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The Loki Zero is a 6.0 inch 16:9 Windows handheld that plays everything up to PS2 well, made by AYN. It came out in August 2023 at $249. Inside is the AMD Athlon Silver 3050e with 4 GB of RAM.
Who it's for
Buy it if
- You want to play everything up to PS2.
- You want a 6.0 inch screen and carry it in a bag or a jacket.
Skip it if
- You only play up to PS1: handhelds under $60 do that.
Loki Zero videos
What it plays
Plays up to: PS2. Chip: AMD Athlon Silver 3050e.
Scores out of 100. 100 means the system runs at full speed with no known issues on this device. 80 or more plays well (green), 50 to 79 plays partly (yellow).
What the specs mean
16:9 screen
PSP and Switch games fill it. 4:3 home consoles show bars at the sides, and Game Boy games look small.
Based on: Display math: native screen shapes of each system
Sharpest fit: GBA
At 6x, GBA fills 67% of the screen with even pixels. Filling the rest means stretching, which some people smooth with a filter.
Based on: Display math: largest whole-number scale that fits the screen
Small battery for its class
Only 2 of 59 Windows handhelds in our database have a smaller battery than this 40.5 mAh (the middle one has 65 mAh). The heavier the system you run, the sooner it runs out.
Based on: Our handheld database: battery of 59 Windows handhelds
DS on one screen
DS games show both screens shrunk side by side, or one big screen you swap. The touch screen stands in for the stylus.
Based on: Layout data: single screen with touch
Rating
How we score: what it plays 30%, how many players own and recommend it 20%, screen 15%, price compared with handhelds that play as much 10%, controls 10%, size and weight 10%, battery size for its chip 5%.
Good
- Plays everything up to PS2 well
- Hall effect sticks, so no stick drift
- Video out to a TV
- Analog triggers
Not so good
- Small 40.5 mAh battery
Screen fit
Screen: 6.0 inch, IPS, 16:9, 1920 x 1080.
| System | Original | Sharpest scale | Screen filled |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game Boy | 160 x 144 | 7x (1120 x 1008) | 54% |
| GBA | 240 x 160 | 6x (1440 x 960) | 67% |
| NES and SNES | 256 x 224 | 4x (1024 x 896) | 44% |
| Genesis | 320 x 224 | 4x (1280 x 896) | 55% |
| PS1 and N64 | 320 x 240 | 4x (1280 x 960) | 59% |
| DS, one screen | 256 x 192 | 5x (1280 x 960) | 59% |
| PSP | 480 x 272 | 3x (1440 x 816) | 57% |
Whole-number scales keep every pixel the same size. Screen 1920 x 1080.
Size
248 x 98 x 20 - 23.7 mm. Too big for a jeans pocket
- Loki Zero (248 x 98 mm)
- iPhone 15 (71.6 x 147.6 mm)
True scale, front view. Jeans pocket = front no bigger than an iPhone 15 Pro Max in a case (160 x 82 mm).
Specs
| Performance | |
|---|---|
| Chip | AMD Athlon Silver 3050e |
| CPU | AMD Zen |
| Cores | 2 |
| Clock speed | 1.4 GHz - 2.8 GHz |
| GPU | AMD Radeon RX Vega 3 |
| RAM | 4 GB DDR4 |
| Cooling | Yes |
| Screen | |
| Size | 6.0" |
| Type | IPS |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
| Refresh rate | 60 Hz |
| Pixel density | 367 ppi |
| Aspect ratio | 16:9 |
| Touch screen | Yes |
| Dual screen | No |
| Controls | |
| D-pad | Cross, Lower placement |
| Analog sticks | Yes |
| Stick layout | Double, asymetrical |
| Hall effect sticks | Yes |
| L3 / R3 | Yes |
| Shoulder buttons | Stacked |
| Analog triggers | Yes |
| Rumble | Yes |
| Gyroscope | Yes |
| Connectivity | |
| Storage | 64 GB |
| SD card | Yes |
| Wi-Fi | Yes (5) |
| Bluetooth | Yes (4.2) |
| USB-C | Yes |
| Video out | Yes |
| Headphone jack | Yes |
| Build | |
| Form factor | Horizontal |
| Dimensions | 248 x 98 x 20 - 23.7 mm |
| Battery | 40.5 Wh |
| Shell | Plastic |
| Speakers | Front |
| Software | |
| Operating system | Windows, Linux |
| Windows version | 11 |
| Custom firmware | Batocera, UnofficialOS |
| PortMaster | Yes |
Questions
Can the Loki Zero play PS2 games?
Yes. PS2 scores 80 out of 100 on our emulation scale.
Can it play GameCube games?
Yes, GameCube scores 100 out of 100.
Is the Loki Zero good for GBA?
GBA runs at full speed. At 6x it fills 67% of the screen with even pixels.
Does it have a headphone jack?
Yes.
How big is the battery?
40.5 mAh. The middle Windows handheld in our database has 65 mAh.
Can it connect to a TV?
Yes, it has video out.
How much does the Loki Zero cost?
It launched at about $249 in Aug 2023. Prices on the used market change, so check current listings.
Price and newer models
$249 at launch $120 to $250
The newest in its line in our database, out since Aug 2023.
Similar handhelds
Specs and emulation scores from the retrocatalog.com handheld database. The score out of 10 is our own.