u/Pinanims

I have the Pixel 8 Pro and honestly it's just slightly too big to hold in my hand comfortably in one hand. I think I used to value a big display, but my hand starts to cramp trying to hold it one handed.

I might go for the 11 pro just because of that.

I'm no power user and just want a base android experience, I just don't like features being locked behind the pro otherwise I'd get a base. But I have a free upgrade, the P8P has been perfect beyond that so I'm sure with how people have described the 11 I'll be able to keep the experience but reduce the size.

Relatively new reader here! I constantly have this feeling of wanting to be done with a book, not in a sense that I'm over it, rather I'll read for an hour or 2, and I'm only on page 40 out of 700. After putting it down I'm constantly looking at how much more I have to read and barely feel like I'm making progress. Been reading an hour every day and I'm still only 16% done. I just want to finish so I can read another, but I'm actively enjoying the current. I feel like it has something to do with the instant gratification plague I've been under from short form content over the past few years.

Do any of you experience this? Do you get past it? It's not really ruining my enjoyment, it's just a subconscious nagging and anticipation of "I'm no where near done."

I know there's a lot of threads today on "Is this worth," but I got an upgrade from my phone plan, and I didn't want to move to 10 when the 11 was around the corner.

Biggest complaints I see is that the 10 has a bad battery and runs hot, but I have never had any issue with battery or heat on my 8, but threads I've read on the 8 Pro say it has bad battery life and is hot. Maybe my case is thick enough I don't feel it? I've never had an issue with a battery before either, it seems fine and lasts me all day. This upgrade is free so I'm not too worried about the price, just wondering if a free upgrade to 10 Pro is worth it.

I mostly just want a clean and simple Android experience. I don't play any games outside of basic puzzle games and Magic the Gathering Arena.

11 and 10 seem basically the same, so I'd either get a 10 Pro or not upgrade at all, but with it being free I'm considering it. I know it's nothing monumental.

I have an AYN Thor and I just bought my wife a RG DS. My reason for buying it over another console

• She only wants to play GBA and DS games (specifically Pokemmo)

• She wanted a dual screen that would fit in her purse

• She is not a heavy gamer so she doesn't need a lot of power

• Cheap af ($75)

Did some research and this seemed to be the best match for her use case. I read a few threads that there have been some improvements. It still doesn't match up to the Thor, but that's not what I'm looking for.

Love any help and input

TL;DR: New player (about 2 months) looking for my second Commander precon. I started because of the Avatar set, currently play and enjoy the Zinnia Family Matters precon, but I've realized I prefer aggressive, attack-focused play after trying a friend's Sonic deck. Looking for precon recommendations (ideally under $100) for a bracket 2–3 pod, especially red-leaning or Avatar-themed options. Proxies are totally fine

---

I just started playing about 2 months ago. My friend has been trying to convince me to play with him for so long but I just wasn't interested. Then when Spiderman came out I was really excited as it's my favorite hero of all time. My friend told me spiderman sucks and isn't worth playing, so I didn't play yet. Then when I saw the Avatar the Last Airbender set come out, I was determined to play, so my friend let me borrow his deck and taught me to play.

I actually really like the game and even got my wife into it so we play nightly. My first deck I bought was a Family Matters from Bloomburrow (Zinnia) precon as I wanted a big board, but I'm struggling to get her going as well as I want but I have stuck with her as I wanted to get used to playing the game and sticking to one deck.

Now I'm thinking about getting another deck, and I think I want something more aggressive. My pod tends to be very nice and let a few people set up before they actually start throwing punches, which is definitely chill and great for me as a new player... But I as a person tend to like being really aggressive. Limit testing as much as possible so I can see the potential of my deck. My friend let me play his Sonic commander deck and that shit was FUN. Due to haste, I could attack without guilt, because otherwise I'm not using my card to its potential. I really enjoyed it and my friend thinks I may like a red deck next.

Does anyone have any suggested precons? Preferably 100 or under. I was thinking about getting Lorehold Spirit from Strixhaven, since my wife got Zimone, but I don't want to be too impulsive.

I also love avatar and wouldn't mind a deck built around that, but I don't have any bulk or anything to actually build a deck yet.

(Our pod is also super Proxy friendly, so I may proxy something as well.)

We tend to play bracket 2 or 3. Each person (Excluding my wife and I) has a 4, but they don't play them super often.

Sorry for the long text, I barely know what I'm talking about so I may have over explained.

My wife wants and emulation device like my Thor but doesn't plan to play any PS+ titles, no switch, nada. She mostly wants to play Pokemmo, Pokemon diamond, and paper Mario.

We do have a Modded 3DS, but she really wants to play Pokemmo on it. She had it on her phone but wants a separate handheld. Our budget is $150 and RG DS is sounding pretty good.

(Alternatively, for my curiosity, if you were to recommend a device outside of the RG DS for GBA + NDS games, what would you recommend)

I cannot stand all the AI content on YouTube, Pinterest, Etsy, Reddit, Amazon, or anywhere else I go. I don't care too much that people utilize AI, I just don't want to be presented with AI stuff under the guise of being real.

I ordered a gift off of Etsy for a friend, and then found out it was AI after it arrived. Went on the page, nothing said it was AI generated.

Watching YouTube and a video comes up and It's an AI narrator flashing AI imagery. Nothing stating it's AI.

Looking for references or art pieces on Pinterest, only to find out it's AI

Amazon has a product that looks perfect, I ordered it and it looks nothing like the product. I go back to the page, it's AI generated renders of the products.

I Google for specific images and half of them are AI images.

And not a single one of these instances are labeled as AI at all. I have to be the detective on everything to avoid something I never asked for in the first place. I just want a filter that says "Do not show AI generated content." Everyone who doesn't mind it can still see all the AI things, but at least allow me to opt out. I hate this shit so much and I'm not even against AI, I'm against fraud and misleading products/content.

I know it's a downgrade, but my pixel has been a pain and I also missed my OP7P as it's still my favorite phone. So I'm going to pop my SIM in it, worst case scenario I just put the SIM back in my pixel if I miss it.

With that said, I know we haven't had updates in a while, but is there anything you all recommend I do? I have a tmobile variant and I was trying to change it to the original firmware, but I can't find guacamole 190516 so I just gave up on it.

For you loyalist, any tips tricks or updates I should do?

Obviously supporting creators is always a good reason, what I'm wondering are there any features or support that people with free versions are missing?

I've been reading it in so many threads. When people are asking what handheld to get, there's always someone who says, "Just use your phone and get a Bluetooth controller," or to just play it on your phone. While the capabilities are there, it's completely missing the point of why people buy retro handhelds in the first place.

1. People aren't coming here to get a phone; they want something geared toward gaming specifically.

2. Phones already come with bloatware and other services that aren't needed for a gaming device.

3. Android is an open-source system for more than just phones. I think people just assume "Android" means mobile device.

4. Physical buttons and ergonomics are a big reason people get these devices. Tapping on a touchscreen with haptics is not the same as being able to physically press buttons.

5. Having everything in one solid device vs. having to carry a phone and a controller everywhere.

6. Battery drain on your phone would be crazy when trying to game on a device that you also use for texting, calling, email, browsing, social media, etc. I'd rather keep those separate.

7. Storage options suck unless you have a microSD slot. Phones with more storage usually cost more than most handhelds.

8. Fewer notifications. I don't want to sit here and play a game, then feel a buzz from a text, a buzz from an email, and now my wife's calling. So many unnecessary distractions.

I started off using emulators on my phone, and they were okay, but it never felt the same. I even went out of my way to get a clip and controller, but it really isn't the same as having a dedicated device. It just doesn't make sense to go to a subreddit where someone is trying to decide between two different handhelds and then say, "Just use your phone and a controller." It completely misses the point in my opinion.

I love my Thor, and I do my share of Switch and PC games here and there, but I am noticing a lot of people buying the Thor specifically for those. In addition, I notice every video review says "Plays everything up to PS2 flawlessly, with some Switch and PC titles being possible!" Which is 100% true, but I think there's a decent chunk of people who bought the Thor with the GOAL of playing those types of games.

I bought my Thor for all my nostalgia games, which were all PS2 and under, so the device has been flawless for me and they're primarily what I play, but a good chunk of people running into issues are trying to run these heavy PC/Switch games. And then I see posts like "BoTW running at 60 fps, see how!" or "Running Elden Ring on my Thor!" And though that's sick, I think some people were sold with those expectations.

Just an observation, no real objective here.

EDIT: Replace embarrassed with self-conscious, I'm not really embarrassed rather I'm really aware of myself in that moment

I have been taking my Thor with me everywhere, and whenever I have to wait for something, I whip it out and play whatever until my wait is done. But at 30, I can't help but feel a bit "childish" sitting and playing a game. With that said, I'm 30, so I can do what I want so I play anyways and I'm not going to stop, but the subtle feeling still lives in the back of my head.

I went out to eat with a few buddies of mine, and I had whipped it out to show them and they laughed and said "You really keep that with you at all times?" They're long time gamers, so they think the device is sick, but they also said they probably wouldn't bring it out publicly.

Do you all take your handhelds with you everywhere?

Do you ever feel any type of way when playing it in public?

I've been very loosely following Abernic due to some ads on social media the past, and I gravitated towards the RG35XX but never seriously considered it. I didn't actually decide I was going to get a device until the Ayn Thor was announced and I knew that'd be my device. I gave it some time before actually buying it to see if there were any major problems, so after 6 months of no major problems online I pulled the trigger and I love it.

With all that said, I haven't been in the community or SBC space for very long and wanted to see from you veterans, what device was the biggest flop or let down? Whether it be performance, form factor, build quality, support, whatever your reasoning is, I'd like to know!

I recently tried one of those $10 handhelds from AliExpress offering 1000's of games. Device is basically a paperweight. Barely any good titles, buttons felt awful and cheap, and it performed poorly. I didn't expect much because I really only bought it for a deal to get some other stuff free, but that had me thinking, what were some actual hyped or popular brand consoles that have released that ended up being a major disappointment once you actually had it in hand.

I have this peculiar issue

I was playing my Thor and realized it was getting pretty hot, but never thought it was a probelm because I remember reading from some posts that it got a little toasty on the center.

Well then I read about loud fans, and I was like "good thing my fan is quiet," and then I turned my device around and my fan wasn't on. So I pressed the button to turn it from quiet to off then back to quiet. Still nothing... I turned off my device and turned it back on, and the fan still wasn't spinning. Unlucky.

I emailed AYN, they asked for a video before sending me a replacement. So today I went to record the video and the fan was on! So I'm thinking "Cool, problem solved itself." Well then I went to turn the fan off again to test things, and once I turned it off and tried to turn it back on again, it stayed off.

Turned the device on and off again. Now the fan seems to be working and I can turn it on and off with the software, but now I'm uncertain it will stay this way. Has anyone else had this issue?

I'm sorry for such a heavy topic, I just need some opinions and I don't know any other pet owners who may have done this.

Last week we took an ER visit for my cat, only to find out she has a lung problem and the vet basically told us there's nothing she can do and she won't have much more time. So we asked if we can treat her that day and then take her home to spend some time with her, and bring her back later to put her to sleep. She's less than 2 so it's really hard because she's so young.

We've had her for 4 days, she's sweet as can be, but she just lays down on her side all day, she's slow to move around, and she throws up a lot. My wife is monitoring her, and she may throw up her food, but then she'll try to feed her again 30 minutes later and she'll keep it down, so then says things like "That's a good sign!" And "Looks like she's doing better!" But her condition isn't going to recover, it will eventually come back, so the "signs" just feel like excuses to keep her alive. I have never had to put down an animal before so navigating this is really tough. Choosing a date or time to basically kill your pet is such a burden on my mental.

But what's making it worse is every day and every few hours checking on her and making sure she's alive. She just lays there on her side so I walk in and see her and have to pay close attention to if she kicked the bucket. Every morning I wake up, my first thought is "Is she dead right now?" And I have to go around my house to find where she's hiding and then find her and mentally prepare myself to touch her and hope she looks at me. It's really stressing me out, but I think my wife is slowly falling into denial? The vet gave some "hope" that I think she's attached to... "She may only have a few days, but she may also have a few months, no one knows! I once had a patient car who survived for another year." And I think my wife wants to be one of those cases, but I don't think we will be.

Does anyone have any advice or insight, this is such a new feeling to me and my family is more of a "It's just a pet/animal" kind of people, but to me and my wife "your pets are family."

PS. I do plan to talk to my wife about this, I just need some outside insight.

EDIT: Thank you everyone for the support and words. My wife has woken up so I'm going to speak with her now and stop the thread. Thank you all

EDIT 2: We spoke about and came to the tough decision to let her go. We both know it's far more human, and the words from earlier "better a week too early, than a day too late," really did help us with perspective. We knew this would be hard, and it's always going to be so, but she deserves peace. Thank you again for everyone being so compassionate and sympathetic, I was really nervous about seeming like a bad owner, but you all really helped me feel stronger.

Remember her name, it was Rosie, a beautiful and loving cat, who drew an unlucky hand to start her life, but she had the best hand to have her end. We showed her love and a place of comfort after such a traumatic start, and I will send her to peace with the last words being "I love you."