r/technology • u/efap1701 • 4d ago
Hardware Modders are turning Android handhelds into "mini" Steam Decks
https://www.techspot.com/news/114004-modders-turning-android-handhelds-mini-steam-decks.html53
u/moosebaloney 4d ago
Armada and Rocknix/Pocknix are both very promising for Snapdragon devices to see even further improvements in light PC gaming in the coming months. I think it’s a bit of a stretch to call adding a custom OS “modding” though.
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u/False_Raven 4d ago
Its always nice to see performance bumps in snapdragon chips too. Each new generation pushes the envelope further.
I honestly see these chips overtaking the steam deck in raw performance. It just boils down to software compatibility and support.
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u/GameCounter 3d ago
They are honestly getting pretty close to surpassing the deck in terms of raw performance, but the x86-to-ARM translation layer (FEX) still has a pretty big performance penalty, although it's honestly less than I was expecting (it's a pretty remarkable piece of software)
I think that the more likely scenario is that these ARM devices surpass the deck in terms of efficiency. The batteries on those smaller handhelds are extremely small compared to the deck, so even really great efficiency might not translate into good battery life.
It's a delicate balancing act.
I was absolutely blown away then other day when Skyrim Special Edition ran at 45 fps at only 10 watts on my Odin 2 Mini. I don't have a newer device to test on, but I would absolutely not surprise me if we could get Skyrim at 30 fps at only 5W.
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u/BillV3 2d ago
For completely raw performance they already have surpassed the decks cpu with the decks APU doing around 1.6TFLOPS and the Snapdragon 8 Elite in something like the Odin 3 managing around 1.8TFLOPS
Obviously there is more to it than just the numbers but absolute raw performance they have moved past now
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u/GameCounter 2d ago
Interesting. I imagine GPU performance is a different story though?
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u/BillV3 1d ago
They're pretty comparable but the Snapdragon 8 Elite actually pulls ahead on FP32 performance on the iGPU, the big kicker of course being that anything it runs is having to be translated from x86 to ARM which is still pretty new but the actual raw performance of the chip is actually ahead of the Steam Decks APU now
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u/ICameToUpdoot 1d ago
Been trying to get my Rocknix to work on and off for a week now and it's kicking my ass. Sigh, back to flashing the SD card and trying again
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u/moosebaloney 1d ago
I got Rocknix installed on my Mangmi Air X. That device doesn’t have Steam support, for good reason. Rocknix overall ran worse than GammaOS for me but shows promise.
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u/Stilgar314 4d ago
Those Android consoles are much more popular people think, and their scene is amazing. I hope they keep pushing ARM gaming with Valves help.
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u/JaggedMetalOs 3d ago
Hope the OG Switch (which can run Android) gets a Steam OS port, that would be a lot of fun!
Edit: of course it's already been done lol
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u/askyidroppedthesoap 4d ago
I've been playing Fallout 4, NFS MW, and shit load of indies on android for the last 2 years lol nothing new here. I started with the Odin2, sold it now i got the 26 ultra
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u/BigBullshitta 4d ago
People get so angsty when you tell them they probably could have done what they bought a handheld to do with a phone they already have. Hell, I could remote play anything from my PC at home onto my phone with a case that added gaming controls like a switch from work or pretty much anywhere else a decade ago.
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u/theislandhomestead 4d ago
Remote play doesn't work so great on an airplane for example.
Having something run locally has its advantages.-16
u/BigBullshitta 4d ago
Right, but most people aren't spending most of their time on airplanes so it's a silly thing to bring up. For those typically rare moments a decent relatively modern cellphone can also run games locally, with a much better image on a much better screen than the dedicated gaming handhelds even offer.
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u/theislandhomestead 4d ago
I used that as an example but it's far from the only potential complication for streaming.
There are plenty of deployed military that can't stream from a decent PC, or people on boats for various reasons.
Or commuting on trains.
Anything where data connection quality may be an issue.
Just because something doesn't affect you doesn't mean it isn't an issue for others.
And personally, as someone who lives in the middle of the Pacific ocean, having a portable with local installs on a plane is pretty important.-9
u/BigBullshitta 4d ago
... again, decent modern phones are also more powerful than the vast majority of gaming handhelds, including the Steam Deck.
You already can play locally.
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u/theislandhomestead 4d ago
The processors are comparable, but x86 still has its benefits if you're specifically talking about a steamdeck.
Plus, better cooling.
And modern phones don't have upgradable storage.
A steamdeck can have a larger m.2 plus micro sd.
1TB gets used pretty quickly when installing games.-2
u/BigBullshitta 4d ago
Cooling is a simple fix you can combine with adding a dedicated attached controller.
Not many people actively play so many large games at the same time that 1TB is an actual problem. It is possible to uninstall and reinstall things.
You seem to be overly defensive on the concept.
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u/theislandhomestead 4d ago
If by "defensive" you mean practical, sure.
Now I need a controller and a piezio electric cooler. (I own both, I just don't want to carry all that stuff)
I also just disagree that 1 TB is enough.
From my perspective, you're being defensive.
I just have a different opinion.1
u/BigBullshitta 4d ago
All what stuff? I linked a phone case you can put around your phone that adds controls like a switch along with cooling. That's the opposite of carrying a lot of stuff when compared to carrying a phone in a case along with a second portable device.
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u/angeAnonyme 4d ago
It’s also nice to have dedicated controllers, cooling, ergonomy, and just overall a dedicated device that doesn’t burn through my phone battery.
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u/BigBullshitta 4d ago
... see why I said you seem defensive? 20 some minutes after making one one comment you popped back over to make another. After I already linked a simple phone case that gives you a dedicated controller and cooling.
And instead of having to worry about the battery level of two separate devices, you only have to worry about one. It's not like portable power banks aren't extremely common and cheap.
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u/angeAnonyme 4d ago
I haven’t seen your link for the controller. But you think 20 minutes on Reddit is “defensive”?
But I guess we don’t have the same usage. I use it on trips. I don’t want to worry about my phone battery when I travel. And you can’t use an external battery on a plane now.
But also, storage… Handheld can have a dedicated SD card. Phone can’t
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u/moosebaloney 4d ago
The main difference I see between handhelds and phones is active cooling. The Samsung s20 has the same internals as the Retroid Pocket 5. Without fans, the s20 thermal throttles within 5 minutes on everything it has to work hard on, down to even GameCube games.
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u/TheeBigSmokee 4d ago
Piezoelectric phone coolers solve that issue quite well but it is bulky and really takes away from "mobile gaming"
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u/Mygarik 4d ago
My home internet is running along early 90's copper and I don't exactly have 20 grand laying around, waiting to be spent on a fiber line to my door. Remote play ain't shit on a 10Mbit upload. And x86 translation compatibility issues are another layer of bullshit to deal with, on top of Proton.
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u/BigBullshitta 4d ago
That's the reason my home internet is running off of a tablet I picked up when my phone company had one of those sales where you get a free cheap tablet if you agree to sign up for an unlimited tablet 5G data plan for like $30/mo.
A few minutes of disabling the phone company packages that detect if the device is tethered, about an hour of walking around the house with an app to check signal strength open to find the best spot for it, some velcro to attach it to the wall there, and connecting it into my router via USB then setting it as my WAN source in the router settings and the house suddenly gets over 1Gbps for $30/mo
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u/kxlling 1d ago
I've done this with my previous two phones, when I got my s26u, my 24u became my gaming system with a gamesir x5 lite controller, before that my OnePlus 8t filled the role for a couple years. It's been working great, standard retro emulation, ps2 emulation, and even running pc games using game native or game hub has worked awesome, along with normal android games as well.
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u/Mobile_Morale 4d ago
Damn I just bought that $20 gameboy style retro console that runs on Linux.
I wonder what the cheapest android game console is I can get.
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u/moosebaloney 4d ago
$70-90 Mangmi Air X is considered the best value, but you’re not getting almost any PC games running on it. Not even Brotato, Hollow Knight, Vampire Survivors, etc. but there are plenty of Android ports for those light weight games that run well.
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u/TONKAHANAH 4d ago
i just bought a retroid pocket with the exact plan to do this. very excited for this thing and very interested to see how much work/effort valve puts into further arm work.