Big Update for EmuDeck Android
Hi! I'n thrilled to announce this new update for EmuDeck Android because it's the culmination of several months of hard work!
What's new?
Armada OS
EmuDeck EA for linux is now compatible with Armada, the new SteamOS like distro for Android devices, if you are testing this new OS you can install EmuDeck by simple downloading the .desktop installer for EmuDeck EA like you do in a Steam Deck. This is still experimental so bugs are expected.
EmuDeck Android EA 0.995 (APK)
CloudSync fixes
Some emulators weren't being detected unless you had saved games already, making it impossible to download your saved games from other devices. The supported emulators remains the same, I'm gonna start testing Eden and ARMSX2 with CloudSync for a future release, though.
New package names
Due to the new sideloading rules from Google now every APK has to be signed and registered with Google, that means that our CloudSync compatible forks ( RetroArch, Dolphin and Cemu ) need to have their own package name. EmuDeck will detect and migrate your older forks to the new ones, no saves or configurations will be deleted. A side effect of this is that now the forks can coexist with the OG emulators.
In future releases we will add the option to install the OG emulators instead or alongside our forks, I just need to figure out how to implement everything in a way that makes sense because it's not an easy task.
Updated forks
Alongside new package names all the forks have been updated to have parity with the latest official release of every emulator. Special mention to the RetroArch fork, now all suited cores are downloaded and auto installed on install so you don't have to manually download your cores if you use ESDE as your frontend.
ESDE Support
If you have ESDE installed now you can set it up so you can use EmuDeck's forks with it. You can enable this in the new Manage Frontends section or when doing a new installation.
Rift Frontend EA
New experimental frontend exclusive for EmuDeck Android EA users, some of its features are:
Automatic CloudSync sync when launching games in compatible emulators.
Custom themes
RetroAchievements
Romm integration ( Experimental )
Automatic artwork scraping
EmuDeck Store integration
Emulator selection per game
Dual screen support ( Experimental, open to feedback! )
Set it as your android launcher
You can install Rift EA from the new Manage Frontends section or when installing EmuDeck Android for the first time.
Other frontends
Due to the new packages names EmuDeck's forks can't be launched using other frontends that are not ESDE or Rift, I plan to contact the devs of other launchers to make them EmuDeck compatible and offer them as alternatives in the EmuDeck app.
Wifi ROM transfer
Now you can transfer roms from your computer to your Android device using Wifi
New optional Emulators
New emulators are available from Manage Emulators or when doing a Custom Install:
ARMSX2 - PlayStation 2
DuckStation Legacy - Playstation
Flycast - Dreamcast
GameNative - Steam games
melonDS - Nintendo DS (with dual screen support)
Starboard - Portmaster games
Note: None of these optional emulators have CloudSync support since that would meen creating and maintaining a new fork of every single one of them
To get this update just open EmuDeck Android EA and update the app when prompted.
This has been a lot of work from me and the rest of team, we'd really appreciate your feedback, thanks!!!
Comments (26)
is it possible to use armsx2 instead of PCSX2 via Emudeck on Armada?
Cocoon 3.0 has made its way to my default front end. Do you have plans to integrate? Right now, I have to open the emudeck versions of Android emulators manually.
Anyone facing cloud save issues with version 0.995? I can't get it to work, no matter which provider I choose, it will fail with all emulators. Previous version was more consistent. Is there a way to downgrade? Thank you!
Thank you for your work on EmuDeck EA and Rift EA. I really enjoy the project, but I found some usability issues, especially when using these apps with a Samsung Galaxy S24+ and a telescopic controller. Setup: • Samsung Galaxy S24+ • Android 16 / One UI 8.5 • GameSir X5 Lite • Rift EA 1.0.0 1) Landscape orientation issue Both EmuDeck EA and Rift EA open in the wrong landscape direction on my device. This also happens without the controller connected, so it is not related to the GameSir controller. I checked the Rift EA APK and found: android:screenOrientation="landscape" This forces a single landscape direction and can make the app appear upside down on some Samsung devices with landscape controllers. Would it be possible to use: android:screenOrientation="userLandscape" or: android:screenOrientation="sensorLandscape" This would let Android choose the correct orientation and improve compatibility with devices like the Galaxy S24+ and telescopic controllers. Since EmuDeck EA has the same behavior, the same change may also help there. 2) Installation process During EmuDeck EA installation, users must configure several emulators before continuing, even if they do not plan to use them. It would be better to allow users to: • skip emulator configuration, • configure only the systems they need, • or add more emulators later from settings. This would make the installation process more flexible and easier for users with different needs. 3) Suggestion EmuDeck EA is a very promising project for Android handheld gaming devices. Improving orientation handling and making installation more modular would greatly improve the experience. Thank you for your time and your work. I hope these suggestions are useful.
I opened a ticket on Discord on 08/07/2026 about the emudeck android app, however, I am yet to receive a reply. When do you guys normally reply?
rift doesn’t recognize azahar/3ds games. also where is the media files stored with rift?
What emulators are compatible with cloud sync?
I purchase emu deck for life how do I get the APK for Android?
I tried Rift and it simply isn't ready, especially since I can't get ES-DE to work with the new packages. This whole roll out has been poorly done. Bugs in Rift have been many. List art for every game stuck on 1 game's art. Poor name/region matching. Unable to scroll large lists with any sort of speed. Triggers and Bumbers both cycle systems instead of one set helping me navigate up and down large lists. It's just frustrating to me that this update blew up what I'd previously set up and then gave me something that cannot be fixed to work.
I cannot fix my ES-DE to get the new packages to launch, and not having dual screen cemu on the thor is annoying - will those forks ever merge that feature?
I am on the 0.995 version, however, I keep getting network timeout error. Anyone else getting this issue?
RIFT is looking for MAME to play arcade games, cant switch to retroarch
Can someone point me to where I can download the android apk? I'm using ayn Odin 3
I can’t for the life of me get the EA version to install onto bazzite on my rog ally
Can you share the latest version of the apk?
RIFT vs. ESDE. I own ESDE on Android, am I losing anything by using ESDE or getting more out of RIFT? I saw their site, looks like same type of themes, just wanted to know what is better here.
Give Rift a test drive, see for yourself :) . It has better EmuDeck integration
On steam deck cloudsync isn't working. Last time I checked windows isn't working either.
I'm gonna be away for the day but please post your issue in the CloudSync Discord so we can take a look at your case to figure out why is not working for you
Hi, I'm on Android ver. 0.99 early. I've not been prompted to update emudeck when I open it. How would I go about updating to the current version?
I've updated the apk in the posts for Life / EA members with the new apk , you can download it from there ;)
Using ayn Thor everything is working perfectly
To this day there are still issues in Cloudsync?
If you have CS issues please post it in Discord! https://discord.com/channels/934078500552462346/1186436340657692703
Are you ever going to fix the Windows compression tool or fix having to reinsert retroachievement password because it says the password is wrong even though it hasn't changed?
We have the compression tool for windows fixed in the dev builds of the next EmuDeck 3, might need to back port that to 2.X though. The achievements password issue is in some specific emulator? First report I see of this!