AetherSX2 was built exclusively for 64-bit (arm64-v8a) architectures The Technical Wall
PlayStation 2 emulation requires heavy mathematical computing. The older 32-bit ARM instruction set (ARMv7) lacks the processing capabilities and hardware instructions found in 64-bit (ARMv8/AArch64) chipsets.
The 32-bit version of AetherSX2 represents a significant feat of software engineering. While it "works" in the sense that it successfully boots and runs PlayStation 2 software on legacy Android architecture, it is fundamentally hampered by the laws of physics and computer science. The limited memory addressing and register scarcity of 32-bit ARM CPUs make high-fidelity emulation difficult.
AetherSX2 is with 32-bit Android devices and there is no official 32-bit APK that will work. The emulator is built specifically for 64-bit ARM architectures (ARM64-v8a) to handle the complex requirements of PlayStation 2 emulation. Compatibility Realities
He found it. A dirty hack. He replaced the atomic compare-and-swap with a mutex that should have been too slow. It was ugly. It was inelegant. It was work .