The AYN Odin launches on Indiegogo with an aim to bring a high quality gaming handheld at an affordable price to market. We take a look at the AYN Odin with everything we know and what you need to know about it.
The AYN Odin has been in development since its conception in March 2020. Over the past 17 months, AYN has gone through the process of development. Starting the creation process of the handheld with Hardware and Software specifications, as well as the design of the handhelds. AYN are now at the stage where mass production can now be started, with an aim to ship to customers in December 2021.
AYN Odin Technical Specifications
There are essentially three models of the AYN Odin; the Base & Pro and Lite.
| AYN Odin Base/Pro | AYN Odin Lite | |
| CPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon SD845 64bit Processor (Kryo 385) Quad-core Kryo Gold @ 2.8GHz, 256KB L2 Quad-core Kyro Silver @ 1.8GHz, 128KB L2 | Dimensity D1000C A*A77 2.0GHz A*A55 2.0GHz |
| GPU | Adreno 630 @ 787MHz | ARM Mail-G57 MC5 |
| RAM | 4GB LPDDR4x/8GB LPDDR4x | 4GB LPDDR4x 1866MHz |
| STORAGE | 64GB UFS 2.1/128GB UFS 2.1 Micro SD Card Support | 64GB UFS 2.1 Micro SD Card Support |
| SCREEN | FHD 1080p 5.98 inch IPS LCD touch screen 1080×1920 pixels, 16:9 ration, 369ppi Dragontrial glass | FHD 1080p 5.98 inch IPS LCD touch screen 1080×1920 pixels, 16:9 ration, 369ppi Dragontrial glass |
| VIDEO OUTPUT | HDMI + DisplayPort | HDMI + DisplayPort |
| AUDIO | Qualcomm Aqstic Audio Codec & Speaker Amplifier (2x1W) | Audio Codec & Speaker Amplifier (2x1W) |
| WiFi | 2.5/5G WiFi WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac | 2.5/5G WiFi WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac |
| BLUETOOTH | Bluetooth 5.0 | Bluetooth 5.0 |
| INTERFACE | USB 3.1 Type-C Mini HDMI 3.5mm Audio Jack | USB 3.1 Type-C Mini HDMI 3.5mm Audio Jack |
| OS | Android 10.0 | Android 11.0 |
| BATTERY | 5000ma/6000mA | 5000mA |
| CHARGER | Quick Charge 3.0/4.0/4.0+ | Fast Charging |
The Snapdragon 845 processor is found in mobile devices including the Samsung Galaxy S9, S9+ and Galaxy Note 9. The Samsung S9 series is an extremely capable device which is great for gaming. Android Play Store titles such as PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty Mobile, FIFA Mobile Soccer, Shadowgun Legends and Tekken will have no issues at all on the AYN Odin!
There is also the emulation side and the Ayn Odin is perfect as a retro gaming handheld. It supports the GameCube emulator Dolphin, PSP with PPSSPP, and every supported games console before that including Atari 2600 to Genesis.
Operating Systems and Software
What we found interesting is that the Base/Pro models run Android 10.0, while the Lite version runs the newer 11.0. We would expect support for Android 11.0 on the higher end models at a later date.
In addition, all three models support Project Treble which allows for faster operating system updates. This also allows you to use Generic System Image (GSI) compatible updates to flash to the ROM and still have access to the custom software. It is also possible to transform it into a handheld gaming PC by installing Windows on the Base & Pro models as it is ARM compatible.
In terms of custom software there appears to be support for screen mapping via built in software. This allows you to map the gaming controls to the touch screen. This means by pressing Up on the Digial Pad for example, it will emulate touching the Up area on the screen.
There is also a built in game launcher app which allows you to easily browse installed software and load a game instantly.
AYN Odin Design and Features
The AYN Odin Base & Pro models will be available in five colour schemes; Blue, Green, Red, Black and Transparent Purple. They are popular colour schemes, although we would have liked to have seen a few from the Lite range below.
The AYN Odin Lite will be available in four colours; White, Transparent Black, Transparent White and Cold Gray. The colour schemes for the Odin Lite model look great, as mentioned we would have liked to have seen these available for the Base & Pro models as well.
The AYN Odin measures approximately 8.81 x 3.74 x 1.08 inches (22.4cm x 9.52 cm x 2.75cm). In comparison, this is little smaller than the Nintendo Switch (9.4 x 4 x 0.55 inches with joy-con controller attached) so it is very portable! It also looks very comfortable to hold with styled grips on either side. This is great for long periods of Android gaming and retro gaming with emulation.
Both models will feature the usual assortment of controls including clickable dual analogue joysticks, classic digital pad, four gaming buttons on the front facing side.
On the top are left and right shoulder and analog trigger buttons. An on/off button, volume buttons, Micro SD Card slot and HDMI output. The bottom of the AYN Odin has a 3.5mm audio port and USB Type-C port which can be used for the docking station. On the back are two Macro buttons which can be configured to perform custom input.
AYN Super Dock
AYN have also created a docking station for the AYN Odin with plenty of features, making great use of the space available.
The AYN Super dock measures approximately 5.92 x 4.75 x 4.43 inches (15.05 x 12.08 x 11.274 cm). On the front panel are two Nintendo 64 game ports for connecting original controllers. We love the addition of N64 ports so you can enjoy a more realistic experience with them. There are two USB 3.0 ports for connecting modern peripherals such as a mouse, keyboard or joysticks.
The back on the super dock has a USB Type-C port, HDMI port, three USB 3.0 ports and a Gigabit Ethernet port to give your AYN Odin a desktop PC like experience.
On either side of the dock are Gamecube joystick ports. As mentioned, the AYN Odin can easily run the Gamecube emulator Dolphin so this is a great opportunity to use the original controllers as a retro gaming console.
On the raised back is space inside for a 2.5 inch SATA HDD or SSD. Again this is great use of space which we found very innovative!
AYN Odin Release Date
The AYN Odin is expected to start shipping from November 2021 onwards for the Base and Pro models. The Lite model is expected to start shipping from December 2021. These are however tentative dates as there may be delays with manufacturing and shipping times.
AYN Odin Price
As the AYN Odin is launching first on Indiegogo, there is an early bird price of around HKD $1,519 (£142.50) for the Odin Lite model, HDK $1,753 (£164.45) for the Odin Base model and around HKD $2,142 (£200.94) for the Odin Pro.
The AYN docking station costs HKD $390 (£36.59) which is a very reasonable price considering the number of ports and features.
The prices are however, expected to be slightly higher once the crowdfunding period is over.
Summary
For the specifications on all three models, the prices are amazing! The Android gaming handheld area has been relatively quiet recently. GPD has enjoyed a long period of domination with their XD and XD+ consoles, they have also recently announced their GPD XP handheld. And not forgetting MOQI with their i7 gaming handheld, which can also be used as a mobile phone. Both series of devices are higher in price, so the AYN Odin comes in a little cheaper with amazing performance!
Could the AYN Odin be the best handheld gaming console for Android games and retro gaming? It is looking very promising! But we will have to wait just a little longer to find out, December 2021 can’t come soon enough!
You can find out more about and buy handhelds here which include Windows, Android and Linux based operating systems. There is something for everyone with all tastes of OS and gaming!
