There’s no shortage of emulators for retro handhelds. I mean, at this point, they’re sprouting faster than my old-man ear hair, and that’s saying something. With the cost of just about everything these days, not everyone has the luxury of chasing the latest and greatest handheld. Of course, this is coming from someone who just […]
Category: Handhelds
News & Stuff
Nov 11, 2026
DroidDeck 0.7.1 Fixes My Steam Launch Issues
I just came back from trading in a slew of Xbox Series X and S consoles at Best Buy. Someone has to take advantage of those good trade-in prices. With my newfound Best Buy space bux, I was committed to spending some time looking at cameras so I could take better videos for this site. […]
News & Stuff
Nov 9, 2026
ARMSX2 2.9.3 Brings VR Mode, Performance Improvements, and More to PS2 Emulation
The fine folks over at ARMSX3 have been pumping out updates for their PS3 emulator, so of course, the ARMSX2 team would be hot on their heels with updates of their own for the PS2 emulator. I like to imagine that one person is responsible for ARMSX1, 2, and 3, and that they’ve gone completely […]
News & Stuff
Nov 9, 2026
DroidDeck 0.7.0 Brings New GPU Support and Dual-Screen Improvements
DroidDeck keeps pumping out the updates. And some of us are here for it. One of the biggest additions in version 0.7.0 is preliminary GPU support for Mali, PowerVR, and Xclipse graphics chips. DroidDeck can now detect these GPUs and select compatible drivers. To my knowledge, I don’t own any devices with these GPUs, so […]
News & Stuff
Nov 9, 2026
spruceOS 4.6.0 Branches Out With New Handheld Support and More
This update is fitting, as yesterday I was out in nature trimming some trees. I live pretty much in the woods, and some of the trees have taken over my driveway like they own the place. How rude! Anyway, I was out there with my pole saw, trimming some of the overhanging branches because my […]
News & Stuff
Nov 8, 2026
Catching Up on the November ARMSX3 Updates
If it were December, I’d call this the 12 Days of ARMSX3. But alas, it’s only early November, and the updates keep coming. Some quick math tells me that since October 27, ARMSX3 has received 11 updates in just 12 days. Is anyone in the holiday spirit yet? ARMSX3 is moving beyond simply getting PS3 […]
News & Stuff
Nov 6, 2026
With GameNative 1.4.0, Gamescope becomes the default renderer
GameNative 1.4.0 is here, with a big change to how Windows PC games appear on Android devices. Gamescope is now the default renderer for devices with Adreno GPUs. The update also expands game compatibility, introduces new performance tools, and updates several components that help Windows games run on Android. You didn’t think the GameNative devs […]
News & Stuff
Nov 2, 2026
Four Emulators, One Roundup: DroidDeck, ARMSX3, HakuX, and Xendroid Plus
Sometimes there are excuses. Other times, there are more important things to do. In this case, there simply wasn’t enough meat on the bone to warrant a dedicated article for each of the recently updated emulators. So, rather than stretch four smaller stories into four separate articles, I’m going to consolidate the important stuff from […]
News & Stuff
Oct 30, 2026
DroidDeck 0.6.7 Expands Game Support and Improves Performance
These devs clearly don’t realize that this one-man show works a full-time job, enjoys a little family time, plays the occasional game, and somehow tries to piece together another handheld review. Can we slow down with the updates? Just for me? No? Okay, fine. Here comes another update. DroidDeck 0.6.7 is out with a redesigned […]
News & Stuff
Oct 28, 2026
ARMSX2 2.9 and 2.9.1 Bring Improvements to Your PS2 Handheld Experience
ARMSX2 celebrated its first anniversary on October 26, 2026, with the release of version 2.9. The latest update introduces several performance improvements, new GPU driver options, and additional features designed to make PS2 emulation more accessible on Android handhelds. One of the biggest additions is the VU1 Ahead-of-Time Compiler, which aims to improve performance in […]
News & Stuff
Oct 27, 2026
Slot-Brick 0.50 Brings PlayStation Support and Its Own Experimental OS
Version 0.50 of Slot-Brick is out, introducing PlayStation support, expanding hardware compatibility, and adding Slot OS, an experimental custom firmware option that allows the handheld to boot directly into the Slot-Brick frontend. I’ve covered Slot before, but this is my first time writing about Slot-Brick. If you’re wondering what the difference is between the two, […]
News & Stuff
Oct 27, 2026
HakuX 1.2.0 Overhauls Original Xbox Emulation
After more than six months without a new public release, HakuX has returned with an overhaul of its original Xbox emulator for Android. Developer rfandango released version 1.0.0 on October 23, 2026, followed by version 1.1.0 the next day. A third release, version 1.2.0, arrived yesterday. Rather than continue improving the original xemu-based architecture, the […]
News & Stuff
Oct 26, 2026
Azahar Draws the Line With Anbernic Over 3DS Emulation
Checkmate honey, beat ya at your own damn game. Earlier today, the Azahar team announced that it was withdrawing official support for Anbernic handhelds. This means the developers will no longer investigate or resolve bugs and compatibility issues specific to Anbernic hardware. Why, you ask? Well, the announcement comes on the heels of Anbernic’s promotional […]
News & Stuff
Oct 26, 2026
The Spruce Is Loose! spruceOS 4.5.6 Expands Handheld Support
The spruceOS team is back with version 4.5.6, and this release brings more than the usual collection of bug fixes and emulator updates. Support for additional handhelds, native PICO-8 save states, new emulation options, and improvements to the interface are among the highlights. spruceOS has expanded well beyond Miyoo hardware and now supports handhelds from […]
News & Stuff
Oct 26, 2026
MustardOS Andromeda Introduces Pickles and More Than 1,000 Changes
It’s been approximately eight months since the last major MustardOS release. Today, the development team released Andromeda with more than 1,000 changes across the operating system. One of the biggest additions is Pickles, a new Libretro player that offers an alternative to RetroArch. Like RetroArch, Pickles uses Libretro cores to run games from different systems. […]
News & Stuff
Oct 24, 2026
Is It Finally Time to Jump on the DroidDeck Bandwagon?
DroidDeck has come a long way in a relatively short period. This trend seems to be all the rage these days. What began as a way to bring Steam games to Android devices has expanded to support additional PC game storefronts, with each release introducing new features and improvements. Version 0.6.0 continues that trajectory, but […]