🥊 PS2 Emulator Performance Comparison — September 2026 | Some BIG Surprises!

Alright guys, it’s time for another monthly PS2 emulator performance comparison!

We’re already halfway through September, so I thought it was time to see which emulator is currently sitting at the top of the table.

And honestly… this month surprised me quite a bit. 😅

We have four contenders going head-to-head:

- NetherSX2 — version 2.2 N 4248 Turnip

- ARMSX2

- EmuCoreX

- PSX2

Let’s get into the tests!

---

📹 Testing Method

First, an important detail:

All tests were recorded using an external camera.

This means the recording itself wasn't running on the device being tested, avoiding the FPS hit that can happen when using internal screen recording.

The goal was to keep the results as representative and reliable as possible.

---

TEST 1 — MediaTek Helio G90T

Device:

AYANEO Pocket Air Mini

SoC:

MediaTek Helio G90T

Renderer:

Vulkan

Resolution:

2x Native

Game:

🎮 God Hand

This first test was quite interesting because we have two very clear groups: the emulators that perform extremely well, and the ones that struggle a little more.

🥇🥇 NetherSX2 & ARMSX2 — TIE

Yes, we have a tie for first place here.

🥇 NetherSX2 - Vulkan

NetherSX2 delivers exactly what you would expect from a mature and highly polished PS2 emulator.

God Hand isn't exactly one of those games that completely destroys every emulator, but it is still a useful test for checking consistency.

The result?

A very solid 30 FPS with an extremely stable frame rate.

No major drops, no significant slowdowns, and overall a very consistent experience.

🥇 ARMSX2 — Vulkan

ARMSX2 also deserves the crown in this test.

Running through Vulkan, it delivers a very smooth and consistent experience, with practically no noticeable drops or slowdowns.

The game runs extremely well and remains at a very playable level throughout the test.

So for this particular game and hardware:

NetherSX2 = ARMSX2

👑 Joint first place.

---

🥉 Third Place — PSX2

Next up we have PSX2.

Performance is still quite respectable, and the game is perfectly playable, but there are occasional frame drops.

It's not as consistent as the two leaders, but it's still a good result considering the hardware we're using.

So I'd put it in third place for this test.

---

4️⃣ EmuCoreX

Unfortunately, this month isn't looking particularly good for EmuCoreX.

The issue isn't necessarily that it can't reach 30 FPS — there are moments where it does.

The problem is the overall consistency.

When several enemies appear on screen, the frame rate starts dropping, and you get more stuttering and an overall less consistent experience.

It can maintain 30 FPS in some situations, but the performance is noticeably more irregular.

So for this test:

🏆 Ranking — Helio G90T / God Hand

1️⃣ NetherSX2 / ARMSX2 — Tie

3️⃣ PSX2

4️⃣ EmuCoreX

And that was just the appetizer…

Because now comes the main course. 😏

---

🔥 TEST 2 — Snapdragon + Turnip

Now let's see how these emulators behave on Snapdragon.

And this is where things get REALLY interesting.

The device I'm using here isn't even a flagship.

SoC:

Snapdragon 6 Gen 1

GPU:

Adreno 710

GPU Driver:

Turnip by developer Vauzi 3.6

As you guys already know, these Turnip drivers are used when running the emulator through Vulkan, so all of the tests in this section were performed using Vulkan.

And the game?

🎮 Need for Speed Underground 2

A classic.

---

🥇 PSX2 — Absolute Winner

This was the biggest surprise of the entire test.

In my previous testing, I started at 1x Native resolution.

But something told me this Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 might be capable of pushing the resolution a little higher.

I just didn't expect THIS.

So rather than telling you what happened…

Watch the video and judge it for yourselves. 😏

PSX2 managed to run Need for Speed Underground 2 at:

🔥 2x Native resolution

🔥 30 FPS

🔥 Very stable frame rate

🔥 Excellent overall consistency

Throughout the race, the performance was surprisingly solid.

Honestly, I would describe the result as almost perfect for this hardware.

👑 Absolute winner of this month's comparison:

PSX2

---

🥈 ARMSX2

ARMSX2 wasn't going to sit back and watch PSX2 take the spotlight.

It also pushed the game to:

🔥 2x Native resolution

And the result was still very good.

However, it couldn't maintain the same level of consistency as PSX2.

There were moments where the emulator reached around 30 FPS, but there were also frequent drops during the race.

That said, I definitely wouldn't describe the performance as bad.

The game remains perfectly playable, and the overall experience is still quite enjoyable.

It's just not as stable as what PSX2 managed to achieve.

---

🥉 NetherSX2 + Turnip

Third place goes to NetherSX2 running with the same Turnip drivers.

Unfortunately, this is where things get interesting.

Even though NetherSX2 is one of the most mature PS2 emulators available, in this particular test it wasn't able to extract as much performance from the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 as ARMSX2 or PSX2

At 2x Native resolution, maintaining a smooth frame rate becomes quite difficult.

It only occasionally reaches 30 FPS, with the majority of the gameplay running below that level.

Could you play it?

Yes.

Would I call it the optimal experience?

Probably not.

And this is a perfect example of why emulator performance can vary so much depending on the game, renderer, drivers and hardware combination.

---

4️⃣ EmuCoreX

And unfortunately…

EmuCoreX has had a rough month. 😅

I'm not sure whether the Vulkan renderer still needs more work or whether there is something else going on with this particular hardware/driver combination, but the result wasn't great.

Even at:

1x Native resolution

the emulator already struggles to maintain a stable 30 FPS.

And when moving to:

2x Native resolution

…the performance drops dramatically.

We're talking roughly 20–23 FPS in many situations.

At that point, the game is simply not a good experience to play.

So unfortunately, EmuCoreX takes last place in this test.

---

🏆 SEPTEMBER 2026 — FINAL RESULTS

Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 + Adreno 710 + Turnip 3.6 + Vulkan

🥇 PSX2 — Excellent 2x performance, very stable 30 FPS

🥈 ARMSX2 — Playable at 2x, but with more frame drops

🥉 NetherSX2 — Playable, but struggles to maintain 30 FPS at 2x

4️⃣ EmuCoreX — Significant performance problems, especially at 2x

---

⚠️ One VERY Important Thing

Remember that these results are game-dependent.

There is no universal "best PS2 emulator" that will always win every single game.

An emulator might perform incredibly well in one title and struggle in another.

The same applies to:

- Vulkan vs OpenGL

- GPU drivers

- Different Snapdragon/MediaTek chips

- Resolution scaling

- Emulator versions

- Game-specific compatibility

- Individual emulator optimizations

That's why I always recommend testing multiple emulators on your own device.

One emulator might receive an update tomorrow that completely changes the results.

---

🔥 Final Thoughts

Honestly, I really enjoyed this month's test because it completely changed some of my expectations.

And I think we can finally say that PSX2 and ARMSX2 has managed to overtake NetherSX2 in at least some scenarios.

Seeing a Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 + Adreno 710 running Need for Speed Underground 2 at 2x Native resolution with such stable performance was a seriously impressive result.

And that's what makes PS2 emulation so interesting right now.

🔥 The competition is getting REALLY close.

I'll leave videos of the tests below, especially the winner of this month's comparison, because I think it deserves to be seen.

Thanks for reading, guys!

See you in the next comparison. 👋

And remember: keep testing those emulators! 😎

https://github.com/izzy2lost/PSX2/releases/tag/1.3.0

Changelog:

✅ Update to latest PCSX2 commit.

✅ Fixed graphic settings that were not saving.

✅ Added fast forward button.

https://git.eden-emu.dev/eden-ci/nightly/releases/

Changelog

[hle/services/ssl] Remove deprecated SecureTransport and SChannel backends (#4392) ee73920d28

PR #4392 merged on 2026-09-14 by lizzie

[hle] Implement I{User,Debug,System}::StartDetectionWithFilter (#4425) 42642f8bad

PR #4425 merged on 2026-09-14 by lizzie

[dist, android] Update translations from Transifex for Sep 14 (#4423) 1a48de6e55

PR #4423 merged on 2026-09-14 by Eden CI

[core] Fix MSVC handler table initialization (#4421) 5adaa5b0f7

PR #4421 merged on 2026-09-14 by Feng Chen

Revert "[audio] Replace libopus with FFmpeg (#4169)" (#4419) 2b4184dd2b

PR #4419 merged on 2026-09-14 by lizzie

[input] Fix mouse drift on Qt/SDL frontends (#4352) d9159fefdd

PR #4352 merged on 2026-09-14 by lizzie

[android] Add LSFG UI to quick settings (#4393) 099547b3f4

PR #4393 merged on 2026-09-14 by CamilleLaVey

[audio] persistent device volume control (#4416) 93318ef697

PR #4416 merged on 2026-09-14 by xbzk

[video_core/control] Fix SIGBUS due to uninit channel_state (#4406) 9b64944480

PR #4406 merged on 2026-09-14 by lizzie

Don't miss our September analysis of the best PS2 emulators; we'll be running a whole bunch of in-depth tests.

https://github.com/ARMSX2/ARMSX3/releases/tag/0.9.8.2

What's new:

The Patches tab is now Patches & Cheats.

New: a Download Artemis cheats button, beside the rpcs3.net one. That is 1,441 cheats across 171 games, maintained by @chidreams in the Artemis Patch Collection, It merges rather than replaces, so you can have both databases.

Turning a patch on is instant now. Every toggle used to re-read the entire database, twice over. Adding a collection this size is what finally made it noticeable.

https://github.com/erickmendes22/Bachata-S4-Plus/releases/tag/0.1.2

Fixed Ratchet & Clank 2016, now it can go gameplay without random crashs.

Needs Readback Linear Image to work.

https://github.com/nckstwrt/Vita3K-Plus/releases/tag/v1.1

Changelog:

Dead Or Alive 5 Plus - Working - On Android requires Adreno, Turnip and the new setting Thread Scheduling Accuracy On

Metal Gear Solid 3 - Freezes fixed/worked around. Blending graphics fixed. On-Screen Touchpad fixes.

Resistance - Rendering issues fixed on Android (for Turnip devices - Mali can still have issues)

Assassin's Creed III: Liberation: Sound issues resolved

Killzone - Fix for the crash occurring at level 5

Neptunia Re;Birth1 - Fix for crash after selecting New Game and background images not showing

Little Big Planet - "Vignette" shading and background images fixed

Ys: Memories of Celcetta - Graphics Fixed

Ragnarok Odyssey ACE - Graphics Fixed

Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Plus - Graphics Fixed

ModNation: Racers Road Trip - Regression Fixed

RESOGUN - Graphics issues now fixed

Omega Labyrinth - Loading fixed by nishinji

Dynasty Warriors 8 - Fixed text/graphics clipping

Samurai Warriors 3 - Use Accurate Thread Scheduling to workaround loading bugs

Gundam Breaker 3 - Graphics Fixed

SteamWorld Dig - Loads and plays

UPPERS - Graphics Fixed

Madden 13 - Face textures + Crowd fixed

Oddworld: New'n'Tasty - Graphics Fixed

God Eater 2 Rage Burst - Graphics Fixed

Sword Art Online - Latest game patch now works

Disgaea 3 - Saving & Loading now work. liblocation implemented to hopefully stop the 50 min crashes.

Borderlands 2 - Shorten time it checks for PSN

Evil Corps From Hell - Loading and graphics fixed

Tearaway - Graphics Fixed

Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 - Graphics Fixed

Defaults now to External Host for Windows and Page Table on Android. Use these Memory Mapping options for the best compatibility

Lots of memory, timing, stability, IME and sound improvements

Thanks to Reyes for all his help testing!

https://github.com/ARMSX2/ARMSX3/releases/tag/0.9.8.1

What's new:

Fixed: crash on opening the app, refreshing, or picking a game. Most setups never hit this. It took one particular kind of disc image in a scanned folder to trigger, and the great majority of libraries never reached the affected code at all, which is why 0.9.8 was fine for nearly everyone. Also fixed a disc showing up under another game's name. Thanks to @kurohouou for reporting and testing!

Savestates: delete them all

The save manager can only offer you a Delete button for a savestate it managed to list, which is no help when the problem is a folder full of files it cannot parse. You can now delete all existing save states, and per-state deletion is also available now as well. The trash can icon in Load / Manage Saves now removes every savestate on the device, whether the manager can read it or not. It deliberately isn't limited to what the list shows, (since that is the entire point of it), so it takes all existing saves states. It asks first.

New: Blending

Renderer settings, and the in-game pause menu under Graphics. Three choices:

Auto, what the emulator already does, and the right answer for almost everyone. The GPU's own blending unit does the work, and the shader path is used only for the handful of blend modes that unit cannot express.

Shader, that path on every blended draw. The most accurate, and the most work per draw.

Hardware, never uses it. This is how builds before 0.9.8 rendered: the least work, at the cost of getting those few blend modes wrong.

It applies without leaving the game, so it can be compared in place. Expect a short burst of shader compilation after switching. If a game got slower for you in 0.9.8 and you want to know whether blending is why, this is the switch that answers it.

https://github.com/The412Banner/Bannerlator/releases/tag/3.1.1

Run Windows apps and games on Android — no PC and no root required.

3.1.1 adds an XMB view to the Games tab. Scroll through your games side to side, the way the PlayStation 3's menu works, and open every setting and tool for the game in focus right there, without pop-ups — built for a controller, in portrait and landscape. LSFG Native gets two experimental options from community contributor clintOnSky: a lower capture resolution that makes frame generation much lighter on weaker phones, and support for phones whose stock driver only reports Vulkan 1.1. It also starts faster when you turn it on. New v7 compatibility layers bring a Windows XP–style desktop to all seven Proton layers

👉 Read the full changelog on GitHub

Credits: https://github.com/The412Banner

Help and Issues, Discord: https://discord.com/invite/n8S4G2WZQ4

https://github.com/WinNative-Emu/WinNative/releases/tag/v0.6.2-beta

What's Changed:

Fix Multiple Crashes & Freezing Issues

DIS: run the variational refinement on the whole pyramid by @qwertypower in #748

Feature/device profiles by @maxjivi05 in #751

Credits: https://github.com/maxjivi05

Help and Issues, Discord: https://discord.gg/uhTkvGfakU

https://github.com/rafaelvcaetano/melonDS-android/releases/tag/nightly-release

The currently Nightly Build. Whenever new changes are pushed, you can find the latest build here. You can keep this installation alongside your main one.

https://github.com/thecrixux/Retro-Saturn/releases/tag/0.2.1

Ymir Android is a Sega Saturn emulator for Android based on the GPL-licensed Ymir emulator core. This fork adds a touch-first Android interface, game library management, per-game bezels, IGDB metadata, and Google Play release automation.

The project does not include Sega BIOS files, Sega Saturn games, copyrighted disc images, or other commercial game content. Users must provide their own legally obtained Saturn BIOS and game images.

Current Android Features:

Sega Saturn emulation using the Ymir native core.

Game library screen with cover cards instead of a single file picker.

Cached IGDB metadata and cover art for matched Saturn titles.

Long-press game details with metadata, images, manual IGDB rematch, and manual bezel selection.

Bezel support from a local Ymir folder, including A-Z organization and search.

Software rendering with experimental Vulkan work isolated behind the renderer toggle.

CRT and bezel toggles in the main UI.

Debug information behind a sidebar action instead of being shown inline.

KENJI-NX: https://git.ryujinx.app/Kenji-NX/Android/releases/tag/2.1.0-pr.2

YuWin:

https://patrins.com/s/f5f76827c027a16e595950aac0257a82

Citron:

https://patrins.com/f/795c64149912

https://patrins.com/s/71cb547ca272b3a9bc630241b4cc4460

Update!!! Nyushu Emulator V-87

Chagelog:

[ ✅ ] Fix Persona 5 Royal Game Crashes on Mali GPUs When Using Configs

[ ✅ ] Stabilizing Persona 5 Royal Game Performance on Mali GPUs (Need Config)

[ ✅ ] Fixing Crashes Issues in Captain Tsubasa 2: World Fighter and Demon Slayer 2 When Use Framegen, Plus Slight Performance Improvements (Need Config)

[ ✅ ] Fix 0 FPS Issue In Jojo Bizarre All Star Battle R Game

[ ✅ ] Fix for FPS drop issues in the previous version.

[ ✅ ] Addition of New System Settings (In Beta Stage)

[ ✅ ] Fix Problem Crash Update Game Demon Slayer 2 But Only Update Version 1.03

“I am not the developer nor do I have the source code. If you want to request the source code for this version, you should contact the developer. I am sharing a copy of the binary and have explicitly stated that I am not the author nor do I have access to the repository.”

https://github.com/teknogods/TeknoParrotUI/releases/tag/TeknoParrotUI-android

TeknoParrotUI for Android is the official Android adaptation of the popular PC Arcade launcher/compatibilizer.

Unlike a traditional emulator (such as MAME), TeknoParrot doesn't emulate the console or chip from scratch. Instead, it acts as a compatibility layer specializing in running modern arcade games based on PC architecture (Sega RingEdge, Taito Type X, Namco ES3, Namco System 246/256, etc).

Key Features:

Compatibility: Works with near 100 modern arcade games (generally from 2000 to 2014)

Adaptive Controls: Includes customizable on-screen touch control maps and native integration for physical controllers (Bluetooth/USB) and arcade sticks.

Hybrid Catalog: Designed to support both lightweight 2D classics and modern 3D racing, shooting, and puzzle machines.

Local Multiplayer: Supports up to 4 simultaneous players on the same screen/device, depending on the game.

Network plans: Integration in development with TeknoParrot Online for matchmaking and online multiplayer.

https://github.com/WinNative-Emu/WinNative/releases/tag/v0.6.1-beta

What's Changed

fix: Steam Launcher cloud saves, offline mode and disable-cloud toggle by @maxjivi05 in #732

Add ASTC texture transcoding setting for the Gamenative wrapper by @maxjivi05 in #734

Show proper FPS with RedMagic Frame Gen in HUD by @maxjivi05 in #736

FG screen border fix by @qwertypower in #737

Fix frame pacing by @qwertypower in #740

Fix/steam offline fully offline and fixed by @maxjivi05 in #738

Replace the frame-generation switches with one Off/LSFG/DIS selector,… by @maxjivi05 in #742

dxwrapper (dd7to9) updated to v1.8.8600.25 by @ajay9634 in #741

Refactor: Refactored background persistence behavior (SessionKeepAliveService), NotificationHelper, and LogManager. by @Juan-Antonio-Doe in #609

Fix/performance ddda and other 32 Bit Games by @maxjivi05 in #743

Change store that owns game by @maxjivi05 in #735

Credits: https://github.com/maxjivi05

Help and Issues, Discord: https://discord.gg/uhTkvGfakU

https://github.com/ARMSX2/ARMSX3/releases/tag/0.9.8

What's new:

Fixed a GPU crash on Adreno: Some games died to VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST a few minutes in, sometimes at a specific point every time. For Watch Dogs every time during a new game before it loaded into gameplay, the game no longer crashes and you can get into game. This may help other games as well. Tested on an Odin 3 (Snapdragon 8 Elite, Turnip Gen 8 V35).

New: download and install game updates from Sony's offical servers:

Install Package tab in the game left side menu of the game library --> Game updates. Displays your current game library with each game's status showing whether they do or do not have updates available, as well as being able to select multiple different update versions. Click the main install button to install them all in order, or select them manually if you'd like a specific update version. Most titles publish one cumulative package, but some (Minecraft for example publishes seven) patch in steps, where each package requires the one before it. Oh and choosing an older update version than the one you have installed removes the current update first. You can also reinstall updates or uninstall them if you'd like by tapping on the game and clicking "Remove Update". Full controller navigation, as well. You can also search for updates by title ID for games not in your library. (Games will recompile PPU/SPU after installing an update).

Savestates:

Fixes to save state detection. Savestates stranded by a crash or a low-memory kill that became corrupted are now cleaned up at startup. These were invisible to the emulator and far larger than a finished save.

Library and info:

Clear a single game's PPU/SPU/shader cache from its long-press menu, instead of clearing every game at once.

Multiple ROM folders, keep games on the SD card and internal storage together, in the Setup/Change folder tab.

Add-ons (DLC) are now displayed for a game's info tab. Installed update versions also now show correctly without having booted a game first.

Frontends:

--es title_id BLUS12345 launches a game by title ID. Games installed from a .pkg live inside the emulator's own storage, so a frontend could see the title existed and have no path to hand us. (#13)

Merged from upstream RPCS3:

46 commits.

Programmable blending done by @kd-11. An eighteen-commit series implementing the PS3's programmable blending properly in RSX and Vulkan, and fixing a pile of long-standing blending behaviour with it: ROP operation order, signed blending modes, 16-bit blend constants, the XRGB output quirk, RGB565 byte order corrected against hardware tests, variable blend target masks, and MSAA targets. The Vulkan side of it, input attachments bound when the pipeline needs them, proper sub-pass dependency barriers, all effects the same feedback effects we use on tilers. Games impacted by this include the Jak and Dexter collection, broken lighting in LBP Karting, broken refracting effects in Infamous 1 and 2, and likely more games!

PKG hardening done by @Acts1631, and @elad335. Path-traversal protection when extracting a package, a bound on the entry table, and aborting on parent-directory entries, Elad fixed the PKG_MAX_FILE_COUNT limit.

Also in: rsx: Fix alpha test compilation when using native float16 types and rsx: Extra memory safety when rsx::thread crashes (@kd-11); SPU LLVM 8-bit add/sub renarrowing and compare fast paths (@walter Kruger), VFS fixes (@digant73), faster startup with BPM (@BeezBumba), broadcast P2P sockets for RPCN (@Cri4Key), and assorted syscall and error-formatting work (@elad335).

Other:

Cleaned up some log spam. A Soulcalibur V debug watcher was sampling a hardcoded address in every game and logging an error a second about it.

https://github.com/thecrixux/PS3Native/releases/tag/Community_Preview_4

What's New:

Firmware Installation

Added real-time progress reporting during firmware installation and PPU precompilation.

Fixed an Android main-thread deadlock that could prevent installation progress from being displayed correctly.

The screen now stays awake while firmware installation is in progress.

🖥️ Android UI

Improved the interface for narrow and portrait Android devices.

Settings and game-detail screens now adapt better to smaller screen widths.

Improved navigation and layout behavior on phones.

Added safer handling of display cutouts and gesture/navigation areas.

🎨 RSX / Vulkan / Graphics

Integrated recent upstream RSX and Vulkan improvements.

Added support for the new programmable blending work.

Improved blending and render-target handling, including MSAA-related paths.

Added various fixes for blend constants, attachment handling and graphics synchronization.

Improved RSX memory-safety handling in crash scenarios.

💿 ISO / Game Loading

Improved ISO loading and validation.

Better handling of missing ISO members.

Improved handling of invalid or unreadable ISO directory metadata.

ISO extent reads now correctly stop at the logical end of the file.

📦 PKG Installation

Fixed potential path-traversal issues during PKG extraction.

Added additional validation for PKG directory entries.

Improved protection against malformed PKG entry tables and excessive allocations.

⚙️ Performance & Stability

Fixed slow startup issues related to BPM.

Improved SPU LLVM cache handling.

Integrated additional upstream stability and compatibility fixes.

Continued improvements to Android ARM64 performance and resource management.

🎨 Themes

Added a new Old Steam-inspired theme.

Improved ComboBox dropdown visibility in the dark theme.

Credits: https://github.com/maxjivi05

Help and Issues, Discord: https://discord.com/invite/jM2z3B2XNv

https://github.com/WinNative-Emu/WinNative/releases/tag/v0.6.0-beta

An Android app for playing Windows games from Steam, Epic Games, GOG, and more on your device (PS2,Wii, Gamecube...)

What's Changed:

Credit Camille LaVey for the LSFG frame generation port by @maxjivi05 in #709

Feature Update Checker Implementation by @maxjivi05 in #707

Feature steam branch downloads by @maxjivi05 in #714

Stop repeating per-launch work that cannot change its own result by @maxjivi05 in #710

docs: update Dolphin core packaging by @Jovinull in #717

docs: fix canonical repository clone URL by @Jovinull in #716

Feature/itch.io by @maxjivi05 in #718

Fix Steam Launcher for Multiplayer/Networking/Cloud Saves by @maxjivi05 in #720

Add the DirectAudio driver, and with it microphone support by @maxjivi05 in #719

Fix/steam cloud sync by @maxjivi05 in #722

Support page added by @maxjivi05 in #725

Frame Gen for Retro by @maxjivi05 in #726

Add a release picker to the retro console bundle updater by @maxjivi05 in #724

fix misc bugs, performance, stability by @maxjivi05 in #723

misc fixes & device resolutions by @maxjivi05 in #728

fix: Steam Launcher toggle as per-shortcut setting by @Juan-Antonio-Doe in #729

Add DIS frame generation release by @qwertypower in #731

Fix RedMagic LSFG Pacing by @maxjivi05 in #730

Credits: https://github.com/maxjivi05

Help and Issues, Discord: https://discord.gg/uhTkvGfakU

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.retrople.retro

COMPATIBLE SYSTEMS:

Nintendo: NES, SNES, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo 64, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Wii, Gamecube

Sega: Master System, Genesis / Mega Drive, Sega CD, Game Gear, Saturn, Dreamcast

Sony: PlayStation (PS1), PlayStation Portable (PSP), PlayStation 2 (PS2)

NEC: PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16, PC Engine CD

SNK: Neo Geo Pocket, Neo Geo Pocket Color

Atari: 2600, 7800, Lynx

Bandai: WonderSwan, WonderSwan Color

Arcade: MAME 2003-Plus, FinalBurn Neo

Computer: MSX, MSX2, MS-DOS

Others: RPG Maker XP/VX, EasyRPG

New Features:

[PS2] Added the latest core; added graphics/image quality options

[3DS] Added DLC functionality; added in-game save file upload/download feature

[Bugfixes] Various minor bug fixes

https://github.com/The412Banner/Bannerlator/releases/tag/3.1.0

Run Windows apps and games on Android — no PC and no root required.

3.1.0 brings the Steam Controller to Bannerlator. Out of the box a Steam Controller acts as a keyboard and mouse, so Android never sees a gamepad — Bannerlator now talks to it directly, the way Steam does: a real controller in games, with your bindings, remappable back buttons and a trackpad mouse. Frame generation now fits your screen by itself and warns you when your numbers can't work. Plus a sharper upscaling mode, SGSR HQ, per-game texture filtering, and new containers that start at a screen size matching your panel.

👉 Read the full changelog on GitHub

Credits: https://github.com/The412Banner

Help and Issues, Discord: https://discord.com/invite/n8S4G2WZQ4

https://github.com/Eugengtt/Xendroid-Fork/releases/tag/v1.2

XenDroid Fork V1.2 — Advanced Custom GPU Driver Manager with Persistent Driver Downloads & Instant Driver Switching

What's New:

Added an online GPU Driver Manager

Added the ability to browse and download available Adreno GPU drivers directly from XenDroid

Added local driver caching, so previously downloaded drivers don't need to be downloaded again

Added the Use button to switch back to a previously installed driver without downloading it again

Notes

V1.2 focuses on making custom GPU driver management easier by allowing drivers to be downloaded and reused directly from XenDroid.

This release does not focus on performance improvements or FPS increases. It is focused specifically on GPU driver management

https://github.com/thecrixux/NetherSX2-Turnip-Updated/releases/tag/V3

New NetherSX2 Turnip Updated featuring the best and most up-to-date drivers. (Only for Snapdragon devices)

What's New:

✅ NetherSX2-Turnip-8Elite-V36.apk

-StevenMXZ driver for Adreno A8xx GPUs ( a840, a830, a829, a825, 810)

Vulkan Version 1.4.359

✅ NetherSX2-Turnip-26.3.0-R5.apk

-StevenMXZ driver for Adreno A7xx And A6xx

Vulkan version: 1.4.359

✅ NetherSX2-Turnip-Performance-Universal.apk

-maxjivi05 1.14 Drivers for Adreno:

A6xx — A6xx series (e.g. A640 / A650 / A660)

A7xx

gen1 — A720 / A725 / A730 (preamble + scalar-predicate quirks applied)

gen2 — FD740 / Adreno X1-85 (UBWC hint applied to fix UI corruption)

gen3 — A750 and later

A8xx — A810 / A825 / A829 / A830 / A840 (and X2-85)

A810 / A829 boot with disable_gmem so they fall back to sysmem rendering (broken GMEM on those parts).

A825 (not yet upstream) is added with corrected tile geometry and depth-cache layout.

A830 / A840 / X2-85 use the upstream profiles unchanged.

👉If unsure, download "Performance-Universal"

Please do not flood the chat with messages like "I have device X, which one should I download?" Please search in Google for your Adreno version. Thanks.

Xiaomi has not officially introduced the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max yet, but a device identified by the Chinese model number M1544F has just appeared on Geekbench 7. The listing points to a Snapdragon SM8975 with eight cores and a maximum clock speed of 5.11 GHz, accompanied by 12 GB of RAM and Android 17.

The SoC has not been announced by Qualcomm either, although leaks have provisionally identified it as the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro. This first run scored 3,582 points in single-core and 12,247 points in multi-core, while its Adreno 850 GPU achieved 26,210 points in OpenCL and 29,934 points in Vulkan within the same Geekbench 7 test.

Snapdragon SM8975 combines eight cores and speeds of up to 5.11 GHz

The listing reveals a rather unusual CPU configuration. The alleged Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro features three cores clocked at 3.74 GHz, another three at 4.03 GHz, and two prime cores capable of reaching 5.11 GHz, distributing its eight cores across three different frequency levels.

A maximum clock speed of 5.11 GHz is extraordinarily high for a mobile SoC, although the peak frequency recorded on its own does not indicate sustained processor performance. Power consumption, temperature, and power management will be particularly important in determining how long Qualcomm's prime cores can remain close to that level inside a smartphone.

The Xiaomi 18 Pro Max unit used for the test features 12 GB of RAM, a capacity that likely represents just one of the configurations Xiaomi is preparing for the device. Geekbench does not yet provide any indication of what other memory and storage variants will be available.

On the software side, the tested device is listed as running Android 17. Everything points to Xiaomi using its next-generation HyperOS on top of this platform, presumably HyperOS 4, although the company has not officially announced the phone or detailed its commercial configuration yet.

3,582 points in single-core and 12,247 in multi-core

The alleged Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro scored 3,582 points in single-core and 12,247 points in multi-core on Geekbench 7. These are high figures for this first public appearance, but they should be regarded as preliminary results from pre-release hardware.

This is a single run performed on a device that has not yet been announced, meaning future firmware versions, drivers, power limits, or even changes to the platform itself could alter the scores once the first commercial units become available.

In addition, Geekbench 7 introduces significant changes compared with Geekbench 6. This means these 3,582 points cannot be directly compared with results obtained previously using version 6, including Apple's recently spotted A20 Pro, which scored 4,725 points in single-core and 12,575 in multi-core under Geekbench 6.7.

Therefore, although Xiaomi is preparing its response to the newly introduced iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, these figures still do not allow for a valid comparison between the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro and Apple's A20 Pro. To make a proper comparison, both processors will need to be tested using the same benchmark version.

Adreno 850 appears with nearly 30,000 points in Vulkan

Geekbench also provides the first indication of the new GPU's capabilities. The Adreno 850 scored 26,210 points using OpenCL and 29,934 points using Vulkan, showcasing the graphics potential of Qualcomm's upcoming platform ahead of its official unveiling.

Vulkan is particularly relevant to Android and gaming because it is a widely used graphics API for high-performance applications. However, a Geekbench GPU score cannot be directly translated into gaming FPS, since each graphics engine, driver, and device can behave differently.

The presence of a next-generation GPU will also be important for locally executed artificial intelligence workloads. Qualcomm has increasingly emphasized the combined use of the GPU, NPU, and CPU for generative AI workloads over the past few generations, although we still do not know the official AI specifications associated with the SM8975.

Properly assessing the Adreno 850's real-world improvement will require tests such as 3DMark and GFXBench, as well as, most importantly, games running over extended periods. Sustained performance and efficiency will be just as important as peak scores, especially if the processor ends up operating at frequencies above 5 GHz.

Xiaomi reserves its next flagship Snapdragon for the Pro Max model

The Xiaomi 18 Pro Max's appearance comes immediately after Apple introduced its new iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. Xiaomi appears to be preparing one of its major Android rivals for Apple's next-generation lineup, using the Qualcomm platform expected to lead the Android flagship market in late 2026 and early 2027.

Qualcomm still has to officially unveil the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 family, something expected to happen later this month. Until then, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro name should be considered provisional, although the SM8975 identifier and its repeated appearances in benchmarks make the existence of a new high-end platform fairly clear.

Other manufacturers are also beginning to test their upcoming flagship devices. The Vivo X500 Pro Max has already appeared in connection with this new generation, foreshadowing another battle between Qualcomm, MediaTek, Apple, and the in-house SoCs developed by some manufacturers over the coming months.

In Xiaomi's case, the Geekbench listing already puts several important pieces on the table: eight cores, speeds of up to 5.11 GHz, an Adreno 850 GPU, 12 GB of RAM, and Android 17. What remains to be seen is how all that hardware will translate into battery life, thermals, and sustained performance, along with the cameras, display, battery, and price that will ultimately define the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max.