Android handhelds go Elite, but is it an upgrade?
This week, we finally got details on AYN’s flagship Odin 3 handheld, which sports some impressive and surprising upgrades.
The least surprising aspect is the screen, which is the same 6-inch 120Hz AMOLED panel as the top screen on the Thor. That screen is the same size as its predecessor, but reduced bezels have decreased the handheld's overall size (and weight).
As a sidenote, it appears that that screen was custom-ordered by AYN. In July, AYANEO CEO Arthur Zhang commented “There are currently no 6" OLED screens.” AYN also calls it “exclusive,” so it may be some time before we see it on another handheld.
AYN Odin 3 quick specs:
- 6-inch AMOLED FHD 120Hz
- Snapdragon 8 Elite
- 8+128/12+256/16+512/24+1T
- 8,000mAh battery, 60W charging
- Wi-Fi 7 and BT 5.4
- 4k 60fps DisplayPort output
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But the most surprising announcement was the chipset: the Snapdragon 8 Elite. Unlike the Thor and KONKR Pocket FIT, the company has confirmed that there’s only one chipset option this time around.
This is a significant upgrade over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 on the Odin 2 (and Thor), but it’s not without controversy.
If you’ve done any Switch or Windows emulation on Android, you know how important it is to have the right drivers. Typically, these are third-party Mesa Turnip drivers, and they can have a transformative effect on performance.
However, the Snapdragon 8 Elite doesn’t have Turnip drivers, and it won’t for a long time. Alex Dazin (AKA KIMCHI), a YouTuber who distributes Turnip drivers for Android, told me it’s unlikely the Mesa team will work on it “any time soon.”
Dazin was a key player in getting AYANEO to send the dev team test devices for the G3 Gen 3, which made a major difference in performance and compatibility out of the gate for the Pocket S2. However, he notes that access to devices isn’t an issue here (the 8 Elite has been available on phones for a year now). The problem is time.
At the moment, the team is working on perfecting Turnip drivers for A7xx GPUs, which are found in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, G3 Gen 3, and so on. The 8 Elite uses a newer A8xx GPU, more specifically, the Adreno 830.
While Davin writes that “they have their hands full” with A7xx support, there is some good news from the dev team. He writes:
“The architecture seems similar to that of the A7xx GPU. This may suggest that reverse engineering the A8xx won't be much of a problem.”
The good news is that the stock drivers on the 8 Elite are actually great, and the raw power of the improved SoC mostly makes up for the lack of custom drivers. In fact, it may not be necessary to use Turnip drivers at all, as more emulators improve compatibility with native drivers.
So what can you expect from the 8 Elite? Russ from Retro Game Corps did a quick rundown of performance on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Leading Edition found on the Redmagic 10S Pro, and the results were mixed at best.
To get a better picture, I reached out to a few testers for some tips on improving performance on my own Snapdragon 8 Elite-toting Redmagic 10 Pro.
As it turns out, many of the graphical issues seen in the RGC video were fixed by simply switching to Yuzu. Eden, which has made some significant improvements for other chipsets, appears to have inadvertently broken a few things on 8 Elite devices.
For example, Mario Odyssey ran just fine with native 8 Elite drivers on Yuzu. I didn’t tinker too much, but switching to docked mode and .75 resolution gave me a solid 50-60fps. The same settings in Eden gave me 30-40 and numerous graphical glitches.
Hades still had minor graphical glitches in Yuzu, but not to the extent seen in the video. Other games that couldn’t get past the intro in Eden, like Metroid Dread, ran without a hitch on Yuzu.
(Note: This testing was done before the release of Eden v0.0.3 stable. Metroid Dread now appears to load fine, and other games may have also improved.) |
I contacted Camille LaVey, the lead developer on the Eden project, and he had some interesting insights into Snapdragon 8 Elite support.
In short, the team is working to improve the whole Vulkan backend, but it can be difficult to strike a balance between improving emulation workflows and reducing resource consumption.
There is good news, though, as he also wrote this:
“I can say freely that the community can pick the Odin 3 without hesitation, even if the support was slow in the first months of life of this SoC, emulation will mature like a fine wine on it.”
Setting aside Switch emulation for a moment, it’s also worth pointing out that Hades and many other games run much better in Windows emulators on the 8 Elite than Switch emulators. I tested a few games in Gamehub, and performance was seriously impressive.
I didn’t have time to test more than a handful of games because I couldn’t stop playing Silksong once I loaded it up. At the Redmagic 10 Pro’s native 2688x1216 resolution, Silksong ran at a steady 120fps. That’s significantly better than the game runs on the Switch 2, which has to reduce the resolution to hit 120fps. Reducing the resolution to FHD on the 10 Pro resulted in well over 300fps.
Granted, that game should run just fine on a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, as well. But it goes to show that the compatibility issues the community is concerned about might be overblown. It’s no longer a matter of making the drivers work for the emulator, but rather the emulator work for the driver.
Outside of Switch emulation, the 8 Elite has a few other advantages. It’s not only more powerful, but also more efficient. Odyssey drew just 3W during gameplay, with Silksong varying between 4-9W. That’s significantly less than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, so despite having the same 8,000mAh battery, the Odin 3 should have improved longevity.
In any case, the AYN Odin 3 will go up for pre-order on Indiegogo this Sunday, and it offers $50-60 off the retail price if you buy in the first 48 hours. It's set to begin shipping in late November (although realistically, you'd be lucky to have yours before the holidays).
That said, don't feel too pressured to buy it now. Early adopters always run a big risk here, and there are sure to be more Snapdragon 8 Elite handhelds in the pipeline. I'm looking at you, AYANEO.
