LineageOS is now available for the Retroid Pocket 6 handheld

LineageOS, one of the most established custom ROMs for Android, is now available for the Retroid Pocket 6. LineageOS 23.2, based on Android 16, shipped for the Pocket 6 this week, according to the project's device wiki. The handheld runs Android 13 out of the box, so official Lineage support gives owners a newer OS build, along with the performance and battery gains custom ROMs typically bring, without waiting on Retroid's own update cycle.

A developer working on the project also previously said support is expected to extend to the Retroid Pocket 5 and Pocket G2, and code references in the project's GitHub repository show work already underway for Retroid's newly unveiled Pocket Nova. The ROM is also being ported to AYN's Odin 2 series, the Odin 3, and the Thor.

Owners who want to skip Android altogether already have another option: developers have ported the Linux-based Rocknix to many of these same handhelds, and it can run from a microSD card with native Steam client support built in.

The LineageOS release lands just over a week after Retroid shipped the Pocket 6's first official OTA update since launch. Version 1.0.0.404 fixed a power drain issue tied to the handheld's Dual Screen Add-on during sleep mode, corrected a permission error involving isSafetyCenterEnabled in PrebuiltGmsCore and the Play Store app, and cleaned up an incorrect string on the lock screen interface. It also added two new features: a gamepad takeover method with vibration feedback and Nintendo Switch Pro Controller haptics support and an ultra black mode for the device's OLED screen.

AYN's Odin 3 received its own OTA update the same week, version 1.0.0.187, though it focused entirely on fixes rather than new features. The update refreshed the GPU driver to version 800.72 to address hang issues in graphics-heavy titles such as Zenless Zone Zero, fixed a silent microphone bug during WeChat voice calls, corrected abnormal resolution when connecting to AR glasses, and resolved random crashes when launching PUBG Mobile.

Complaints about the Odin 3's HDR display and fan noise remain unresolved, according to user reports on the device's Discord channel. Owners running Rocknix on the Odin 3 should also note a known update error; restoring the original bootloader through the device's 'restore_backup_abl' script clears it before the OTA can complete.