Armada, a Linux-based operating system for ARM gaming handhelds, has been released in preview build 20260817.

Armada is a SteamOS-inspired operating system built specifically for handheld devices like the Retroid Pocket and AYN Thor, bringing Steam’s Game Mode interface along with emulator and streaming support.

New in this release is initial support for the Retroid Pocket 5, Pocket Flip 2, Pocket Mini/Mini V2, Pocket Nova, and the KONKR Pocket FIT Elite. It also adds experimental native sleep for SM8550 devices, a new Armada Store Decky plugin for installing emulators and launchers directly, and a range of device-specific improvements.

• Initial support for Retroid Pocket 5, Pocket Flip 2, Pocket Mini / Mini V2, Pocket Nova, and KONKR Pocket FIT Elite

• New experimental native sleep support:

  • Supported SM8550 devices can now test native sleep (s2idle or deep) instead of Armada’s fake suspend
  • Switch between native and fake sleep from Armada Control; changes apply immediately and persist across reboots
  • Fake suspend remains available as the safe fallback while native sleep is tested and refined

• New Armada Store Decky plugin:

  • Install and update emulators, launchers, streaming apps, and selected Decky plugins directly from Game Mode
  • Automatic Steam shortcuts and ability to add your own Non-Steam shortcuts
  • ES-DE system definitions for all included emulators

• Armada Control improvements:

  • Global and per-game CPU core, Wine topology, process priority, scheduler, and environment variable controls
  • CPU governor selection for each power profile
  • Per-game settings for Non-Steam shortcuts

• Device improvements:

  • Improved Odin 3 Bluetooth, headphone routing, experimental HDR support, and haptics
  • Pocket EVO extra button mappings
  • Pocket DS dual-screen desktop support and improved suspend behavior
  • Thor desktop keyboard now stays on the bottom display
  • More reliable suspend, resume, and power-button wake handling
  • Charging improvements for AYN Thor, Retroid Pocket 6, and devices using s2idle sleep

• Compatibility improvements:

  • Updated for Steam’s integrated FEX flow with a newer guest filesystem
  • FEX Multiblock enabled by default

• New boot splash: smoother handoff from early boot through Steam startup, shutdown, and applying updates

• More experimental features: USB file transfer using MTP, selectable Plasma Desktop or Plasma Mobile desktop mode, ROCKNIX ABL auto updater (off by default)

• Kernel 7.2-rc7, Mesa 26.2.0, FEX 2608, CachyOS Proton 11 20260703, and ROCKNIX ABL 1.1.7

• Added Distrobox and DistroShelf with rootless container support

• Integrated OpenGamingCollective gamescope

• Improved Waydroid compatibility in Game Mode

Source: GitHub