So while writing up a full review on AYN’s new Odin 3 handheld, one of my teeth decided to give up the ghost and deliver me with agony and trepidation.
Somehow I’ve managed to finish this one, but I also want to share that I’ve got a bunch more articles and things on the way. Some interviews with developers (one is a big program/project if you’re in the Steam Deck space!), some features, retrospectives and more reviews for upcoming handhelds too (the RG DS which is…going to be a hard one).
I felt like this needed to be a bit of an explanation/apology, normally I share my things here regularly but tooth time is the worst time.
(this is me, discovering tooth shittiness)
Anyway, you can either follow the link to my full review, or just go for my tl:dr here:
If you’re a first-time user of these Android retro handhelds then this won’t be for you. Being a Snapdragon Elite chip powering it, the compatibility with emulators and games is in its infancy. This will change in time, but for now…it’s simply not plug-and-play.
If you’re into tinkering, enjoy the setting up, testing and finding the perfect settings to make things work well? If you want to be at the bleeding edge of where Android gaming is heading (literally, this thing plays AAA Steam and GOG games. Its mind-blowing!), the this really is for you.
AYN sent me the Odin 3 Max version to test and review, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time. There’s some frustrations, but if you’re anything like me and wish you were around for The Homebrew Computer Club back in Steve Wozniak’s time - hacking and testing and trying every little bit to eke out the best of a crazy future of tech? Then the Odin 3’s a safe bet for you.
So now, keep an eye out for more ‘regular’ articles and interviews from me, and for all that is good in this world, keep your fingers crossed for me when I get to the dentist. Ugh.
Ok serious comment: That’s a damn good review. And a surprisingly good quality device that’s a little ahead of its time.
I’m impressed that you reached out to devs, contrasted with other handhelds, and tried so many different games. That’s almost everything I’d want to know.
What kind of battery life does it get with various games? Sorry if I missed that. I expect ARM is a lot less power hungry than x86.
Thank you so much! It’s always a bit of a nervy experience when I’m sharing a review. Even more so when I linked it in their own Discord, because if anyone will rip through details and point out flaws…its gaming fans. So hearing this? SO kind of you!
I’m lucky that I manage to somehow convince all these people (the devs and other creators!) that they should in fact be friends with me, and that they’re all kind enough to listen to my requests. In fact, the PortMaster team are going to let me interview them soon, so that’s something to look forward to!
Battery depends on settings, like always. But one example was Nier: Automata with high settings across the board, for around 1:25 playing, it took just under 20% of battery. But that’s because I pushed the settings. Emulating PS2 it coasts, but best to limit to to say 2.5x upscale (obviously), unless you’re going for a full 4K in a monitor. And further down, the old systems will go for eons. Android native games gave me 7ish hours at the highest settings I could opt for? While running at 120FPS and not dropping a single frame.
Take this with salt, because I’m hopped up on codeine waiting for Tuesday when I can get tooth pain sorted!
To the best of my understanding, AMD/Nvidia/Intel each run their own forms of architecture (eg. AMDs RDNA) which are probably closest to RISC for simple instructions and SIMD/SIMT (single instruction, multiple data/threads) for more complex vector calculations.
Its going to be a very interesting time with these retro handhelds when that happens. Still, its amazing to be able to play full AAA Steam & GOG games on Android before that even happens.
Things like this are why I seriously think the next steam deck may include an ARM based version. Possibly a smaller, lighter, more switch like device alongside something more like a z1e equivalent device.
Steam Frame may do a lot for VR but also for ARM gaming.
My secret hope though is risc-v also somehow gets on the map.
I bought a Retroid 3+ a while ago. It was an interesting experiment, but ultimately a pain in the ass to configure.
Ideally I just want to select a rom or game and play. I really don’t enjoy spending hours in settings and tweaking every detail to get a have to run decently. I don’t need AAA, but GameCube and PS2 would be cool.
Is that a thing? Or am I doomed to hangout in RetroArch settings?
GameCube and PS2 are a breeze to set up. I never use RetroArch for either of them, all you need to do is set the bios for PS2, change the input (AYN will automatically be set, but I find its better safe than sorry as it can make the odd error when configuring input for you!), choose your upscaling and go!
GCN was even easier, input and upscale, then play!
I’ll be writing up a thorough guide/games/settings post, I’ll find you an link you when I do if you’d like? But for PS2 and GCN its the work of 2 mins at the most on each :)
When you say this isn’t ready for most people, is that because the software needs more time, or the hardware isn’t there yet?
If I bought one of these today, could I expect to see better compatibility over the next 6 months to year with Steam games, or will it still be mostly for Android games and old system emulators?
Thank you for saying so! I really appreciate that :)
When you say this isn’t ready for most people, is that because the software needs more time, or the hardware isn’t there yet?
100% its the software. Drivers just aren’t there yet, but they’re being actively worked on as we speak, so early 2026 will be a solid assumption. Most PC games I tried worked incredibly well, out of the box without anything needed. But yes, as drivers improve and release, that compatibility will only get higher and higher.
As it stands:
PC games are the best thing on the Odin 3. They work so well.
Switch games are a gamble, a lot work beautifully but there’s still a lot which haven’t got the right support yet. But my friend who is a developer of Eden (Switch emulator) was sent an Odin 3 Max to help with development. So that’s only a matter of time.
PS3 is the same as Switch, some work, some do not.
PS2, all the games I tried were fantastic. Played SO nicely, upscaled and perfect. But there’s still a handful that will need some of that community driver goodness.
Older-older systems are fine in dedicated emulators, but in RetroArch, its a mess.
The hardware is phenomenal and ahead of its time. We’re just waiting for the support for the Snapdragon Elite to play catch-up now. But after spending so long testing it, if you’re someone who likes to be at the forefront of things, then it’s a solid investment. I’d buy one, if I wasn’t sent a review unit. But I have the benefit of testing for so long to come to that conclusion!
If I bought one of these today, could I expect to see better compatibility over the next 6 months to year with Steam games, or will it still be mostly for Android games and old system emulators?
Yes. 100% yes. Keep an eye on EmuReady.com also, there’ll be more and more compatibility reports for the Snapdragon Elite as the days and weeks pass, a good way to know if the PC games you love are running well. And you can always ask me to test out and try some games that you love most too, if you’d like!
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(this is me, discovering tooth shittiness)
How much better is the Snapdragon 8 Elite vs the G8 Gen2?
Ok serious comment: That’s a damn good review. And a surprisingly good quality device that’s a little ahead of its time.
I’m impressed that you reached out to devs, contrasted with other handhelds, and tried so many different games. That’s almost everything I’d want to know.
What kind of battery life does it get with various games? Sorry if I missed that. I expect ARM is a lot less power hungry than x86.
Thank you so much! It’s always a bit of a nervy experience when I’m sharing a review. Even more so when I linked it in their own Discord, because if anyone will rip through details and point out flaws…its gaming fans. So hearing this? SO kind of you!
I’m lucky that I manage to somehow convince all these people (the devs and other creators!) that they should in fact be friends with me, and that they’re all kind enough to listen to my requests. In fact, the PortMaster team are going to let me interview them soon, so that’s something to look forward to!
Battery depends on settings, like always. But one example was Nier: Automata with high settings across the board, for around 1:25 playing, it took just under 20% of battery. But that’s because I pushed the settings. Emulating PS2 it coasts, but best to limit to to say 2.5x upscale (obviously), unless you’re going for a full 4K in a monitor. And further down, the old systems will go for eons. Android native games gave me 7ish hours at the highest settings I could opt for? While running at 120FPS and not dropping a single frame.
Take this with salt, because I’m hopped up on codeine waiting for Tuesday when I can get tooth pain sorted!
(thank you again SO much for the nice comment!)
Just a note, I’m pretty sure Arm is only “efficient” in low power modes. I’m not sure there is much (if any) energy saving when running heavy loads.
For example, running heavy ML workloads on a Apple Silicon still burns through battery.
Your example might not be correct since I’d expect ML to be more about the GPU?
Is the GPU in this chipset not also ARM architecture? Genuine question, I’m more of a desktop PC guy and don’t usually follow mobile platforms.
To the best of my understanding, AMD/Nvidia/Intel each run their own forms of architecture (eg. AMDs RDNA) which are probably closest to RISC for simple instructions and SIMD/SIMT (single instruction, multiple data/threads) for more complex vector calculations.
I tried clicking on Link, but he just took me to a bigger picture of Link
I can hear this GIF. Seared into my brain from when I was a teen.
OhFuckYoureGonnaMakeMe-PlayTheWindWakerAgain-meme-transparent.png
I really like your reviewing style! I also had no earlier insight into arm handhelds. Very educational 😊
I’m thinking the steam frame will open up pc gaming on arm completely and enable devices like this to go full power.
Its going to be a very interesting time with these retro handhelds when that happens. Still, its amazing to be able to play full AAA Steam & GOG games on Android before that even happens.
Its exciting!
I love to Tinker, but i’d want to know what that middle step is. It’s not 1. Get device 2. Tinker. 3. ??? 4. AAA steam games on Android!!
Things like this are why I seriously think the next steam deck may include an ARM based version. Possibly a smaller, lighter, more switch like device alongside something more like a z1e equivalent device.
Steam Frame may do a lot for VR but also for ARM gaming.
My secret hope though is risc-v also somehow gets on the map.
ARM version probably wouldn’t play many steam games though
Edit: play them well, I mean
Valve would build a compatibility layer and likely try to provide some incentive for game developers to provide ARM versions of their games.
a compatibility layer would involve dedicated hardware in the soc itself, like apple did with the m series chips
Aside from the config this looks cool
I bought a Retroid 3+ a while ago. It was an interesting experiment, but ultimately a pain in the ass to configure.
Ideally I just want to select a rom or game and play. I really don’t enjoy spending hours in settings and tweaking every detail to get a have to run decently. I don’t need AAA, but GameCube and PS2 would be cool.
Is that a thing? Or am I doomed to hangout in RetroArch settings?
GameCube and PS2 are a breeze to set up. I never use RetroArch for either of them, all you need to do is set the bios for PS2, change the input (AYN will automatically be set, but I find its better safe than sorry as it can make the odd error when configuring input for you!), choose your upscaling and go!
GCN was even easier, input and upscale, then play!
I’ll be writing up a thorough guide/games/settings post, I’ll find you an link you when I do if you’d like? But for PS2 and GCN its the work of 2 mins at the most on each :)
No RetroArch. At all.
Ok, but what is your review of the banana?
Sadly that review will never be posted. Potassium isn’t good for me, due to an autoimmune disease!
So a 0/ 10 then?
Really interesting review, thank you.
When you say this isn’t ready for most people, is that because the software needs more time, or the hardware isn’t there yet?
If I bought one of these today, could I expect to see better compatibility over the next 6 months to year with Steam games, or will it still be mostly for Android games and old system emulators?
Thank you for saying so! I really appreciate that :)
100% its the software. Drivers just aren’t there yet, but they’re being actively worked on as we speak, so early 2026 will be a solid assumption. Most PC games I tried worked incredibly well, out of the box without anything needed. But yes, as drivers improve and release, that compatibility will only get higher and higher.
As it stands:
The hardware is phenomenal and ahead of its time. We’re just waiting for the support for the Snapdragon Elite to play catch-up now. But after spending so long testing it, if you’re someone who likes to be at the forefront of things, then it’s a solid investment. I’d buy one, if I wasn’t sent a review unit. But I have the benefit of testing for so long to come to that conclusion!
Yes. 100% yes. Keep an eye on EmuReady.com also, there’ll be more and more compatibility reports for the Snapdragon Elite as the days and weeks pass, a good way to know if the PC games you love are running well. And you can always ask me to test out and try some games that you love most too, if you’d like!
That’s great to hear because, well… I’ve just bought one.
I’m so glad to hear my review helped! Youre going to love the Odin 3!
Du bist entlarvt
I should play Windwaker again
That banana feels like its cheating on the banana for scale scale
I like a big screen. 3.5" doesn’t do it for me.