Armada, a Linux-based operating system for ARM gaming handhelds, has been released in preview build 20260907.

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. It follows about three weeks after preview build 20260817.

New in this release is an experimental dual-screen mode for the AYN Thor and AYANEO Pocket DS, native sleep as the default on all supported devices, plus new RGB lighting controls and a fan curve editor in Armada Control. It also adds HDR improvements, external monitor support in Game Mode, and faster updates via Chunkah.

• New experimental dual-screen experience for AYN Thor and AYANEO Pocket DS:

  • Launch Plasma Mobile on the bottom screen from Armada Control, with a persistent brightness control
  • Armada Store now offers preconfigured DRM-leasing builds of melonDS and Azahar for using the second display

• Native sleep is now the default on all supported devices:

  • Improved SM8550 sleep stability and power use with full CPU cluster collapse, USB autosuspend, and controller and UART fixes
  • Reduced accidental wake-ups: volume keys no longer wake devices, closed clamshells ignore the power button, and lid-open wake is debounced

• New RGB lighting controls in Armada Control (thanks @antnyhills, @Ga1dz1, @Rayekkk, and @drewano):

  • Set lighting power, brightness, and colour, with settings restored at boot
  • Supports AYN Thor, Odin 2 Portal, Odin 3, Retroid Pocket 5, Pocket Flip 2, Pocket Nova, Pocket 6, and KONKR Pocket FIT Elite

• New touch and controller friendly fan curve editor in Armada Control, including custom curves, fan stop, ramp timing, smoothing, minimum speed, and live temperature feedback (thanks @Alexandreaam)

• Updated defaults for per-game performance and Proton settings:

  • Vulkan real-time priority is enabled by default, Gamescope receives higher priority, and non-SM8250 devices now default to Proton Experimental

• Display and HDR improvements:

  • External monitors can now be used in Game Mode
  • Fixed dim SDR content and clipped HDR highlights on HDR-capable displays (thanks @Rayekkk)
  • Added HDR support for the AYN Thor
  • Improved OLED brightness scaling on AYN Odin 3, Thor and Odin 2 Portal; AYANEO Pocket EVO; and Retroid Pocket Nova

• Device and controller improvements:

  • Added rear-button support for Retroid Pocket 6, Pocket Nova, and AYN Odin 2 Portal
  • Fixed the KONKR Pocket FIT Elite backlight current limit (thanks @mrdidit)
  • Added broader Steam Controller, game controller, and VR device support

• Game and application compatibility improvements:

  • Fixed native AppImages accidentally invoking FEX, improving RPCS3 performance and restoring Epic login in Heroic
  • Fixed missing environment paths for native Non-Steam games (thanks @tslmy)
  • Fixed CJK font rendering in Xenia
  • Fixed Armada Control dropdowns freezing Quick Access Menu input while a game is running (thanks @drewano)

• Update and installation improvements:

  • Much faster image builds and smaller incremental updates using Chunkah
  • More accurate update progress and storage checks, with a consistent 2 GB update reserve
  • More reliable Steam bootstrap extraction and FEX guest filesystem mounting
  • Internal installs now use the ARMADA EFI partition name; existing ROCKNIX labels are migrated automatically

• Added Tailscale CLI, btop, wl-clipboard, and binutils

• Increased compressed swap capacity while retaining a bounded memory footprint

• Updated to Kernel 7.2.3, Mesa 26.2.2, InputPlumber 0.78.1, KWin 6.7.4, jupiter-hw-support 3.7.20251020.1, and ROCKNIX ABL 1.1.8

Source: GitHub