There have been several attempts to create Android-based game consoles, but none have really gone to plan. The Ouya, for example, was a high-profile Kickstarter success and a disastrous commercial flop. Nvidia’s streaming-focused Shield, meanwhile, evolved into a great streaming box but didn’t do much to make Android a better gaming platform. It turns out Google’s OS isn’t a panacea for building your own ecosystem.
Recently, though, the open nature of Android and the accessibility of manufacturing have let countless smaller Chinese companies produce their own spin on the idea. You don’t have to have sweeping ambitions to build a platform ecosystem if all you want to do is sell to a small crowd of retro game enthusiasts. Companies like Retroid and Anbernic are churning out cheap, low-powered Android handhelds in a variety of shapes and sizes, usually with emulation in mind.
The $200–$300 (depending on configuration) Ayn Odin is a new Android handheld that builds on that approach. It’s made by a small company in Shenzhen without any aspirations to create a brand new gaming platform, instead entrusting you to run whatever game you want on the device from the start. But it’s powerful enough to play more types of games than any of its Android competitors, while its design and control layout give it much more flexibility.
The Odin’s design inspiration is pretty obvious: it’s basically a Nintendo Switch Lite running Android. As someone who used a Switch Lite for a couple of years, though, I actually think Ayn’s hardware is better. The 5.98-inch 1080p LCD is bigger and sharper. The grips are more comfortable and house useful customizable rear buttons. The D-pad appears to be identical to the PlayStation Vita’s, which is a very good thing. The sticks are a little lower-profile than the Switch’s, but they’re comfortable and easy to use.
Overall, build quality is impressive for this kind of device. The unit I’ve been testing comes in a Super Nintendo-style grey and purple colorway, which is a great look. There’s blue LED lighting on the sides of the device and underneath the analog sticks, which I don’t mind but am glad can be turned off. Up top, there’s a flap similar to the one that hides Switch game cards, except here it covers a microSD card slot and a Micro HDMI port. The only real complaint I have about this hardware is the goofy Odin logo underneath the D-pad.
There are a few different versions of the Odin. I’ve been testing the $287 Odin Pro, which has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage. The $239 non-Pro Odin has the same Snapdragon 845 but half the RAM and storage. The $198 Odin Lite also has 64GB of storage and 4GB of RAM but swaps the Snapdragon out for a newer MediaTek Dimensity D900. All models are available to order through Indiegogo, though the Lite has only just started shipping to backers.
The Snapdragon 845 is what flagship Android phones used in 2018, so you’re getting the raw performance of a Samsung Galaxy Note 9 or a Google Pixel 3. The difference, though, is that the Odin has active cooling, so it’s able to run the processor at its highest speed for longer periods of time, unlike thin smartphones, which don’t have fans and need to throttle their performance to stay cool. The Odin’s fan is almost inaudible on its normal setting, very quiet in performance mode, and about on par with a Nintendo Switch at its loudest in…