurrency tracker lets you pick which coin to track (though it's not clear where those are pulled from—I couldn't find Chia). The Bitcoin tracker isn't configurable. You can choose up to 10 US stocks to track, though none from other stock markets currently.

You can pick a single clock face, and have it cycle along with the Recommended Pixel Art cloud channel at a preset time interval, but it still feels a little limited. Ideally, you would be able to cycle any number of clock faces; a weather report, followed by current crypto prices, your game stats, then Twitch followers. Whether this is coming in the future, or a limitation of the hardware is not clear. If it is a memory limitation, then at the very least, it would be nice to have this functionality when your smartphone is connected.

It's also currently limited to the selection of clockfaces designed by the Divoom team. There is no way to design your own or pick and choose from various data sources and layer them onto a custom background. But given how much their built-in pixel art designer has evolved since I first started reviewing Divoom displays, I wouldn't be surprised to find the option developed later.

Then you have the music visualizer channel. This uses a microphone on the device itself rather than from your phone.

Finally, you can join the community of pixel art creators, and make your own! A complex but comprehensive drawing tool is included in the app, from which you can draw, add text, effects, transitions, or import photos.

This is the sum total of my creativity I'm afraid. I call it "duck", because it's a duck.

You aren't just creating for fun, either. Divoom regularly runs seasonal and topic-based competitions where you can enter your artwork to win hardware prizes (of more pixel art displays!)

Repairability

There's little on the Pixoo 64 that can be user repaired, but there's also little in the way of weak points.

You can't open the device up to repair the pixels, but the LEDs are large and you're less likely to suffer from dead pixels than a high-density display would be.

The first thing to degrade in a device like this would normally be the internal battery, rendering the whole product useless. In this case, it doesn't have a battery. While slightly inconvenient, it increases the lifespan of the product immensely.

Finally, you should be able to replace the firmware easily should an update become corrupted, thanks to the micro-SD card slot on the rear that stores the firmware in a user-accessible way.

Should You Back the Pixoo 64?

The ability to show a live subscriber count for YouTube, stock quotes, or cryptocurrency prices are killer features, but they are very limited at present. You're stuck with a handful of custom designs from the Divoom team, and can't choose multiple clock faces to cycle through. But Divoom has proven time and again that they keep developing new features and improving the products long after release. At some point, you might be able to create your own.

The core of the product is the same great quality hardware and extensive pixel art library we've come to love from Divoom. So if you've been wanting a big display for pixel art, and this suits your decor, we think the price is right.

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BY JAMES BRUCE