Before I crowned the Thor as my current favorite handheld, that honor went to the Odin 2 Mini. I seem to really like AYN as a handheld manufacturer.

But despite my love for the hardware, I do not like Android as a gaming platform. There are just too many things you need to dial in, making the whole process a chore. Well, recently, I came across Rocknix, a Linux distribution available for a bunch of handhelds, including the Odin 2 Mini.

The installation process is easy enough: all you have to do is flash the correct image to a microSD card, copy a folder from the card to the handheld, reboot into the bootloader, click a button, and have patience. Naturally, Russ made a guide. I seem to really like Russ as a YouTuber.

After restarting, you boot straight into EmulationStation-DE (ES-DE), with most of the setup already done for you. But I recently started relying much more on romM to manage my game files. And to make things easy, there is Grout, a plugin that adds an integration between romM and Rocknix right into ES-DE. (I liked this app enough to adapt it to run under Bazzite, so I can also download games straight to my ROG Ally or the Playnix.)

Rocknix on the Odin 2 Mini transforms this handheld into an even better device. It just feels more cohesive than anything Android can offer.

I just wish I could install the system straight to the device and wouldn't have to rely on using a microSD card. This makes it possible to dual-boot, but I don't know why I should still boot into Android. (Except maybe for updates? But in that case, I'd prefer to do the opposite, boot from the microSD card only when necessary.) It would also allow me to transform my Retroid Pocket 5 into a Rocknix device and share the microSD card between both devices.

Recently, Rocknix even gained native Steam support. While it's very buggy, it's a promising step.

Who would have thought last year that I'm installing Linux on as many platforms as I can? Now, we just need to wait for AYN to add proper Linux support to the Odin 3 (it's a work in progress) and I might have to add one more platform to my list.

I seem to really like AYN as a handheld manufacturer.

Some quick notes on the AYN Thor. It is currently my favorite handheld, and I probably play more games on this than on anything else, followed by the Switch 2.

Right now, I'd argue that this is the best gaming handheld you can get. It is certainly the best Android-based handheld, but thanks to FEX and apps like GameNative, it can even compete against the likes of the Steam Deck and the ROG Xbox Ally X.

But the real reason I love this device so much is its dual-screen clamshell design. It may not play as many Steam games as its bigger siblings, but it makes up for that with portability, battery life, and sheer versatility.

FYI: AYN sent me the Pro version with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, 12 GB of memory, and 256 GB of internal storage as a review unit weeks ago.

While I have more handhelds than could possibly be considered reasonable, the Thor is a clamshell device so I can quickly slip it into my coat pocket and bring it with me.

And whenever I commute or travel, I put it in my backpack, together with three other devices: the FiiO M21, the Boox Palma 2 Pro, and the Google Pixel 10 (ok, this one lives in my pocket). No, I am not a minimalist.

And because it's a clamshell device, I don't need to put it into a separate bag to protect the screen or keys. I just close it. And to play a game, I just open it.

I've written several times before that I hate setting up Android-based devices.

On the Linux/Windows side, you can easily use EmuDeck, and it does about 80% of the setup for you. You then bring your ROMs and BIOS files, and if you don't necessarily need to change any specific setting, you can start playing.

Thankfully, EmuDeck finally exists for Android. But since I am apparently slightly masochistic, I set the Thor up manually by following this nearly two-hour-long (!!!) video by Russ.

It took me over three hours between pausing and configuring, but as the device is now completely set up and dialed in exactly the way I want it, I would say it was worth it.

I run a romM server in my home lab (new post coming soon, I upgraded a ton!). If you don't know what romM is, it's basically a ROM library that lives on a server with a website component.

Here is a screenshot of my definitely, totally, do-not-even-ask, legally obtained ROMs:

These ROMs live on a hard drive at home, and not on the Thor. Thankfully, there is a romM mobile client, which allows you to map it to a folder and download ROMs from your romM setup directly to your device. So, whenever I want to play a new retro game, I simply go to this app, download it to the handheld, and it appears in a launcher like Cocoon.

I could also have used a launcher called Argosy. Argosy connects directly to your romM server, shows previews of your games, and lets you download them locally.

But it is still very early software. It regularly disconnects me from my romM server, and reconnecting means retyping that 22-character-long password. It can also get buggy and painfully slow with a library as large as mine.

I'm expecting this to improve over time, but as of right now, I cannot fully recommend it for libraries as large as mine.

I don't only play retro games on this device, but also Steam games. For example, I am currently playing through Fable: Anniversary Edition once again.

For that, I use GameNative. This should probably be a blogpost on its own, but GameNative is truly a fantastic app.

I have yet to run into a situation where a game I expected to run doesn't run. Of course, I wouldn't try playing something like Cyberpunk 2077, but for either smaller indie games or older games that run on a potato, this is perfect.

In fact, I believe that Valve is slowly preparing for a future where the next Steam Deck is an ARM-based Linux device, the RAMpocalypse be willing.