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We are so close but also so far away from turning our phones to a Steam Deck -like portable gaming device. |Windows ARM on Android|

Utherellus

Utherellus

Member
Recently I was looking for a way to launch Win32 games on my android phone and came across Project Renegade: A group of developers who managed to sideload Windows 10/11 ARM on Snapdragon 845 device.

So yea, native Windows on android. Without emulation. Although x86 apps do rely on emulation coz it is Windows ARM, performance is actually not that bad.

They borrowed Surface Qualcomm drivers, made modifications for Oneplus 6T and run some AAA games on it:








This is mind blowing at first. But makes sense as we compare archaic TegraX-powered Switch to new flagship phones. They have more than enough horsepower to deliver at least reasonable fraction of Steam Deck performance and compatibility.

Sadly we wont get all of these good stuff anytime soon. There are no easy ways for this reality to became widespread.

But it has so much potential...
 
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M1chl

M1chl

Currently Gif and Meme Champion
How the fuck you have direct X support on these chips? Most of them are Open GL/Vulkan compatible only. Or is it something akin to proton?
 
R

reksveks

Member
I am interested in seeing how the new Qualcomm chips would do but very pleased about the fact that it actually runs at all.
 
Guilty_AI

Guilty_AI

Member
MrFunSocks

MrFunSocks

Banned
ARM is the future for personal computing, so I’m hoping MS start making their own chips at some stage. Qualcomm just can’t compete with apple.
 
Rudius

Rudius

Member
A simple to use emulator designed to run PC games and programs on Android would be great, specially now that phones are reasonably powerful.
 
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odd_hatch

odd_hatch

Member
Who the hell is excited for phone gaming? Remember "Don't you guys have phones???"

I like to keep "being out" and playing, it's more relaxing.

But I suppose it makes more sense when you're young and don't have the remote.
 
YeulEmeralda

YeulEmeralda

Linux User
Look I don't know much about technology but there is a giant vent cooling my computer and it draws something like 300-500 watt. How is a smartphone ever going to be able to match that? At least in the next 20 years.
 
yurinka

yurinka

Member
M1chl said:
How the fuck you have direct X support on these chips? Most of them are Open GL/Vulkan compatible only. Or is it something akin to proton?
Click to expand...
Windows also can use Open GL and Vulkan, so I asume they will use it. Or maybe MS implemented DirectX support for these chips. This is Windows for ARM, something made by MS. So I assume it's ready to properly run on ARM.
www.theverge.com

Windows 10 on Arm will no longer get x64 app emulation

You’ll need Windows 11 for x64 app emulation.
www.theverge.com www.theverge.com

Btw, unlike it's mentioned in early posts of this thread it's a Windows product, not an emulator for Android. It isn't a Windows emulator for Android, it's Windows for ARM. It doesn't use or require Android.
 
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Dream-Knife

Dream-Knife

Banned
People are missing that this isn't convenient on a phone, so it won't be used.

I can emulate GameCube games on my phone, as I'm sure most can. Do we ever actually play GC games on our phones though?
 
ToTTenTranz

ToTTenTranz

Banned
M1chl said:
How the fuck you have direct X support on these chips? Most of them are Open GL/Vulkan compatible only. Or is it something akin to proton?
Click to expand...
Qualcomm supports DirectX in virtually all their Adreno GPUs. The current Adreno 600 family supports DirectX 12 feature level 12_1.

Adreno - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

Besides, Microsoft's own Surface Pro X uses a Qualcomm SoC and its native rendering API is DX12.
 
O

Ozriel

M$FT
YeulEmeralda said:
Look I don't know much about technology but there is a giant vent cooling my computer and it draws something like 300-500 watt. How is a smartphone ever going to be able to match that? At least in the next 20 years.
Click to expand...

ARM chipset are far more power efficient than the Intel or AMD CPU in your desktop.

It also doesn't have to match your desktop.
 
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O

Ozriel

M$FT
Dream-Knife said:
People are missing that this isn't convenient on a phone, so it won't be used.

I can emulate GameCube games on my phone, as I'm sure most can. Do we ever actually play GC games on our phones though?
Click to expand...

Well, more and more people are now streaming console and PC games on their phones. And there's plenty of controllers like the Razer Kishi and Backbone One that'll provide great controls.
 
C

cartman414

Member
MrFunSocks said:
ARM is the future for personal computing, so I’m hoping MS start making their own chips at some stage. Qualcomm just can’t compete with apple.
Click to expand...

That's a pretty far off future, chief. If more companies get behind it and put in the work behind honing the chips for desktops, then maybe.
 
Rykan

Rykan

Member
Dream-Knife said:
People are missing that this isn't convenient on a phone, so it won't be used.

I can emulate GameCube games on my phone, as I'm sure most can. Do we ever actually play GC games on our phones though?
Click to expand...
Well I'd imagine you would want to play it in the same situations you would play a Deck or Switch or any other handheld device, you just have to bring a controller along for your phone of which there are many and typically much smaller and portable than other handheld devices.
 
Dream-Knife

Dream-Knife

Banned
Rykan said:
Well I'd imagine you would want to play it in the same situations you would play a Deck or Switch or any other handheld device, you just have to bring a controller along for your phone of which there are many and typically much smaller and portable than other handheld devices.
Click to expand...
Problem is you're now using your phone. You have to launch it, attach your controller, etc. Steam Deck, Switch, or any other portable you just turn it on from sleep and play.
 
Rykan

Rykan

Member
Dream-Knife said:
Problem is you're now using your phone. You have to launch it, attach your controller, etc. Steam Deck, Switch, or any other portable you just turn it on from sleep and play.
Click to expand...
It literally takes about 3 secons to attach your controller to your phone. Also, do you turn your phone entirely off or something? Nobody does that. Everyone keeps their phone on in standby mode.
 
Dream-Knife

Dream-Knife

Banned
Rykan said:
It literally takes about 3 secons to attach your controller to your phone. Also, do you turn your phone entirely off or something? Nobody does that. Everyone keeps their phone on in standby mode.
Click to expand...
Still a pain to launch the emulator or game, wait for all of that to load and attach your controller.

Like I have said, this technology has been around for awhile, and hardly anyone uses it.
 
D

Drew1440

Member
Rykan said:
It literally takes about 3 secons to attach your controller to your phone. Also, do you turn your phone entirely off or something? Nobody does that. Everyone keeps their phone on in standby mode.
Click to expand...
In reality, You load the emulator on your phone, play with it for about half an hour then turn it off before the battery gives out, or if it thermal throttles. And then you've got the app notifications appearing and ruining the experience. A lot of smartphones are not capable of running under full load unless your next to a power supply.

A dedicated device can be designed around that by adding a larger battery and a cooling system, which come at expense of size but your unlikely to carry such a device around with you all day, rather put it in your bagpack when not in use like you would with a portable controller. Smartphones meanwhile can still be slim enough to fit in your pocket.
 
Dream-Knife

Dream-Knife

Banned
Rykan said:
But you have to load your game on any device? I don't understand lol.
Click to expand...
The inconvenience of attaching a controller then booting it up on your phone removes the convenience of it being on your phone in the first place.

Do you use your current phone to play any roms? Virtually everyone has that ability, and yet so few do. It's just not convenient.
ParaSeoul said:
Either a Switch or Steam Deck owner trying to fight off the feeling they wasted money
Click to expand...
A future Steam Deck as well as a current Switch and phone owner.

AFAIK a phone can't play any of the games I play on Switch or PC, so I don't even know where the wasted money comment comes in. But you do you.
 
E

EekTheKat

Member
I think the real interesting test here will be Warframe - there's apparently an android/ios(?) mobile port coming with somesort of play anywhere virtually on any platform. DE apparently demoed multiple platforms including mobile playing together on one of their live streams already, which was quite an eye opener. This will be one of the bigger action staple PC/console titles moving into the mobile space.

Looking at the hardware on paper, it's probably fairly doable - though the back end stuff + individual platform holder's requirements must be a nightmare to go through.
 
MrFunSocks

MrFunSocks

Banned
PhaseJump said:
Forcing a crapdragon device to run Windows ARM doesn't excite me, at all.
Click to expand...
Windows10onARM is fantastic. I can use my galaxy book 2, a device the size of an iPad, to RDP to my work machine while working from home for 8 hours straight and still have enough battery to get me through half the next day. That was on like the first generation of snapdragon for windows, so these newer ones would surely be significantly better.

I’m disappointed that they announced this new Snapdragon 8cx without any devices actually using it. I kee going to pull the trigger on a surface pro X but I don’t want to when there’s new chips just around the corner that are so much better as they claim.
 
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