What you need to know
- AYN has announced all of the details regarding its upcoming Odin 3 handheld.
- This will be the first gaming handheld to be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite, with a starting price of just $299.
- There are four different configurations available, and pre-orders are set to begin on September 7 at 9:30 PM ET.
At the end of August, AYN surprised us by teasing that not one, but two new handhelds were on the way. The first of which was the AYN Thor, a dual-screen clamshell handheld, is still available to pre-order via Indiegogo.
The second is the AYN Odin 3, arriving as the long-awaited successor to the ever-popular Odin 2. However, instead of just dropping both the Thor and Odin 3 at the same time, AYN opted to let the hype build for the Thor first, and now it’s time for the Odin 3.
More than anything else, the most exciting aspect of the Odin 3 is the chip at the helm. It’s powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite, the same SoC found in many of the best Android phones released over the past year. This marks the first handheld to be announced with the 8 Elite, although we suspect AYANEO’s KONKR Pocket FIT will soon follow.
AYN Odin 3 Specs
| Header Cell – Column 0 |
AYN Odin 3 |
|---|---|
|
Display |
6-inch AMOLED, 1920 x 1080, 120Hz |
|
Processor |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite |
|
RAM |
8GB/12GB/16GB/24GB |
|
Storage |
128GB (UFS 3.1) / 256GB/512GB/1TB (UFS 4.0) + microSD |
|
Battery |
8,000mAh |
|
Connectivity |
Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0 |
|
Extras |
Active Cooling, DisplayPort Alt Mode, 3.5mm Audio Jack |
|
OS |
Android 15 |
Beyond that, the AYN Odin 3 looks not all that dissimilar to the Retroid Pocket 5, albeit with a larger screen and more comfortable ergonomics. Some of the other specs include a 6-inch AMOLED display, with a 120Hz refresh rate, along with a massive 8,000mAh battery.
AYN is offering a total of four different configurations, starting with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of UFS 3.1 expandable storage for the base model. At the top-end, you’ll get the Snapdragon 8 Elite paired with 24GB of RAM and 1TB of UFS 4.0 expandable storage.
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Part of what makes the Odin 3 so exciting isn’t just the fact that we’re getting a dedicated handheld with the Snapdragon 8 Elite. It’s that pricing starts at just $299, and even if you max out the RAM and storage, it’s only $499.
The only device released this year that gets even close to that is the RedMagic Astra tablet at $549. But that’s just for the base model with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. If you wanted to match configs between the Astra and Odin 3, the former would set you back $899, $400 more than AYN’s handheld.
It’s absolutely wild to see AYN not only release a new flagship handheld, but doing so at an extremely affordable price. Considering that Lenovo just announced the Legion Go 2 with a starting price of $1,049, it might be time to consider an Android handheld and learn the wonders of Winlator.
If you’re like me and can’t wait to get your hands on the Odin 3, you’re kind of in luck. When announcing the price, AYN confirmed that pre-orders will begin on September 7 at 9:30 PM ET over at Indiegogo. The only downside to this is that we’ll be waiting a little while, as the IGG landing page says that these aren’t expected to begin shipping until November.
A new flagship Android handheld
It’s been almost two years since the Odin 2 was released. Now, the AYN Odin 3 is here to take its place at the top of the Android handheld charts, powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite.
