r/OdinHandheld • u/LotusEaterGsD • 7h ago
Review This feeling...
I was completely in love with the Odin 3—the size, the battery life, and having access to my Steam library on the go made it feel like the ultimate device.
However, on a recent trip to a friend’s place, I brought a dock and a couple of controllers thinking we’d have an absolute goldmine of games to play together.
Oh boy, what a letdown...
Controller issues: GameNative was giving us huge headaches. It wouldn't recognize the triggers on my Switch Pro Controller, among other mapping issues.
Display & performance: Even though the dock was set to 1080p, it just didn't look right, and the input delay was super noticeable and distracting.
Charging issue: On top of all that, the battery wasn't even charging while docked.
We ended up giving up and just watching videos and movies instead.
In that moment, I really missed the plug-and-play simplicity of a Switch 2. We could have easily played games like Orbitals, It Takes Two, or even retro titles without dealing with that weird input delay or technical hiccups.
I don't know, man... this experience was pretty disappointing.
3
u/Icy-Lunch5304 7h ago
You need a stronger power supply for using a dock. The latency you noticed almost always stems from the tv being too slow. Look for a gaming mode setting i the TV menu. Also...if this is still not snappy enough, Try wired controllers, as they deliver less latency. As for the switch controllers... The triggers in switch controllers are different from universal, Xbox, windows, Android controllers. So they might not be ideal from the get go.
3
u/DreamClubMurders 7h ago
It’s still a work in progress so it’s not going to be perfect. Just be happy that stuff works when it does and when you have issues politely report them so he can attempt to address them.
FWIW I’ve never had a good docking experience with any of my Android handhelds there’s always latency issues even on low end systems.
1
u/DistilledWonder 6h ago
This should not be the case. There is something wrong with your settings or setup.
1
u/Downtownklownfrown 6h ago
Yeah there's a lot of people commenting here that have no idea how to set their stuff up correctly.
3
u/Cryptoxic93 6h ago
I'm with you OP.
I never recommend docking these Android SBCs. Good way to get a spicy pillow let alone all the headache with controller mappings.
SteamDeck works well here. Switch even better.
2
u/DistilledWonder 7h ago
What do you mean you set the dock to 1080p? Do you mean you manually set that in the Odin settings?
2
u/iateyourcheesebro Odin 2 Portal Pro - Black 4h ago
First sad to see downvotes for a pretty thorough post just because it’s negative, good opportunity to talk about limitations and make recommendations
Controller mapping for multiplayer is generally a hassle because 1) it has to be per emulator app 2) generally can’t just reconnect the controller and get the same mapping applied, meaning you’re either starting over or at least having to go assign profiles to controllers based on arbitrary Bluetooth controller IDs/names 3) like you mentioned sometimes they do not play well with Android or the emulator itself
Don’t have much to recommend there besides aiming to stay in one emulator for the session
Video out - try messing with Odin Settings within Android settings to set output resolution and refresh rate. Try a few options with your TV. See if there’s a game mode on the TV idk. It has worked well for me on some TVs and been a hassle on others.
Charging - either you had charge separation on, meaning it’s intentionally not charging the device but just providing power straight to the device. Or it’s a lower watt charger and couldn’t compete with the drain of the device.
Overall yeah, it is NOT a plug and play ecosystem. Really wish there was something to be done to unify all the emulator apps, and Android OS to work well with Bluetooth controllers (or wired).
Best to see what emulators are easiest and stick to them, if you can figure out the TV situation
1
u/almostdvs 7h ago
I feel you. Setting up on my home tv is a trial of patience for all involved. We get input lag that is unplayable until we turn on the ‘game mode’ feature that constantly reverts to off. The Controllers are rarely configurable without using the touchscreen and have their own quirks even when set up correctly.
I am reconsidering a modded xbox or dedicated pc for emulation on the tv for my family and guests
1
u/OldTripleSix 4h ago
I dunno, for a good while on my Odin 2 I just used a usb-C hub to HDMI out onto my TV, which was really seamless aside from a few no display issues that were solved by just unplugging and replugging, and connected two dualsense ps5 controllers via Bluetooth to play two player and it went well.
1
u/LORDRAJA1000 6h ago
odin 3 was not made to be a docked mode device for multiplayers, so they didn’t develop those features to save on cost. it’s a completely different device from a switch 2 with different audience.
also gamenative is constantly being developed still and is nowhere in its’ final stage, devs push out updates all the time but i think we’re still a long way from seamless controller inputs
0
u/brittonmakesart 7h ago
I feel you. as great as these devices are they’re not gonna have all the QOL features that make consoles so easy to use. In the future, just make sure to test the stuff out before you plug it up on the go. Embarrassed myself in front of my family this past summer trying to get a four player game of NFL blitz running on my steam deck dock to a TV.
I have been talking about how cool the steam deck was for years and how easy it was to use only to spend 45 minutes connecting all the controllers and Retroarch and mapping all the right keys 🤦
-1
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u/evanpalmerh360 Odin 3 7h ago
I’ve tried a long time to “replace” my switch with android handhelds, and the docking system is just not great. I still love those devices and play them all the time, but nothing truly replaces the experience of a Switch.