Single-Screen Mode
If you’re using Cocoon on a regular phone, tablet, or any device without a second display, Single-Screen Mode gives you the best of both worlds — the hero view and your game grid, all on one screen.
Turning It On
Settings → System & Advanced → Single Screen Mode
Toggle it on and Cocoon will combine the hero info and game grid into a single split layout.
How It Looks
The screen is divided into two sections:
- Top section — The hero view, showing the selected game’s background artwork, logo, platform, and play time info. If the game is linked to RetroAchievements, you’ll also see the trophy badge here.
- Bottom section — Your game grid, where you browse and select games.
The dock stays at the very bottom of the screen, just like in dual-screen mode.
Collapsed vs. Expanded
Single-screen mode has two states you can switch between:
Collapsed (Default)
This is what you see most of the time. The hero takes up the top portion of the screen and the grid fills the rest. The split adjusts automatically based on your grid zoom level:
| Grid Zoom | Space for Grid | Space for Hero |
|---|---|---|
| 1 row | ~20% | ~80% |
| 2 rows | ~35% | ~65% |
| 3 rows | ~45% | ~55% |
| 4 rows | ~55% | ~45% |
| 5+ rows | ~60% | ~40% |
When you’re inside a folder, the grid gets an extra 10% of space (up to 75%) since you’re focused on browsing.
Expanded
Press A on the hero info area to expand it. The hero takes over about 90% of the screen, and the grid slides away. In expanded mode you get:
- Full-size game artwork and logo
- Achievement details (if the game has RetroAchievements data) — your latest unlocks, progress count, and badge icons
- Game metadata — platform, developer, release year, and description
Press A again (or B to go back) to collapse the hero and return to the grid.
Performance note: If you’re using an animated GIF or video as your hero background, this uses more processing power than a static image. If things feel sluggish, consider switching to a static hero image.
What Shows in the Hero
The hero area adapts to whatever you have selected on the grid:
| Selected Item | What the hero shows |
|---|---|
| A game | Hero background image, game logo, RA badge (if applicable) |
| A folder | Preview grid of the folder’s contents |
| Settings tile | Settings icon |
| An Android app | App icon with a label pill |
Tips
- The transition between collapsed and expanded states is animated smoothly (about 300ms) — it feels natural and responsive.
- Single-screen mode works great on phones in landscape orientation, giving you a nice widescreen split between hero and grid.
- Your dock and status bar work the same as in dual-screen mode — dock at the bottom, Discord friends pill on the left, system info pill on the right.
- You can still use all the same controls — Y for game menus, L/R for status panels, etc.