Ayn Thor Review

Ever since I archetypal got my metallic Game Boy Advance SP for my day backmost successful 2003, I person adored the clamshell plan for my portable gaming devices. What the GBA SP started, the DS Lite aboriginal solidified for me: 2 screens and a clamshell lawsuit is acold and distant my favourite handheld design. Fast-forward much than 2 decades, and I can't retrieve the past clip I fell successful emotion with a instrumentality arsenic accelerated arsenic the Thor, an Android-based clamshell powerhouse from Ayn.

The Ayn Thor is disposable successful 4 antithetic variants, 3 of which are identical but for expanding amounts of onboard representation and RAM, portion the 4th is the “Lite” version, featuring a antithetic CPU. Regardless of which exemplary you pick, you tin expect a 6000mAh battery, drift-less Hall effect joysticks, progressive cooling, a DisplayPort for video out, and what blew maine away, 2 beauteous AMOLED screens – the apical being a 6-inch 1080×1920 surface astatine 120Hz and the bottommost a 3.92-inch 1080×1240 astatine 60Hz. Every game, video, and webpage I viewed connected the Thor looked amazing, arsenic 1 would expect from specified displays. Admittedly, I kept the apical surface astatine a locked 60Hz refresh complaint astir of the time, successful bid to amended artillery life, but a speedy property of the Ayn fastener pulled up the customized Ayn settings menu, wherein I could toggle to 120Hz astatine immoderate time.

The Base, Pro, and Max versions each diagnostic the much almighty Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 CPU, Adreno 740 GPU, and DDR5 memory, portion the Lite features a Snapdragon 865 CPU, Adreno 650 GPU, and DDR4 memory. The non-Lite options besides diagnostic further improvements, including Wi-Fi and the quality to output 4K 60fps video.

I opted for the Max mentation to future-proof my retention capability, though determination is simply a Micro SD larboard for you to grow your retention careless of model. I was looking astatine the Thor arsenic a imaginable replacement for my Steam Deck, truthful having the champion specs I could would assistance maine successful that pursuit. Regardless of what exemplary you choose, you tin prime from a Clear Purple, Rainbow (warm grey integrative with SFC-color inspired buttons and joysticks), Black (which I person heard is an implicit fingerprint magnet), and White. Reminding maine of my beloved achromatic DS Lite, that’s what I went with.

Coming successful astatine 380g (just nether a lb – the New 3DS XL weighs 326g for comparison) and astir the aforesaid size arsenic the New 3DS XL, the Thor features layers of solid implicit the entirety of the apical and bottommost screens, minus the holes chopped successful for the buttons and joysticks. I was acrophobic that this overmuch solid would pb to excessive reflections oregon picking up fingerprints, some of which could hazard obscuring gameplay. Thankfully, connected the achromatic exemplary that I went with, neither of these concerns proved to beryllium a problem. While I haven’t done overmuch playing extracurricular with it, being wintertime successful the Midwest, I did marque a constituent to play portion sitting adjacent a model successful agleam sun, and was pleasantly amazed by however wide everything inactive is. The gorgeous OLED screens and 550 nits of brightness did their jobs with aplomb.

Even with its level bottom, utilizing the Thor for longer stretches was inactive beauteous comfortable. The instrumentality has a bully value to it, and the integrative feels sturdy and high-quality. Even nether heavier loads, the Thor ne'er got hot, remaining a tenable somesthesia acknowledgment to its amazingly quiescent fans. As nostalgic arsenic the clamshell is, determination are immoderate aspects of the Thor that I person immoderate disapproval of, archetypal – and the 1 I instrumentality astir contented with – is the flat-edged signifier of the L2 and R2 trigger buttons. A much rounded design, amended aligned with the curve of the digit on its side, would marque this instrumentality adjacent much comfy to play.

The front-facing speakers connected the Thor bash an capable job, but they surely didn’t stroke maine away, and I rapidly paired my wireless earbuds alternatively of playing dependable retired loud. Another contented is that determination is simply a tiny spread betwixt the 2 halves erstwhile the instrumentality is closed, with the apical surface resting connected 2 tiny pads. I liked to support the portion of foam that came with the instrumentality successful determination conscionable for immoderate added stability, and portion I’m not excessively disquieted astir it starring to damage, this spread is inactive thing I would emotion to spot addressed successful a second-generation Thor. I’d beryllium blessed with a flimsy overhang connected the topscreen to screen it, and Ayn does connection a ammunition that you tin bargain that covers the gap. But, considering the Thor’s dimensions are truthful adjacent to those of the 3DS XL, if you hap to person immoderate aged cases for that lying around, conscionable propulsion it successful there. My Thor is close astatine location successful my Persona Q 3DS case.

If you program to walk overmuch of your clip playing games that necessitate some joysticks, I did find it a small awkward and cramped moving the close stick. I occasionally would beryllium forced to maneuver it with the mediate of my thumb alternatively of however I usually would with my thumb pad, conscionable to support my manus successful a comfy scope of the enarthrosis buttons. Ayn does connection a grip accessory you tin bargain that whitethorn assistance successful that regard, but I haven’t tested it myself.

Booting up the Thor for the archetypal time, you’re greeted with a familiar-looking Android UI with a pleasantly astonishing magnitude of clutter oregon bloat to contend with. Utilizing Android 13 arsenic its basal OS, the Thor doesn’t travel with overmuch beyond your emblematic Android banal software, requiring you to instal immoderate games oregon apps you privation yourself. Downloading games and apps from the Play Store is arsenic casual arsenic it ever is, simply requiring you to log successful with your account, find what you want, and click download. For different gaming pursuits, the process is simply a spot much fiddly, but luckily, Android 13 is simply a known quantity astatine this point, and determination are plentifulness of resources and setup guides disposable if you spell looking.

Compact Power

Over these past fewer weeks of testing, I’ve recovered myself utilizing the Thor identically to however I person utilized my Steam Deck, streaming my PlayStation 5 to it utilizing the Chiyaki app, playing retro games (especially those that I tin bask much faithfully owed to the Thor’s 2 screens), and yes, adjacent playing PC games acknowledgment to apps similar Gamehub Lite and Winlator that fto maine instal and play my Steam room natively connected the device. This was wherever the other representation and interior retention of the Max exemplary truly helped out.

Nearly each indie crippled I person thrown astatine it, from caller hotness similar Ball x Pit to games similar Hades II and Gundam Breaker 4, has been good to play. While you shouldn’t expect to bust retired Cyberpunk 2077 connected it (natively anyway), I was capable to get mid-2010s shooters similar Deus Ex: Human Revolution and the BioShock games moving and playable. It tin instrumentality a small fiddling astir astatine times, and the drain these heavier 3D games person connected the artillery means that I won’t beryllium playing them tons, but this quality is truly neat and makes the Thor a fantastic indie machine.

The Thor has besides managed to bash thing I antecedently thought impossible: marque maine funny successful mobile games. With the Play Store coming preinstalled, it was a speedy and casual process to motion successful and commencement downloading games similar Persona 5X that I’ve ever shied distant from, since utilizing onscreen controls for games has ne'er been my thing. With the large and clicky (but not excessively clicky) buttons and creaseless Hall-effect joysticks, I was capable to cheque retired Persona and a mates of different games, and had a beauteous bully time. Every Play Store app I tried ran great, and for games similar Pokémon Unite that don’t person autochthonal controller support, the Thor lets you rapidly surface representation the assorted keys and joysticks to areas connected the surface to simulate controller support.

On the bundle side, built connected Android 13, the Thor makes utilizing some screens incredibly easy. Tapping the apical oregon bottommost surface volition acceptable that 1 arsenic the progressive screen, conscionable similar you would with windows connected PC, and immoderate exertion you footwear up volition load connected the progressive screen. Both screens, by default, amusement the aforesaid emblematic Android menu, and switching an exertion to the different surface is arsenic elemental arsenic tapping its associated icon connected that screen, instantly switching.

The information that some screens tin enactment independently besides provides the Thor with immoderate bully multitasking functionality. Can’t get past that pugnacious portion successful the crippled you’re playing? Load up YouTube with a walkthrough connected the different surface to assistance you out. Or play a crippled portion you hold for different 1 to download and instal connected the different screen. A useful small fastener conscionable nether the bottommost screen, the Ayn button, volition unfastened up a stats surface wherever you tin spot the temperature, instrumentality speed, set the show modes, crook connected the nonstop powerfulness proviso option, and different useful tweaks.

For a agelong time, I’ve felt that breaking the dual-screen ceiling was the past large hurdle for the Android handheld market, and arsenic I person sat successful my seat playing my Thor, I deliberation that’s inactive the case. While not the archetypal done the decorativeness line, the Thor manages to present a sensational merchandise for a beauteous tenable price, starting retired astatine $249 for the Lite oregon $299 for the Base (honestly, I would conscionable debar the Lite). If you are much funny successful playing PC games disconnected the instrumentality oregon different much resource-intensive tasks, past the Pro astatine $349 and Max astatine $429 are the mode to go. All of which are cheaper than the cheapest Steam Deck, with the objection of the Max, which is $20 much (worth it). Now, it volition beryllium each astir refining it each and improving specs successful the generations to come.