AYN Thor vs. Odin 2 Portal: Which Is Better for Dual Screen Nintendo DS and 3DS Emulation?
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I thought I wanted a dual-screen handheld. I was ready to buy an AYN Thor. They are pretty viral right now, I see them on Youtube and Instagram all the time.
DS and 3DS emulation is really the last spot where retro handhelds still have a real compromise. Those games were built for two physical screens, and cramming both onto one panel has always felt like a workaround instead of a solution. So before I dropped money on a Thor, I decided to test the theory first: I ran a dual-screen setup on my Retroid Pocket 5 (dual screen add-on) and put it head-to-head with my AYN Odin 2 Portal while grinding through Pokémon Platinum and Alpha Sapphire.
The dual screen setup is cool. It's also not the slam dunk I expected. In fact, the opposite became true.
After going back and forth, I actually prefer the Portal's single 7-inch screen running both displays split-screen. That was not the outcome I was betting on.
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Dual Screens Look Great, Feel Less Great
On paper this should be an easy win for the Thor or a Pocket 5 with a dual screen add-on. Nintendo built the DS and 3DS around two screens, so a device with two actual panels preserves the original layout instead of shrinking, switching, or splitting anything.
And it does look awesome the first time you see it running.
The Pocket 5 dual-screen rig nailed that first impression — gameplay up top, menus and maps on the bottom, exactly how it's supposed to look. But the novelty wears off fast, and what's left is a bigger, clunkier device. You're now carrying two screens plus whatever hinge and wiring holds them together, and the "portable handheld" you bought stops feeling portable. More like a fragile puzzle.
That was the first crack in the plan.
There's also a dumb practical problem nobody mentions: on the Pocket 4 Pro and Pocket 5, you can't run the dual-screen attachment and a grip at the same time. The way the dual-screen dock clamps onto the device physically pushes the grip right off. So you're choosing between comfortable hands and the second screen — you don't get both. For a "compromise" that's supposed to make the handheld feel more complete, that's a pretty big asterisk. Read my pocket 4 pro review here!
Retroid Pocket 4 Pro and Pocket 5 both with the grip and dual screen add-on will slip up as seen here, the dual screen will not fully attach with the grip installed.
The Portal's bigger Screen Just Wins
The Odin 2 Portal changed my mind for one simple reason: that 7-inch screen is massive for a handheld, and it makes split-screen DS/3DS emulation actually usable.
I can run Platinum or Alpha Sapphire with both displays on screen at once and neither one feels cramped. On a smaller device — a Pocket 5, a Miyoo Flip, an Anbernic RG406H, anything in the 4-5" range — split-screen emulation feels like squinting at two postage stamps. On the Portal's 7", it doesn't.
The main screen takes up most of the display, the secondary touchscreen sits beside or below it smaller, and for Pokémon that's exactly the right split. I'm looking at one screen most of the time. The other is just menus, moves, and maps. I don't need them equally sized.
I expected two physical screens to be the fix. Turns out one really big screen solves most of it for me.
AYN Odin Portal 2 playing Pokemon Platinum for DS. This is my preference for dual screen gaming most of the time.
What Actually Changed My Mind: Playing Real Games, Not a Demo
This isn't a five-minute impressions take — I've been playing full runs of both Platinum and Alpha Sapphire on each setup.
In Platinum, the lower screen matters, but it doesn't need to be a co-equal display. The Portal's split-screen layout gives me what I need without forcing the DS clamshell form factor on me.
Alpha Sapphire makes the case even stronger. The second 3DS screen is useful, sure, but my eyes are on the main screen 90% of the time. The Portal lets that main display breathe while keeping the touch screen right there when I need it.
Every time I switched back to the Portal, I wanted to stay there.
Ergonomics Are Doing a Lot of the Work Here
Some of this is just me. I've got bigger hands and I was never a fan of the DS clamshell shape to begin with. It's a fine design for holding two screens together, but it's never been comfortable for me to actually grip and play for long stretches.
The Portal's shape is a normal, wide handheld — more like a Retroid Pocket or an Anbernic RG556 than a folding DS. My hands sit naturally on the controls. For a long Pokémon session, that matters more to me than having a second screen physically separated from the first.
This is the part people shopping for a Thor need to be honest with themselves about: you're not just picking a screen count. You're picking between two totally different handheld shapes. That decision matters more than the spec sheet makes it look. Read my Odin 2 Portal review here!
Dual Screen Doesn't Mean More Portable
This is the other thing I got wrong going in.
The whole point of a handheld is grab-and-go. Bolting a second screen onto the device works against that. The dual-screen Pocket 5 folds, sure, but it's thicker and more of a production to carry than the single-screen version. Nothing about strapping a second display onto it makes it more convenient. A thor wouldn’t have this issue as bad, since it can fold cleanly, so be aware of that.
The Portal isn't small either — a 7-inch handheld was never going to vanish into a pocket. But it's one slab. I pick it up, play, put it down. No folding, no second panel to think about.
When the Thor Actually Makes Sense
I'm not saying the Thor is a bad device. If DS and 3DS are the main reason you're buying a retro handheld, get the dual screen, the Thor is awesome in it’s own way. You'll use those two displays constantly, and keeping the original layout is worth the extra size and different grip.
Some games lean on this harder than Pokémon does too — titles that bounce gameplay between both screens constantly or live on the touchscreen are going to feel better on real dual-screen hardware. If that's your library, skip the debate and get the Thor, or look at something like the Pocket 5's dual-screen dock if you want to test the waters first.
When the Portal (or Something Like It) Makes More Sense
If DS and 3DS are only part of your library, I'd think hard before committing to a dual-screen device. A big single-screen handheld — the Portal, or comparable large-screen options like the RG556 or an Ayaneo Pocket — gets you split-screen emulation that's genuinely usable, without giving up a normal handheld shape for everything else you play.
GameCube, PS2, PSP, Wii, Android, streaming, older systems — none of that benefits from a second screen. For all of it, I'd rather have one big display and a conventional grip.
The Portal isn't the perfect DS/3DS machine. It's the better all-around handheld that also happens to run DS and 3DS well. That's a different thing, and it's the thing I actually wanted.
Try Split-Screen Before You Buy Dual-Screen
Here's my actual advice if you're stuck between a Thor and something like the Portal: try split-screen DS/3DS emulation on a large single display before you buy into two physical screens. Not a 4-inch device. Something around 7 inches. Mess with the layout — resize the screens, move the secondary panel around, see how often you actually need to touch it.
You might still land on needing two screens. But you might find out what I did — the compromise is a lot smaller than it looks from the outside. Want to get a retro handheld quick? Read our guide here!
So, Do You Need the Thor?
If DS and 3DS emulation is the reason you're buying a handheld, get the Thor. Two real screens is still the most authentic way to play games built for two screens.
But if you're on the fence because DS and 3DS are just part of what you play, don't assume dual-screen hardware is the obvious upgrade. I thought I wanted it. After actually running the Pocket 5's dual-screen setup against the Portal, I landed on the opposite conclusion.
The Portal's 7-inch screen makes split-screen Pokémon better than I expected, the normal handheld shape is way more comfortable for my hands, and it's just a simpler, more versatile device for everything I play outside of DS and 3DS.
The dual-screen setup is cooler, still kinda want a Thor, but I will wait for the next gen. The Portal 2 is the one I actually keep picking up. Check out my used retro handheld guide here!
