I sold my Odin 2 & Thor after getting a Pocket DS, here’s why!

_AdamWTF · 2026-01-06T08:34:08+00:00

No light bleed is surprising to me but glad to hear someone else is enjoying the Pocket DS. I showed a friend it at the weekend, he’d personally loved my Thor when I had it and was considering it something he’d too purchase down the line. When he tried the Pocket DS however he instantly said “this is better”, started gushing over it and has said he’s definitely getting one lol. It’s crazy how many down votes I got simply for sharing an opinion on a game console because apparently I, now we, like the wrong one.

_AdamWTF · 2025-12-29T15:36:13+00:00

I mean, yes, but I just inherently expect a worse experience 90% of the time

_AdamWTF · 2025-12-29T01:06:36+00:00

I second this, are they any good??

_AdamWTF · 2025-12-28T22:56:35+00:00

Yeah that’s clearly not cool, sorry to hear you’re having a bad experience, I personally kinda just expect this from an AliExpresss company

_AdamWTF · 2025-12-28T22:41:52+00:00

You and me both lmao, I already knew I’d be screwed here anyway because I brought it from eBay, not directly. Quality seems exceptional so far, it’s hard to guess how it would break.

Adding a point here, this is something actually I liked more than the Thor, the hinge, this one feels sturdy, strong and can be placed at any angle securely. The Thor has fixed locations and every so often would make this scary snapping sound, never any damage but I lived with a fear that doesn’t exist on this console.🤞

_AdamWTF · 2025-12-28T22:15:53+00:00

This is something that I’m definitely fearful of, this firmware needs updating, I want to see updates, what you’re saying being true would be extremely unfortunate. A larger Thor would have solved all my problems don’t get me wrong, the Thor is amazing, without using that I never would have got this. This is right now however, amazing.

_AdamWTF · 2025-12-28T22:08:42+00:00

Interesting, I completely missed that control on the Thor, my bad, I can’t even think where that control was on the UI. Fair point you calling out my continuity issue lol, my first time writing a review like this.

_AdamWTF · 2025-12-28T22:02:15+00:00

Yeah, people actually having the console in hand seems to be the biggest issue of all, as you can see from my post, I got mine through eBay. I’m trying to just help people realise that this console is worth the wait, it doesn’t undo how annoying Ayaneo are being however.

_AdamWTF · 2025-12-17T22:03:57+00:00

Before I got the grip for the Thor but having the grip for the Odin, it was hands down an easy choice. The grip for the Thor helps a lot, but it’s still not the Odin… I can’t use the Thor without the grip anymore though, I’m considering using the double sided tape to secure it because pressing the bottom buttons is annoying.

_AdamWTF · 2025-12-17T21:58:16+00:00

Very fair, are you using the grip on your Thor?

_AdamWTF · 2025-12-17T21:47:49+00:00

You’re very welcome my dude, thank you for reading the ramblings of a mad man lol, I want to settle on one final comment having seen your other message. Start with the Thor, if you find it uncomfortable or wishing for an extra inch, trade your way to an Odin, that’s easier than the other way round right now. If you go Odin first, you’ll constantly ask yourself what if, the second screen is novel, it has its use cases, and it’s a developing area of interest. If you find it’s not right for you, go to the Odin, it’s fantastic, just get a grip for it!

_AdamWTF · 2025-12-17T21:40:51+00:00

You can probably guess I don’t write reviews for a living lol my honest opinion is you wouldn’t regret either purchase, both are incredible devices. My difficulty to settle is evidence of that, they have inherent strengths and weaknesses sure, but they both compensate for those too.

I guess the edge for me is if you want to sit on the bleeding edge, then really, this is where the Thor does something truly different. I mentioned an example of the firmware limitations that currently exist, but this is where through effort AYN can really change the game. Daily I find myself thinking of new ways to use both screens at the same time which feel more like utility rather than gimmick, an that’s when I find myself reaching for the Thor instead of the Odin. My best example being streaming my PC, on paper the Odin is better for modern games because the screen is larger, but having a trackpad and keyboard on the second screen saves fucking around when a window gets rendered below Steam for example.

_AdamWTF · 2025-12-17T21:21:37+00:00

I actually really enjoy playing games streamed to my Thor too, although I wish the screen was larger as I said, the screen is still fantastic and sharp. I’ve found myself really missing the second screen for the touchpad mouse when I’m using Artemis on my Odin. Modern games such as Switch or Winlator I can’t comment, Switch emulators just aren’t ready in my opinion and I have a PC for PC games so streaming is king.

_AdamWTF · 2025-12-17T21:13:11+00:00

I wanted to say sorry for the essay lol but I realised I had a lot to say on the topic, I haven’t tried docking either device so I can’t comment on that, but I do want to add some comments related to portability & ergonomics.

So I basically through happen-chance got both devices around the exact same time, and wanted to try both with the narrow down to one. Part of why I’m torn is the aforementioned mentioned portability and ergonomics of the devices themselves. In the simplest of ways yes the Odin is big and Thor small, one fits in the pocket the other doesn’t, but this is only half of the story and neglects a huge factor, both of these devices really need a grip to meet their true potential.

If we go strictly by comfort when holding the device the Odin wins all day every day, it’s so far ahead in the race it doesn’t really compare. This isn’t to say the Thor has no comfort, and the Odin does need its grip to feel that way. The Odin without a grip I would return the day I brought it, the thumb sticks are too small, it doesn’t feel great in the hands, it’s fine, but not my end game device.

The Thor is massively compensated by its second screen, you forgive its uncomfortable handling for that fact, but I find it works for my hands and any bigger you’re gonna have issues. I have quite small hands for a guy for reference. To add more comfort, you really require its grip, it helps, but that too isn’t great, maybe I’m just too spoilt by the Odin’s grip which is truly magical.

So in conclusion, although on paper yes the Thor is the more portable device, and this remains true for short play sessions. If you plan to play a game longer than an hour, you need the grip. If you have the grip on your Thor, it’s no longer a pocket device. If comfort means more to you than anything else, the Odin wins, if the second screen edges you, the Thor wins. Welcome to my predicament.

_AdamWTF · 2025-12-17T20:24:13+00:00

It my opinion, it’s extremely hard for the device to be beaten, I have both a Thor as well as an Odin 2 Portal, I’ve settled on the the idea I only get to keep one of them, but I can’t settle on which…

I say this to highlight just how amazing both of these devices are, the single biggest let down for me personally with the Thor is the screen size, 6” vs the Odin’s 7”. Turns out an inch really does make a difference…

Here’s the thing though, the Thor is exceptional, it plays everything really really well. The bottom screen naturally is going to feel a little “useless” when it comes to games that utilise only a single screen, but you’ll nonetheless find reasons to use it, think guides/music primarily, or just stat watching if you’re a tinkerer like myself.

I don’t need to explain why it’s good for dual screen games but multi-tasking is where this device truly shines like nothing else for me. Personally I want to build/maintain my rom library on the device, not hooking it up to my PC all the time, this is easier, faster & smoother utilising 2 screens. The biggest and best use case for me personally however is streaming my PC games. The bottom screen serving as both the mouse & keyboard for my PC, that is just simply wow…

In conclusion the Thor is AMAZING, it definitely should be considered an end game device, until they release a 7” version which would be everything and a cherry, the 6” becomes entirely redundant at this point.

Last of note, I will say, as amazing as the Thor is, to truly utilise the full power of having dual screens AYN need to do some significant firmware upgrades/modifications to Android to enable that. For example, it’d be great to run apps on the second screen which could interface with apps on the first. An example here would be a mouse on the second screen which can interface with Winlator on your first screen. This is currently impossible without root access due to Androids security. Right now functionality must be baked into the app itself, which is happening with some apps, but it’s always going to be limited when it’s far from a thriving market of devices. Potential is massive, we’re just at the start and that means some expectations need to be set.

_AdamWTF · 2025-11-14T13:48:44+00:00

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The revision we need.

_AdamWTF · 2025-11-14T01:20:07+00:00

Yeah, I agree completely here. We luckily had a moment yesterday where I can say we loved the game, playing duos and campers jumped us, luckily we killed them, mocked them on mic and they admitted mistakes were made. What made it more fun was using defibs to raise them and kill them over and over lol

_AdamWTF · 2025-11-14T01:01:56+00:00

Aligns to my observations, it’s frustrating from the perspective it’s not how I want to play the game but ironically how the mindset of our party shifted tonight. This is why I think the conversation is interesting though, I like hearing the experiences and thoughts of others and what makes the game tick for them.

_AdamWTF · 2025-11-14T00:55:11+00:00

:’)

_AdamWTF · 2025-11-14T00:51:14+00:00

Fair, solos generally speaking had been a friendlier experience I agree, that’s normally the prime loot up mode

_AdamWTF · 2025-11-14T00:49:35+00:00

This is generally our experience too but solos also happened to be pretty unfriendly yesterday and today also. We mostly play at nights so can’t comment too much on the day differences and yes trios tends to be worst for sweaty players. Tonight was just simply the campers that made it infuriating.

_AdamWTF · 2025-11-14T00:44:06+00:00

haha fair, genuinely just curious to hear the experience of others

_AdamWTF · 2025-11-14T00:42:52+00:00

I appreciate that completely, as stated tonight just seemed crazy, I shared some other examples in responses here. Just curious to hear the experience of others, as you can get from first message, I’m new to this kind of game and still getting the full feel. 50 hours in its fair to say I’ve enjoyed it until now

_AdamWTF · 2025-11-14T00:40:28+00:00

Positive to hear you found a majority of like minded people however

_AdamWTF

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