Nick Fernandez / Android Authority
Retro gaming handhelds have come a long way in the past few years, but there’s still one big sticking point: the setup. Every time a new handheld comes in for review, I have to spend hours installing emulators, fixing folder structures, and configuring a frontend.
Once that’s done, I still have to configure settings and shaders for each console individually, which requires arcane knowledge in popular emulators like RetroArch.
Compared to Linux-based handhelds, it’s a terrible experience. My TrimUI Smart Pro came ready to play out of the box: emulators, controls, and sketchy ROM files included. To get an even better experience, I just popped out the SD card and loaded CrossmixOS, which has everything pre-configured (including shaders).
At this point, I’ve gotten pretty good at running through the emulator gauntlet for every new handheld. It’s the long, unskippable cutscene before the game actually starts. Some firmware fetishists enjoy the process even more than the actual gaming, but I can’t help but think there’s a better way.
With great power comes great headaches
Nick Fernandez / Android Authority
To be clear, Android gaming handhelds are generally better and more powerful than their Linux counterparts. I have yet to find a Linux handheld that can reliably handle PS2 emulation, with most capping off at Dreamcast and PSP.
And yes, I know the Steam Deck is technically a Linux handheld, but I’d put that in a separate category. Although I will say that nearly all of my complaints about Android also apply to the main SteamOS competitor, Windows.
But getting back to the point, Android gaming handhelds are more powerful because they’re tied to Android. As Qualcomm and others develop new chips, they naturally make their way to gaming handhelds after a few years. We’re even getting chipsets designed specifically for gaming handhelds in the Snapdragon G-series chips.
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