AYN Android gaming handhelds are still relatively new, but lately it feels like there’s a kind of renaissance. We’re seeing new form factors like the sliding ANBERNIC RG Slide and whatever the SUGAR1 is supposed to be, but finally, finally, we are getting to what I consider the holy grail of gaming handhelds: The Nintendo 3DS. Yes, the age of dual-screened Android handhelds is upon us, and several companies are rushing to take the crown. The SUGAR1 is disqualified for bending backwards, but several upcoming handhelds now meet my clamshell requirements. For DS and 3DS fans like me, this is absolutely incredible news. But to understand why this is such a big deal, we first have to look at everything it took to get here. Would you buy a dual-screen gaming handheld? 28 votes Yes 82 % No 18 % The Android dual-screen dilemma David Imel / Android Authority The issue is software support. Dual-screen support on Android has been a major pain point since the days of the ill-fated Surface Duo, and things haven’t gotten much better since then. The smartphone operating system just isn’t optimized for multiple screens, and neither are most emulators. Many emulators are developed by small teams or even solo devs, so features like external display support take time to implement. In the case of the Nintendo DS emulator DraStic, we may never see external display support, since the developer has abandoned the project and it’s closed-source. Nick Fernandez / Android Authority The funky, transforming dual-screen SUGAR1 got around this with a unique software feature. By switching to Fusion mode in settings, the console treats the second screen as a continuation of the first. So, with a proper layout, any DS or 3DS emulator can display across both screens. It takes some extra setup, but the results are surprisingly good. Thankfully, these kinds of workarounds likely won’t be necessary for long. There’s now a MelonDS fork for Android that adds external display support. The latest version of the 3DS emulator Azahar also added the feature in release 2123 last week. The only holdout is Wii U emulation, but Cemu is still in such an early state on Android that it could be months before the feature is added. Emulator developers are slowly adding support for external displays. That said, adding the feature and having it work properly are two very different things. Emulator developers can’t test devices that don’t exist, but here AYANEO is giving them a major boost by sending them test units of the Pocket DS. The company did the same thing to improve community driver compatibility for the new chipset in the Pocket S2 Pro, and I was shocked by how well Switch emulation worked right out of the box as a result. But in many ways, Android just isn’t made for two screens. AYANEO also spent more than a year developing software for the Pocket DS, and even then, the software won’t be completely finished before the device starts shipping in September. The massive 165Hz screen is also reduced to 60Hz when both displays are active, which the company claims is a limitation of Android. Can Google fix this? Maybe. Will Google fix this? Probably not. Just get a 3DS Andy Walker / Android Authority You might ask, “If Android is so hostile to dual-screen emulation, why not just buy a used 3DS?” That’s a great question with a very simple answer: They’re expensive. Prices of all retro games have skyrocketed in the past few years, but 3DS prices have been particularly egregious. At this point, I’ve been in the market for a New Nintendo 3DS XL for years, and the cheapest I’ve found in decent condition is still well over $200. That’s the same price it launched at more than a decade ago. In the meantime, I ended up swinging for a Nintendo 2DS, but shortly after I bought it, Retroid released the Dual Screen Add-on, which effectively turns any emulation handheld into a dual-screen clamshell. It’s shipping now and costs $69, which is significantly less than I paid for my Nintendo 2DS a few months back. A second-hand New Nintendo 3DS XL costs more than it did a decade ago. Of course, there are a few unbeatable advantages to having an original 3DS. The most obvious is stereoscopic 3D, which remains a fairly uncompelling gimmick despite being in the console’s name. Everyone I know immediately hits the toggle to turn it off. The other is more significant, and it’s the stylus. These Android gaming handhelds use modern smartphone screens, which are designed for capacitive inputs (like your finger). The original hardware used a resistive touchscreen, which works with both your finger and a stylus. There was also a stylus in the body of the device, which would be a killer addition to these new handhelds. Take notes, AYANEO and AYN. For me, though, I’d gladly trade all of that for a larger, higher-resolution OLED panel and an emulator. Modern emulators are more than capable of upscaling 3DS games, which run at a puny native resolution of 400 x 240. Combine that with things like texture packs, and it’s practically a completely remastered game, never mind other niceties like save states and fast-forward. Begun, the clamshell wars have AYANEO Before I get into the latest Android devices, I do have to mention that there have been a few dual-screen Windows clamshells, most notably the AYANEO Flip 1S DS, which just launched earlier this year. That bad boy can run just about anything, but it starts at an eye-watering $1,279 during the early-bird period, and even more after that. That’s way too rich for most of us, so thankfully, the company announced an Android-based alternative a few months later. It’s called the Pocket DS, and it looks like an absolute monster. It pairs a 7-inch 165Hz OLED panel with a 5-inch LCD to create a larger, more modern gaming clamshell handheld. The Pocket DS broke open the floodgates for dual-screen Android clamshells. The Snapdragon G3x Gen 2 powering the thing is complete overkill for 3DS emulation. If real-world performance is the same as that of other AYANEO devices with the same chipset, like the Pocket ACE, it will be an incredibly capable device. It should be able to comfortably emulate Nintendo Switch games while playing a YouTube video on the second screen. But the most shocking thing was the price. AYANEO is known for premium (read: expensive) handhelds, so when it announced that pricing starts at $399, the handheld gaming community lost its collective mind. It quickly became one of the company’s most successful crowdfunding campaigns, raising more than half a million dollars in the first 24 hours. AYN Then came AYANEO’s main competitor, AYN. The company behind the popular Odin lineup only releases a few new devices a year, but it picked the day after the Pocket DS launched to announce a direct competitor, the AYN Thor. This smaller device has 6-inch and 3.9-inch OLED screens, with a size that’s nearly identical to the New Nintendo 3DS XL. The kicker here is the price. The cheapest model starts at just $249 during the early bird period, which is the same price as a second-hand New Nintendo 3DS XL. Sure, the base model has a modest Snapdragon 865 SoC, but that’s the same processor as the Retroid Pocket Flip 2, which has no problems emulating 3DS games. Spending $50 more nets you a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which nearly matches the G3x Gen 2 found on the Pocket DS. There's clearly a massive built-up demand for dual-screen handhelds. After the price announcement, I watched the Pocket DS Indiegogo to see how many people would jump ship. But while it did drop by a few thousand dollars in the first few hours as people canceled their orders, it quickly rebounded. As of writing, it sits at nearly $700,000, just over a week after launching. In fact, AYANEO has had to add additional units to the most popular configurations not once, but twice. What’s clear is that there’s a massive built-up demand for dual-screen handhelds, and I’m absolutely here for it. This is the most exciting period of gaming handhelds in years, and it’s going to be transformative for fans of DS and 3DS emulation. Even better, it might finally drive down the price of second-hand consoles so I can finally complete my collection of OG hardware. A boy can dream. Follow