Kenji-NX update boosts Nintendo Switch emulation performance on Snapdragon 8 Elite

One of the popular Nintendo Switch emulators for Android, Kenji-NX, has just received a significant update. This fork of Ryujinx is now in v2.1.0 pre-release, and its latest update brings a handful of key improvements. Among them, performance boosts targeted for the Snapdragon 8 Elite devices are a major highlight.

As the patch note mentions, the latest version of the Nintendo Switch emulator implements memory and stability fixes for Snapdragon 8 Elite. These changes will lead to a better emulation performance on devices like the AYN Odin 3, Ayaneo Konkr Pocket Fit Elite, and many last-gen flagship phones and tablets (like the 128 GB Galaxy S25 that's curr. $719.99 on Amazon).

Of course, the latest update isn't just for the Snapdragon 8 Elite devices. As the developers highlight, the updated Switch emulator offers up to 10% improved performance over the last build. There are many GPU-related fixes, including improved GPU synchronization. The team has also focused on shutdown and startup crashes with this update.

In addition, the update brings fixes related to controllers. For example, Kenji-NX v2.1.0 fixes the unresponsive L2 and R2 issue on Xbox controllers that got flagged on previous versions. There are six new controller layouts for the virtual controller feature, and the updated emulator adds a controller scale slider.

There are many other general performance fixes with this update, and all of them are mentioned in the latest patch note. Even the desktop version of the emulator has seen some changes, and these improvements make Kenji-NX stay in a better position beside emulators like Citron and Eden. For those who would like to try the latest version, it's available on the official GitHub repository.