GoKawiilHadlee Simons / Android Authority
TL;DR The ARMSX2 Refresh emulator is now available to download on Android.
This PS2 emulator uses native Arm code for improved performance compared to the standard ARMSX2 release.
ARMSX2 Refresh is only available via GitHub and Discord at the moment, but there are plans for a Play Store update.
ARMSX2 launched last year as a promising PS2 emulator for Android. The app uses x86-to-Arm translation, which typically incurs a performance penalty. We’ve known for a while that the company was working on a version with native Arm code, and it’s now released this version on Android. Say hello to ARMSX2 Refresh.
The refreshed PS2 emulator indeed uses native Arm code instead of relying on translation. This should deliver faster performance and improved compatibility as a result.
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ARMSX2 Refresh brings a variety of other changes compared to the standard version. This includes an updated emulator core based on version 2.7 of the venerable PCSX2 emulator, improved default settings for better compatibility out of the box, general/graphics/core fixes, game-specific fixes, and a new UI.
The UI seems quite basic right now, while also offering a somewhat unintuitive way of accessing the settings menu (holding down on the center of the screen as opposed to swiping in from the edges). However, the team promises more improvements for the UI. Furthermore, the settings menu itself is well-designed and makes for a refreshing (heh) change from rival emulators. We also see plenty of settings to play with, including a GPU profile option that lets you choose Mali, Adreno, or PowerVR graphics. That’s good news if you don’t have a Snapdragon device.
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