When it comes to spending your money, unless you’re a maniac like me (or anyone from the RH team), you’re likely looking to just spend your money on one expensive handheld at the moment. And for the past year, one of the best options in that field has been the Ayn Odin 2.
But Ayn couldn’t just rest on their laurels until the Odin 3. Instead, they’ve put out not one, but two additional handhelds in the case of the Odin 2 Mini, and the Odin 2 Portal.
So let’s take a look and figure out which Odin could be right for you. Is it speakers? Size? Battery life? Some Odins will do better than others in certain regards, but only one would have the right set of compromises for you to choose.
Odin 2 vs. Odin 2 Mini vs. Odin 2 Portal: Specs
Because these three devices share a lot of the same features, the specs sheet is mostly going to look the same, but the main differences will (hopefully) be highlighted for you to see.
| AYN Odin 2 | AYN Odin 2 Mini | AYN Odin 2 Portal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 | — | — |
| GPU | Adreno 740 | — | — |
| RAM | 8GB / 12GB / 16GB | 8GB / 12GB | 8GB / 12GB / 16GB |
| Storage | 128GB / 256GB / 512GB | 128GB / 256GB / 512GB | 128GB / 512GB / 1TB |
| Screen | 6-inch IPS (60Hz) | 5-inch Mini LED (60Hz) | 7-inch OLED (120Hz) |
| Battery | 8,000mAh | 5,000mAh | 8,000mAh |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 7 / Bluetooth 5.3 | — | — |
| Colors | Black / White / Transparent Purple / Gray / Transparent Blue | Black / White | Black / White / Indigo |
| Price | $299 / $359 / $459 | $339 / $399 | $329 / $399 / $499 |
Screen
In this battle to find the best Odin for you, one of the biggest differences in all three devices comes from the screen. The Odin 2 and 2 Mini both feature 60hz refresh rates while the Odin 2 Portal houses a larger, higher refresh rate panel. In this case, if the one thing you’re looking for comes down to the best-looking screen. It’s really just the Odin 2 Portal.
When placed next to the other two options, I notice a warmer tone from the Portal, but that may just come from the screen technologies. But what screen would I pick after that? The Odin 2 has a 6” IPS panel that looks quite nice all things considered, or the 2 Mini and its 5” Mini LED display.
The trade-off becomes size versus quality at this point as well. While some people notice the vignetting of the 2 Mini, if it’s your only high-end handheld, you may not notice it, or even be sensitive to that issue. The Mini only just edges out the 2.
- Odin 2 Portal: 3
- Odin 2 Mini: 2
- Odin 2: 1
Oh yeah, I’m going to be scoring these for my own personal use too. I don’t need 3 Odins do I?
Ergonomics
For me, the ergonomics of the handhelds hit me like the classic three bears story. Odin 2 Mini? Well, it’s a little too small. The Odin 2 Portal? Well, that’s just a bit too big. The Odin 2 sits just right for me.
While there’s more to it than that, the Odin 2 fits right in the middle of the two, and my hands have gotten used to hugging it just right. When I pick up the Odin 2 my thumbs rest right on top of the left stick and face buttons while my fingers hold tight to the triggers. My hands also reach around those grips and help me skillfully ignore the back buttons I will never use in my life. When it comes to just holding the thing, The Odin 2 wins hands down.
But what takes second? A flat-backed mini handheld, or a large handheld that holds its own ergonomic bumps out the back. Believe it or not, I’d rather hold tight to the Odin 2 Mini. Despite its flat back, the plastic is grippy to the point where it holds my hands well. While it is small, the inset controls help my hands find right where they need to go.
The Odin 2 Portal, on the other hand, feels as though it’s just a bit awkward for me. The bumps are smaller on the Portal versus the 2 which just barely throws off my grip. My fingers land in the wrong spot of the shoulders (not the triggers), and in general, it feels like, it might be for someone with a different hand size than me.
- Odin 2: 3
- Odin 2 Mini: 2
- Odin 2 Portal: 1
Controls
From the front
The Odin 2 lineup does controls really well. I mean, it really does them nicely overall. However, there are a few trade-offs between the three.
All of them feature that nice, clicky, Vita-styled D-pad which has quickly become a win in my books. All three feature those really light-tensioned, hall sticks, which make playing modern games a breeze.
Though the Odin 2 Portal edges them out with smoother rings around the stick housing, they feel like they almost have slightly more travel. The big difference comes in the face button as well as the shoulders/triggers.
From the Top
The Odin 2’s all have those clacky face buttons reminiscent of an Xbox controller, loud and proud it’d seem. But the Portal has the largest ones, which also seem slightly quieter than its brothers as well. The Mini on the other hand has. Well, the smallest.
The Odin 2 remains unexceptional in the middle, but where I think it wins are the shoulder/triggers. They’re nice and clicky with enough movement to feel solid all around. The Mini is just a bit small, and the Portal is really long and awkward, with the L1 and R1 feeling almost too narrow.
I would really take the Odin 2 Portal face, with the Odin 2’s L1/R1 and L2/R2 setup. And of course the Odin 2 Mini’s lack of shoulder buttons. Because of how close they are, it’d be rude to really rank all three, so I’m going to do it this way.
- Odin 2 Portal: 2
- Odin 2: 2
- Odin 2 Mini: 1
Additional Build Concerns
While this won’t account for any points total, I do want to comment on some of the concerns about the build of all three devices.
At one point, there were concerns about expanding batteries in the Odin 2, but I haven’t seen any examples on my end, and the components themselves feel like they’ll last a long while. My biggest concern with the build of the Odin 2 Mini comes down to the yellowing of the white plastic but also concerned about the yellowing of those crystal-like shoulder buttons. Even now they almost look yellow when looking straight down at them
And finally the Portal. It’s too soon to say now, but on my unit, it feels as though it smudges too easily for an Indigo unit, and the glass front could be a bit too fragile in any accidental drop. I don’t like it.
Speakers
When it comes to audio, I think it’s a pretty simple thing to discuss. Do they sound bad? No. They’re front-firing speakers that, if you listened to them separately you’d almost assume they came from the same speaker unit. They probably did, but I didn’t say that.
The difference is I do have all three at once for listening. And while they aren’t an MSI Claw, they are pretty good. But one thing I noticed is that the Odin 2 Mini has slightly tinnier-sounding speakers, which I can only assume comes from the smaller shell.
The Odin 2 Portal, seems to get a little bit louder and lands easily outside the “fat hands covering the speaker” range. Hearing them across things like the Horizon Chase Turbo title screen, or Maverick Sabre’s “Let Me Go”, tells me all I need to know about how to place them.
The Portal wins, just barely.
- Odin 2 Portal: 3
- Odin 2: 2
- Odin 2 Mini: 1
Experience in Usability
Up until this point, you may have noticed I haven’t really talked about performance. And that’s simply due to the fact they all use the exact same CPU. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. Because of that, these all perform pretty similarly across the board in most systems. But that’s not the only thing I want to talk about when it comes to using the system. What about the heat? And what about stability?
Heat
When it comes to heat, the Odin 2 Portal and Odin 2 hold it well. Keeping the heat away from your digits, and running nice and cool if you set it to the right. The Odin 2 Mini on the other hand, with its smaller size can certainly run warmer. It hasn’t been to the detriment of the device, but it is slightly more noticeable than the others.
On the other hand, the fan of the Odin 2 Mini is less noticeable when in use as it runs at a lower pitch than the other two and seems just to disappear. The 2 and 2 Portal are definitely more apparent in use, but not at all horrible. And just one last mention, all three have screens that seem to get a bit warm when downloading larger files in certain applications, though it clears out pretty quickly.
Stability
When it comes to the stability of the Odin 2 line-up I find it to be a bit interesting. The Odin 2 uses System GPU Driver 0.676.0 from Qualcomm, while the Odin 2 Mini and Odin 2 Portal use 0.676.53. On my units at least. However, in usability, I found that I’ve had more luck with both the Odin 2 and 2 Mini in situations where I’m using something like Winlator, Pluvia, or GameSir’s Gamehub application for x86 emulation.
While this will vary on a case-by-case basis. And it will vary even more in the future as these apps evolve, in the current moment, it’s a bit strange to say the Odin 2 Portal doesn’t do as well as the Odin 2 Mini despite having the same system GPU driver. Of course, these can always be changed with the right driver download as well.
With that being said, the Odin 2 itself just keeps chugging along, happily taking whatever I throw at it, and in the end, only failing in the same spots the other two fail. We’ll see if this changes in the future, especially as discussion about Batocera on the Odin 2 starts to appear on the horizon.
For me though, that’s the difference, since all three power through PS2, GameCube, and some lighter Switch. That is all I really wanted anyway. The stability score allows me to rank the Odins as follows and is also the reason you need to check out other reviews too.
- Odin 2: 3
- Odin 2 Mini: 2
- Odin 2 Portal: 1
Alternatives
Again, not a situation of adding points for anything, but I do think it’s worth mentioning that all three of these handhelds have some form of alternative in one way or another.
If you’re looking at the Odin 2 Portal, you’re looking for a big-screen Android handheld. The biggest competition is going to be the Ayaneo Pocket Evo. While I don’t have one, there are numerous videos out there covering that comparison, including on the RH channel.
The other competitor I’d think of is the Logitech G Cloud. Way more comfortable than the Portal, but woefully underpowered by comparison, with a worse screen. You can find it for under $200 if you look though.
The biggest competition to the Odin 2 Mini? The Retroid Pocket 5. It’s got a slightly larger 5.5” OLED display, But it’s not a larger device at all. It also is way less powerful and has the d-pad on top, but it’s got the stability of the Snapdragon 865, and some incredibly familiar controls. It’s probably the closest race here.
Finally the Odin 2. Its original competition, the Ayaneo Pocket Air is long gone. It beat that thing a long time ago, and unless you’re a diehard for that feel, it’s not worth it at similar prices. Pimax Portal? Yeah, that thing died too, lands around $100 on Newegg if you’re “lucky”.
The closest competition now is probably still from Ayaneo in the Pocket S. Same sized 6” screen, at 1440p now, slightly more power, and is backed with a pretty nice design with apparently decent controls. Though I doubt the ergonomics are quite as good.
While the Odin isn’t the only big one in town anymore, it certainly fends its position on top well.
Final Tally
Well, in the end, the points added up to this:
- Odin 2: 11
- Odin 2 Portal: 10
- Odin 2 Mini: 8
What does that mean for me? Well, it seems the Odin 2 is the one for me, and is probably gonna stay my primary Android handheld for longer. What does that mean for you? The points are so close that if you asked anyone else to do this, they’d probably give you a completely different score back. Are any Odin devices bad? Absolutely not. Are they expensive? Absolutely. Do you need more than one? Definitely not.
In today’s market, for most users, I’d recommend the Portal over anything else, purely due to the experience with the screen for modern games and streaming. However, for weirdos like me who just want something that works and runs well, the original Odin 2 still stands above the crowd as what I want. And for something small? Just get the Mini. or the RP5 if you wanna save some money. Maybe I should compare those two as well.
In the end, these are all solid devices, but what you get depends on your needs and your budget. Save money where you need to, and make compromises in other spots. But if you grab an Odin 2 from AYN, it may just be All You Need.
Odin 2 Odin 2 MiniOdin 2 Portal
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