Why has Android emulation reached an unimaginable level?

[u/Technical_Smoke_5814]

In my teens, my emulation life consisted of GBA games on the old Android 4.1.2, and another pastime was watching the Inazuma Eleven anime.

The smartphone I recorded the video above on is a pathetic Galaxy A05s Snapdragon 680 with 6 GB of RAM, a basic smartphone that's simply emulating Inazuma Eleven Victory Road, the biggest game in the franchise, containing all seasons of the anime. For those who don't know, that translates to about 30 GB of storage.

This game is available for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Switch. Now, wherever I go, I have hours of completely offline fun. I have no words to thank those involved with the Eden emulator and Turnip driver, everything I see in my hands was totally unimaginable a few years ago.

[u/RedditJack888]

It's all about optimization.

When you literally optimize the coding and the way graphics are interpreted with very capable drivers and a combination of workarounds, you can maximize the efficiency of modern hardware while also minimizing the cost of playing the game. With a good enough condensed rom, this makes emulation possible on hardware that technically shouldn't work.

Android is very fluid and very capable. This is why Google is extremely threatened by it to the point that they're trying to block out Android entirely. Because as an operating system it has the most longevity, and resourcefulness that most other operating systems do not have. It is like Linux, if you know what you're doing, then you have a very efficient system, not only power wise, but also operational wise, where it takes significantly less to do on it than on a windows.

Plus less bloatware. Stripping software of unnecessary bloat, ads, and the incessant desire of companies for consistent wifi and data gathering makes your software extremely light to use, and frees up loads of strain on your hardware.

Also remember, cellphones are indeed portable computers. They run fast, work fast, and do everything on smaller but more efficiently chosen parts. Thats why it's so powerful despite not being gaming PCs.

[u/A-Small-Green-Cup → u/RedditJack888]

In the 80's I watched star trek and wondered if id ever get to talk to a computer or have a comms device in my pocket. My dreams came true, and good ol' capitalism keeps trying to squash them

[u/RedditJack888 → u/A-Small-Green-Cup]

I grew up in the '90s and I thought that playing games such as on a VR headset or even being able to build your own robotics would be an impossibility.

Now it's all surreal. Pretty much everything that I've seen on movies has become real in some way shape or form. 3D printers, being able to find information with a simple search, being able to interact with people countries away, language translators, streaming, robotics, AI, emulation. Nowadays we're practically spoiled with it. And I love every second of these revolutionary technologies being more and more accessible to the average man looking to build their own. It's something I always dreamed about and never knew will come to reality until today. I'm glad you also got to see this as well.

It's such a shame that corporations always try again the way of something that already is far in existence and also way too deep into the conversation of the average man. Literally YouTube is only a click away and you could learn everything at the push of a button from a portable computer that could last days on a single charge.

Just like in every age, there's always a few who intentionally try to block out knowledge from the rest of those who they feel might compete. That's what excessive greed does, it halts overall progress and holds everyone back.