The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is capable of PC performance (with mods)
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The latest Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra has way more potential beyond its use as a smartphone, as modders are currently discovering. The AI-powered Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor has some beefy specifications, and it’s a tempting unit to modify.
YouTuber ETA Prime has risen to the challenge, turning the S24 Ultra into a competent gaming PC, capable of running older-generation titles such as Fallout 4 and Skyrim via this smartphone. Though it takes some elbow grease to get working, the S24 Ultra proves itself a highly versatile unit.
Using a games emulator called Winlator – which supports Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, albeit in Chinese – ETA Prime was able to get GoG running on the S24 Ultra. Whilst Steam is incompatible, the vast majority of games are available with custom installers on GoG, meaning that it wasn’t a struggle to get working. Once installed, the performance benchmarks were impressive: simpler games such as Undertale or Cuphead were able to run at a sterling 60FPS in gameplay. For Fallout 4, though the settings were minimized to the most performance-friendly, the S24 Ultra was still running just south of 60FPS. There were the occasional framerate drops, but given that this was running off a smartphone plugged into a monitor, we’re nonetheless impressed.
It’s far from a perfect 1-to-1 emulation, however: as mentioned, Winlator is hardly the most accommodating to the new S24 Ultra at present, and has its fair share of stability issues. But as a baseline portable gaming option, compatible with controller or keyboard-and-mouse setups, this is an interesting avenue for the S24 Ultra.
What games can you run on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra?
Aside from your usual gamut of smartphone games, there are plenty of other titles that you can run on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. Thanks to the Samsung Gaming Hub, a huge array of popular games are literally at your fingertips. Effectively allowing you to stream games to your Samsung device, it’s a great way to expand the versatility of your Samsung phone.
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That said, the truly impressive things happen using emulators. Though they can be tricky to work (and in some countries banned due to copyright laws), they expand the potential of non-native gaming opportunities. From classics such as Fallout New Vegas or the original God of War, the possibilities are endless. Just be sure you’re allowed to use them!
Final Word
If you’re looking to game without investing in another device such as the Steam Deck or a gaming PC, then why not unlock the potential of the S24 Ultra? Given the sheer processing power built into the latest phones, it seems almost like a waste not to fully use it. Hopefully, modders like ETA Prime can encourage a general move towards smartphone gaming, and we can see it be formally realized and applied on the latest smartphones.
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