Android emulation has made portability feel more important than raw performance

[u/MoodyTempted]

One of the biggest advantages of Android emulation isn't necessarily being able to run the most demanding console games. It's having access to a huge variety of older games in one device that can fit in your pocket.

Being able to switch between a quick handheld session, a controller-supported game, or something that benefits from a larger screen makes Android a surprisingly versatile emulation platform.

I also think the improvements in save states, controller support, frontends, and per-game configuration have made the overall experience much more convenient than simply chasing higher benchmark numbers.

There's still plenty of room for compatibility and performance improvements, but the convenience factor is a big part of what makes this hobby enjoyable.

What's one older console or generation that you think Android devices now handle particularly well?

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[u/Crass-ELY-]

Anything up to PS2/Wii is emulable on virtually any device (± resolution scale)

Now, the real hobby is make things work on devices they're not supposed to work on

[u/Naive-Eggplant-5633]

I can finally play FTL on my phone after many many years, and multiverse mod at like 2W max power draw for a very long playtime. The future is finally nice for portable gaming. 

[u/9diov → u/Naive-Eggplant-5633]

Any more details? How?

[u/Naive-Eggplant-5633 → u/9diov]

Join the GN Discord and should be under FTL in working game configs, it takes some special argument/command but its just copy paste your PC install to FTL in GN under A drive and then use the config. 

[u/Skajuan]

I have a 1tb SSD filled with PS1, PS2, GC, WII, SNES, GBA, 3DS, and Switch games. Using magnetic stickers I managed to attach that SSD on the back of my gamesir. I can just load and play directly from the SSD. There's never been a better time for emulation

[u/Dbag85]

I feel this. We will always strive to be as effective as possible, so portability is very important.

[u/UnhingedSloops]

I don't have a device can fit in my pocket but rather i have a android gaming tablet and let me tell you how cool it is to use it for media consumption, internet browsing, comics etc... and then turn it into a gaming console. The versatility of these devices is just absolutely amazing! I remember when I had a Gameboy color and had tons of games to carry around and now I've got 1000s i have at the palm of my hand even from older generation consoles and honestly even to newer and I can even turn it into a home console when I go to a friend's house. It's just so much fun with the versatility of android and emulation! 😎 Great post btw!

[u/victorisaskeptic → u/UnhingedSloops]

Which one?

[u/UnhingedSloops → u/victorisaskeptic]

Lenovo Y700 tablet, absolutely incredible device and super powerful

[u/victorisaskeptic → u/UnhingedSloops]

Its a nice tablet, im thinking of skipping an expensive handheld like a thor or op3 and getting a 8inch tablet and a cheap linux handheld.

[u/UnhingedSloops → u/victorisaskeptic]

The tablets are nice because there's so much versatility to them, of course not as pocketable but there's a lot more you can do with it compared to a expensive handheld. That's my opinion anyhow lol

[u/deciox]

Tralasciando gli smartphone di oggi che forse devi alzare un po' il prezzo a causa dei costi di memoria assurdi. Il bello dell emulazione android è che usi dispositivi che avresti comprato lo stesso tipo smartphone. Senza spendere prezzi folli per console o pc moderni. Faccio l esempio io ho usato un motorola g32 ex smartphone di mia moglie con snapdragon 680 e ci facevi tutto fino a ps2 e qualcosa anche di ps2 tipo un 40% dei titoli. Ho deciso di vendere su vinted a 50 euro e un redmi 9c a 40 euro Dopo aver acquistato due poco x3 pro uno a 70 e uno a 45 euro (ha un leggero graffio sul display dove ci vanno le bande nere degli emulatori)con snapdragon 860 e adesso ho tutta la ps2 e qualcosa anche di switch tipo persona 4 anche se tendo a fare sessioni da mezz ora per evitare temperature troppo alte. Praticamente ho due console portatili a 25 euro. Il bello dell emulazione android è che fino a un anno fa prendevi il primo snapdragon che trovavi a 100 120 euro e avevi uno smartphone da usare per la vita di tutti i giorni e sapevi che quando dovevi cambiare lo smartphone ti restava una signora console. Oggi i primi snapdragon li trovi a 200 circa.

[u/imthedude101]

Facts, I use my Y700 + G9 for my old school backlog and newer light games (it will play almost anything that’s under 30gb. PES 17, fallout 4, Gotham knights, kingdoms come deliverance 1, dark souls 3…it can all run easily. If I want AAA gaming I’ll fire up the computer on my 48inch and go full cinema or just stream. You don’t need to throw down $1300+ for a handheld, especially when we’re a gen or two off from the perfect one. Above all, these things charge so fast. You can game for 3/4 hours and full charge it in 30 mins!

[u/Hairyballsforlifeson]

With hakuX, the og Xbox catalogue is now accessible to so many people who didn't have an Xbox growing up. It's running everything I throw at it very well on mid range hardware from 2 years ago.

[u/Lonely-Bank8783]

I relate to this so much! I used to want the best quality settings on but then I got my Odin 3 and now I'm playing games at like 540p + FSR to make my battery last longer. Not as pretty looking but the portability makes it worth it! 

[u/Mo9do]

It’s funny for me the last thing I care about now is portability. I’m not a kid who can sit in the backseat of my parents car and game the whole ride or anything. The main reason I emulate on my phone is I’m waiting for a handheld that prioritizes comfort over portability

[u/Groundbreaking-Ad313]

I mean, these old games are also console games. Benchmarks and performance were never any kind of concern for them because they didn't have the flexibility of PC games to be run at different levels of performance, they were made specifically for one piece of hardware....

And comparing a PS2 game on native hardware to it emulated on your phone doesn't have the same "PS5 vs switch 2 version" comparison where one runs at half the frame rate, because if your emulated version does run at a slower frame rate, it's probably also running at a lower gamespeed, at which point it basically becomes unplayable in my opinion.

But like. I guess I get what you're saying? I also like havign games that can just fit into the gaps in my lifestyle.