Ever since I first got my silver Game Boy Advance SP for my birthday back in 2003, I have adored the clamshell design for my portable gaming devices. What the GBA SP started, the DS Lite later solidified for me: two screens and a clamshell case is far and away my favorite handheld design. Fast-forward more than two decades, and I can’t remember the last time I fell in love with a device as fast as the Thor, an Android-based clamshell powerhouse from Ayn.
The Ayn Thor is available in four different variants, three of which are identical except for increasing amounts of onboard memory and RAM, while the fourth is the “Lite” version, featuring a different CPU. Regardless of which model you pick, you can expect a 6000mAh battery, drift-less Hall effect joysticks, active cooling, a DisplayPort for video out, and what blew me away, two beautiful AMOLED screens – the top being a 6-inch 1080×1920 screen at 120Hz and the bottom a 3.92-inch 1080×1240 at 60Hz. Every game, video, and webpage I viewed on the Thor looked amazing, as one would expect from such displays. Admittedly, I kept the top screen at a locked 60Hz refresh rate most of the time, in order to improve battery life, but a quick press of the Ayn button pulled up the custom Ayn settings menu, wherein I could toggle to 120Hz at any time.
The Base, Pro, and Max versions all feature the more powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 CPU, Adreno 740 GPU, and DDR5 memory, while the Lite features a Snapdragon 865 CPU, Adreno 650 GPU, and DDR4 memory. The non-Lite options also feature additional improvements, including Wi-Fi and the ability to output 4K 60fps video.
I opted for the Max version to future-proof my storage capability, though there is a Micro SD port for you to expand your storage regardless of model. I was looking at the Thor as a potential replacement for my Steam Deck, so having the best specs I could would help me in that pursuit. Regardless of what model you choose, you can pick from a Clear Purple, Rainbow (warm grey plastic with SFC-color inspired buttons and joysticks), Black (which I have heard is an absolute fingerprint magnet), and White. Reminding me of my beloved white DS Lite, that’s what I went with.
Coming in at 380g (just under a pound – the New 3DS XL weighs 326g for comparison) and nearly the same size as the New 3DS XL, the Thor features layers of glass over the entirety of the top and bottom screens, minus the holes cut in for the buttons and joysticks. I was concerned that this much glass would lead to excessive reflections or picking up fingerprints, both of which could risk obscuring gameplay. Thankfully, on the white model that I went with, neither of these concerns proved to be a problem. While I haven’t done much playing outside with it, being winter in the Midwest, I did make a point to play while sitting near a window in bright sun, and was pleasantly surprised by how clear everything still is. The gorgeous OLED screens and 550 nits of brightness did their jobs with aplomb.
Even with its flat bottom, using the Thor for longer stretches was still pretty comfortable. The device has a good weight to it, and the plastic feels sturdy and high-quality. Even under heavier loads, the Thor never got hot, remaining a reasonable temperature thanks to its surprisingly quiet fans. As nostalgic as the clamshell is, there are some aspects of the Thor that I have some criticism of, first – and the one I take most issue with – is the flat-edged shape of the L2 and R2 trigger buttons. A more rounded design, better aligned with the curve of the finger along its side, would make this device even more comfortable to play.
The front-facing speakers on the Thor do an adequate job, but they certainly didn’t blow me away, and I quickly paired my wireless earbuds instead of playing sound out loud. Another issue is that there is a small gap between the two halves when the device is closed, with the top screen resting on two small pads. I liked to keep the piece of foam that came with the device in there just for some added stability, and while I’m not too worried about it leading to damage, this gap is still something I would love to see addressed in a second-generation Thor. I’d be happy with a slight overhang on the topscreen to cover it, and Ayn does offer a shell that you can buy that covers the gap. But, considering the Thor’s dimensions are so close to those of the 3DS XL, if you happen to have some old cases for that lying around, just throw it in there. My Thor is right at home in my Persona Q 3DS case.
If you plan to spend much of your time playing games that require both joysticks, I did find it a little awkward and cramped working the right stick. I occasionally would be forced to maneuver it with the middle of my thumb instead of how I normally would with my thumb pad, just to keep my hand in a comfortable range of the shoulder buttons. Ayn does offer a grip accessory you can buy that may help in that regard, but I haven’t tested it myself.
Booting up the Thor for the first time, you’re greeted with a familiar-looking Android UI with a pleasantly surprising amount of clutter or bloat to contend with. Utilizing Android 13 as its base OS, the Thor doesn’t come with much beyond your typical Android stock software, requiring you to install whatever games or apps you want yourself. Downloading games and apps from the Play Store is as easy as it ever is, simply requiring you to log in with your account, find what you want, and click download. For other gaming pursuits, the process is a bit more fiddly, but luckily, Android 13 is a known quantity at this point, and there are plenty of resources and setup guides available if you go looking.
Compact Power
Over these past few weeks of testing, I’ve found myself using the Thor identically to how I have utilized my Steam Deck, streaming my PlayStation 5 to it using the Chiyaki app, playing retro games (especially those that I can enjoy more faithfully due to the Thor’s two screens), and yes, even playing PC games thanks to apps like Gamehub Lite and Winlator that let me install and play my Steam library natively on the device. This was where the extra memory and internal storage of the Max model really helped out.
Nearly every indie game I have thrown at it, from new hotness like Ball x Pit to games like Hades II and Gundam Breaker 4, has been fine to play. While you shouldn’t expect to bust out Cyberpunk 2077 on it (natively anyway), I was able to get mid-2010s shooters like Deus Ex: Human Revolution and the BioShock games running and playable. It can take a little fiddling around at times, and the drain these heavier 3D games have on the battery means that I won’t be playing them tons, but this ability is really neat and makes the Thor a fantastic indie machine.
The Thor has also managed to do something I previously thought impossible: make me interested in mobile games. With the Play Store coming preinstalled, it was a quick and easy process to sign in and start downloading games like Persona 5X that I’ve always shied away from, since using onscreen controls for games has never been my thing. With the great and clicky (but not too clicky) buttons and smooth Hall-effect joysticks, I was able to check out Persona and a couple of other games, and had a pretty good time. Every Play Store app I tried ran great, and for games like Pokémon Unite that don’t have native controller support, the Thor lets you quickly screen map the various keys and joysticks to areas on the screen to simulate controller support.
On the software side, built on Android 13, the Thor makes using both screens incredibly easy. Tapping the top or bottom screen will set that one as the active screen, just like you would with windows on PC, and any application you boot up will load on the active screen. Both screens, by default, show the same typical Android menu, and switching an application to the other screen is as simple as tapping its associated icon on that screen, instantly switching.
The fact that both screens can act independently also provides the Thor with some nice multitasking functionality. Can’t get past that tough part in the game you’re playing? Load up YouTube with a walkthrough on the other screen to help you out. Or play a game while you wait for another one to download and install on the other screen. A handy little button just under the bottom screen, the Ayn button, will open up a stats screen where you can see the temperature, fan speed, adjust the performance modes, turn on the direct power supply option, and other handy tweaks.
For a long time, I’ve felt that breaking the dual-screen ceiling was the last big hurdle for the Android handheld market, and as I have sat in my chair playing my Thor, I think that’s still the case. While not the first through the finish line, the Thor manages to deliver a sensational product for a pretty reasonable price, starting out at $249 for the Lite or $299 for the Base (honestly, I would just avoid the Lite). If you are more interested in playing PC games off the device or other more resource-intensive tasks, then the Pro at $349 and Max at $429 are the way to go. All of which are cheaper than the cheapest Steam Deck, with the exception of the Max, which is $20 more (worth it). Now, it will be all about refining it all and improving specs in the generations to come.
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