I’ve just published my not-quite-a-review, not-quite-an-impressions-piece, but something closer to a good old-fashioned feature article about the AYN Odin 3 Portal. I wanted to approach this one a little differently from your typical handheld review.
I interviewed several developers behind the software people are most likely to use on hardware this powerful, including jpolo (ARMSX3), Camille LaVey (Eden), Utkarsh (GameNative) and Json (DroidDeck). Their insights into the Dragonwing Q8, the challenges of modern emulation and where things are heading form a big part of the article, alongside my own testing of everything from PS2 and GameCube to PS3, Xbox 360 and PC gaming.
It’s also a rather long read, much closer to those enormous feature articles gaming websites used to publish years ago. I’ve always loved that sort of writing, and I suspect it’ll appeal to a certain kind of retro gaming enthusiast who enjoys digging into the technology and the people behind it. Or I hope so, anyway. It is a long read.
As for the Portal itself? I think it’s about as close to the perfect larger Android gaming handheld as you can get, provided you can afford it. The OLED is gorgeous, the controls are wonderful, performance is extraordinary, and that infamous high-pitched fan whine from the Odin 3 is completely gone. Not everything runs perfectly, especially some demanding PS3 games, but gaming on this thing has been an absolute pleasure.
Hope you enjoy the read!
thanks for this :) i keep thinking about getting the Steam Deck and then I read articles like this…
feels weird, retro gaming, i was writing games for the Commodore 64 back in the day using assembler, the games people play on “retro” decks are newer then games I play. Vintage gamer I guess ;)
Feels like I’m reading about a new one of these every week! Do these kind of devices actually get any kind of long term support from the manufacturers or are they churned out like cheap Android phones and never troubled by a security update again?
AYN actually has a really reasonable track record of supporting its devices after launch. The Odin 2 Portal was still receiving firmware updates like this August, for example (which launched in January 2025), and the original Odin 3 has received several too.
That said, these are generally bug fixes, performance improvements and features specific to their software and optimization, rather than the regular Android version upgrades and security patches you’d expect from like of Samsung or Google. I’m not aware of AYN offering any guaranteed long-term security support, so that’s certainly something worth considering. They’re not simply abandoning devices immediately, but I wouldn’t put their software support in the same category as a major smartphone manufacturer.
I guess the level of updates you’d need from a device like this is probably less than for your phone as you’re presumably not putting as much personal information on it, but given the security landscape these days I don’t think I’d want to risk a networked device that’s not getting updates. They’re not exactly cheap either, if I’m spending hundreds on a computer I’m not expecting the manufacturer to abandon it after a year or two so they can sell me the latest model!
Yeah, but those things were used to needing regular updates, when they’re abandoned they aren’t actually abandoned, they’re purposely bricked to cause you to buy a new model. Regularly updating to be able to download games and connect to the psn network is not the same arena at all, if you’re running an emulator.
Exactly. And the emulators running, being made by the community are constantly updated, and the best being open-source are very much inspectable too
Great review. I feel like I learned a lot without “spoiling” the new owner experience. I also really appreciate your long form articles. I am sure you get more engagement on other platforms but thanks for posting on Lemmy!
Thank you so much!!!
It might sound like a ‘line’, but I’m way more invested in Lemmy. This is my kind of space rather than the typical ones :)
Thanks to you I bought the AYN Odin 3 from your review on it, you even warned is not to!
I’m glad I did, PC emulation went from strength to strength console emulation is better too and the GPU drivers keep coming and are easy to integrate.
I’m trying to atop myself installing Linux on it, but I see that happening someday, they’re great little machines.
I’m glad I did, PC emulation went from strength to strength console emulation is better too and the GPU drivers keep coming and are easy to integrate.
And it is getting better and better still!
I know a few exciting things still to come from the PC emulation side specifically (which as a naming convention is a misnomer, I know), and with the O3P now on the scene, AYN is very much invested in keeping this line going :)
I’m so, so glad my review and articles help! That means the world to me!
