This Android gaming handheld rivals the ROG Ally and Steam Deck

It’s been a fantastic year for retro gaming handhelds, with devices from Retroid, Ayaneo, and others flooding the market with a range of affordable and high-performance models. Now, AYN is looking to take things to the next level with the Odin 2 Portal.

The newly announced model features a sleek design with an all-glass front that looks more like a phone than a handheld, plus a huge 7-inch 120Hz 1080p AMOLED display. It looks similar to the recent Retroid Pocket 5, which has a 5.5-inch OLED screen, but larger and quite a bit more powerful. Performance-wise, it should compete directly with the Ayaneo Pocket EVO, which also just went up for preorder.

For now, all we have is an announcement video (seen above) and a “coming soon” page on Indiegogo, but it appears to stop just short of being a generational upgrade for the Odin lineup. It uses the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor as the Odin 2 and Odin Mini, with the primary upgrade being the larger, more premium screen.

The Odin 2 Portal’s size means it isn’t as portable, but it could make it a great alternative to the ROG Ally and Steam Deck OLED, which have 7-inch and 7.4-inch displays, respectively. The main difference is that this one runs Android, while those two run Windows and Linux. Considering the chipset, it should also be significantly lighter, cheaper, and provide better battery life, but we’ll have to wait for more details before drawing any conclusions.

The ecosystem of emulators on Android is now reaching full maturity, with even some Windows titles playable via Winlator. If you’ve been holding out for a larger retro gaming handheld, this might be the one to get. If not, it might also lead to a price drop on the current Odin lineup.