ARMSX3 v1.0.6 Adds CHD Support to Cut PS3 Game Sizes on Android

The feature targets a practical problem for PS3 emulation on phones and tablets. The ARMSX3 team says CHD, or Compressed Hunks of Data, produces smaller files than conventional ISOs, the format most emulated games are distributed in. The team cites Demon's Souls as an example: its ISO file is 8.76GB, while the CHD version comes in at 6.25GB. Bleach Soul Resurrection drops from 4GB to 1.8GB, roughly a halving of file size in the best cases.

Those savings matter more in PS3 emulation than raw numbers suggest. According to the outlet, some PS3 games cannot be played directly from a disc image and must first be installed to the device's storage, so a title can occupy space twice over. Emulated games also build shader caches that can grow substantially in size. Reducing the size of the game file itself therefore reduces the total footprint even before installation and caching are taken into account.

Alternatives exist but carry a trade-off. Users can compress games with 7-Zip or as Zip files to save storage, but those archives have to be unpacked before a game can be played. ARMSX3, by contrast, runs CHD files directly, so no extraction step is required. The Android Authority report notes that the benefit is most visible for users with only one or two PS3 games installed on a device, and grows accordingly for larger libraries.

Version 1.0.6 also brings changes beyond storage. The update delivers what the ARMSX3 team describes as lighter and more reliable frame generation, along with fewer stutters in games that rely on the PS3's job system, plus several smaller tweaks. The release follows a period of rapid progress for PS3 emulation on Android driven by ARMSX3, which has moved the platform from limited compatibility toward playable performance on mobile hardware.

Android Authority reported the update on October 2, 2026.