Company Announcements

Square's all-new, advanced handheld device adds powerful new dimension to the company’s robust portfolio of hardware and software solutions for restaurants and retailers

OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 13, 2025-- Today, Square launched Square Handheld, its most powerful, portable point-of-sale device ever. Combining a sleek, durable design with comprehensive, versatile software, Square Handheld enables sellers to manage everything from payments to back-of-house operations right from their pocket.

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Square's all-new, advanced handheld device adds powerful new dimension to the company’s robust portfolio of hardware and software solutions for restaurants and retailers

Power Meets Portability

Square Handheld is built for fast-moving and operationally complex businesses, offering an ergonomic, pocketable form factor — just 11 ounces and less than an inch thick. It’s IP54-rated and designed for durability, standing up to water splashes and dust. Equipped with a large 6.2" Corning® Gorilla® Glass touchscreen and a battery built to power through a whole day, Square Handheld is packed with advanced features, including:

• Barcode scanning for speedy checkouts, gift card scanning, and inventory management
• A 16 MP camera for capturing photos of newly stocked merchandise and updating item libraries
• Full payments functionality to capture tap and dip transactions and seamless integration with Square’s ecosystem of software, making managing a business easier than ever

It’s portable, reliable, and powerful. With Square Handheld, sellers and their staff gain the mobility, speed, and efficiency essential to keep operations steady and deliver high-quality customer experiences — whether they’re restaurateurs that need to take tableside orders and manage their floorplan from the palm of their hand, or retailers managing large inventories and letting shoppers check out anywhere on the store floor.

Adaptable Software for Every Type of Business

Square Handheld is powered by the new unified Square Point of Sale app, bringing years of commerce innovation and technology leadership into a single, powerful hub for running any size or type of business. The redesigned software provides sellers with seven different modes that lets them customize their experience with industry-specific features — such as Quick Service mode, Bar mode, and Retail mode — and the ability to easily add modes when their operations require different or expanded capabilities. Device-specific features like quick settings for easy adjustments and push alerts for timely notifications mean Square Handheld can fit into and improve any in-store workflow, especially for restaurants and retailers, which drove 50% of Square’s gross payment volume (GPV) in 2024. From intimate neighborhood wine bars and bustling multi-location restaurants, to local pet shops and sprawling garden centers, Square Handheld gives sellers of all sizes a powerful solution to keep commerce moving.

“Square Handheld is just what we needed. It’s tremendously helpful to place orders instantly at each table instead of waiting at a counter and entering multiple tables’ orders at once, which introduces wait time to parties that placed their order earlier,” said Trevor Ledergerber, owner of Berkeley, CA’s La Mediterranee. “The device is reliable, comfortable to hold, and fits perfectly into our aprons. The battery is dependable, lasting through two service staff shifts, so we no longer need to worry about plugging it in between lunch and dinner. And we’re saving on paper receipt costs, going from 100% print to 75% digital.”

Designed to Drive Commerce

Square Handheld builds on the company’s legacy of hardware design excellence that began over a decade ago with the iconic ‘little white reader’ and permeates throughout Square’s entire portfolio of devices – from two generations of Square Stand, to Square Register and Square Terminal. Representing the company’s unique ability to elegantly marry form and function, Square Handheld is one of the thinnest and lightest handheld point-of-sale devices on the market, offering a purposefully engineered solution that’s not only built for today’s business needs, but designed to evolve and grow with sellers as commerce transforms in years to come.

"Running a business, especially a restaurant or retail store, has never been more demanding: every second counts, every team member must find ways to be more productive, and every customer has increasingly higher expectations for when and how they’re serviced," said Thomas Templeton, Block’s Head of Hardware. "Square Handheld fuses Square’s industry-leading design with powerful commerce software to deliver a dynamic device that empowers sellers to keep pace with the breakneck speed of modern business — whether they’re a full-service restaurant looking to provide seamless tableside service across multiple dining areas, or a boutique looking to give its clients a refined checkout experience anywhere in-store.”

Beginning today, Square Handheld is available for purchase online at Square Shop, starting at $399. And to help sellers get the most out of their Square Handheld, Square has partnered with industry-leading accessories manufacturer Belkin to offer premium protective cases at launch. The Belkin SheerForce cases, which will come in seven different colors, complement Square Handheld’s sleek design, add further defense against accidental drops and scratches, and lets businesses match their brand identity to their device. Thoughtfully designed to improve device grip while maintaining Square Handheld’s pocketable profile, the Belkin SheerForce case starts at $39 and can be purchased online at Square Shop.

Square Handheld was launched today in conjunction with Square Releases — a new biannual product launch that delivers the most important, new Square features and tools — all at once. Born out of feedback from the seller community, Square Releases gives businesses a simple, consistent way to discover what’s new, understand what’s next, and take action to grow, all found at squareup.com/releases.

To learn more about Square Handheld and the Square ecosystem of business solutions, visit squareup.com/hardware/handheld.

About Square

Square makes commerce and financial services easy and accessible with its integrated ecosystem of commerce solutions. Square offers purpose-built software to run complex restaurant, retail, and professional services operations, versatile e-commerce tools, embedded financial services and banking products, buy now, pay later functionality through Afterpay, staff management and payroll capabilities, and much more — all of which work together to save sellers time and effort. Millions of sellers across the globe trust Square to power their business and help them thrive in the economy. For more information, visit www.squareup.com.

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press@squareup.com

Source: Block, Inc.