AYN Odin Pro - upcoming handheld

Ever since the AYN Odin handheld was announced it looked like something special. Great case design, great specs and not a bad price point considering the specs.

The company is completely new and this will be their first ever product. Odin is being released in 3 versions. The Base, Pro and Lite. The Base and Pro are based on the same chipset but the pro will have 8GB ram compared ti 4GB. The extra ram could prove useful under Android, but even more so as Odin can also run Windows 11.

They have been releasing a lot of videos showing the Odin in action, which is quite unusual for a developer. Especially one of the Chinese handheld makers. They have been showing some really impressive performance. But their latest video really highlights this, emulating a PS2 and God of War 2 really well. No other handheld near this pricepoint can get anywhere near emulating a PS2.

https://youtu.be/rs6EbKs5Jrc

We have seen a lot of retro handhelds released in the last couple of years, with Anbernic taking the crown until now for build quality and overall design of their products, plus nice OS support and a good community. But that might be about ti change.

The new Anbernic RG552 is just coming out and reviewers are starting to get their hands on it. But so far they have been disappointed with it because of its higher price compared to their last systems and not the increase in preformance to match. Plus its case design and look is not their greatest, with a lot of case flex and the shoulder buttons but being well laid out.

I think the Odin is going to be a big success of the final release schedule and quality can be achieved.

Obviously the best handheld in 2022 will be the Steam Deck, but it's price will be at least twice that of the Odin. So if you are more interested in retro gaming and current Android gaming then definitely consider the Odin.

We now have the first batch of the Ayn Odin Pro sent out and in reviewers hands. And it looks even more impressive as a finished product.

It's really well made, has a really nice touchscreen, really nice controls and layout. And a very nicely setup Android based OS and it works really well.

I would say, as many reviews are saying, that the Odin is now the best handheld system you can buy under £300 for retro and Android gaming. It can emulate any system up to the PS2, Gamecube and Wii. And it can run any current Android game perfectly well. It can also work perfectly well with streaming services like Stadia and Xbox mobile streaming.

Unless you want to play Nintendo Switch games the Ayn Odin is really the only handheld worth buying. And the Odin lite will be even cheapervat just under £200. Bargain.

It's only real competition will be the Steam Deck, but that will be at least twice the price and is a different market as it's a full handheld PC designed specifically to play games from your Steam library.

Mine didn't arrive yet :(

All those reviews make me wanna have it so badly. Going to Finland again tomorrow, was hoping I would get it by then. But I was quite late backer, so I probably will have to wait a bit longer still.