I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to think 2025 might be the year of the handheld gaming PC. This recently teased OneXPlayer G1 handheld with a removeable keyboard is a good sign of things to come, anyways.
We’ll be embarking fully into the second generation of handheld tech in 2025, and that means companies can hopefully start experimenting a little more now they’ve got a more mature foundation on which to do so.
We’re certainly seeing such experimentation from OneXPlayer’s latest announcement. It “combines a sleek, compact design with a detachable keyboard and built-in controls for ultimate versatility”.
It also comes with the same HX 370 processor that you’ll find in the top-end version of the new OneXFly F1 Pro which our Dave’s been testing. He’s been genuinely impressed with the level of performance you can get out of it at 1080p, especially with the help of FSR 3 and frame gen.
But if you want to hear about all that you can wait for Dave’s review. With this OneXPlayer G1, the main thing is that laptop/handheld design. It can be hard to make out in the YouTube video—it’s a teaser that actually teases—but on its Indiegogo page things are laid out very clearly.
It’s a GPD-looking thing, reminding me of the GPD Win Max 2 in shape and stature, at least—its screen is a little smaller than the Max 2, but significantly bigger than the Mini. The difference is, the G1 has a detachable keyboard, meaning you can “switch seamlessly between laptop, console, and tablet modes for any task.”
Once that keyboard (and trackpad) is peeled, you have access to a controller layout, along with what looks to be a smaller touch keyboard underneath, in the same kind of split layout as the GPD.
This is exactly the kind of experimentation I like to see in the handheld sphere, now that many handhelds have nailed the basics. New form factors are always fun.
We’ve already seen some Acer experimenting in a similar fashion with its Project DualPlay concept. Except that’s more decidedly a laptop—it just has a pop-out gamepad on the underside of the trackpad. And we’ve seen dual-screen innovation in the form of the Ayaneo Flip DS, which our Jacob Ridley really loves.
So yeah, I’m excited not just for this particular handheld, if and when it comes to market, but for what kinds of mainstream form factor adjustments it might lead to in the handheld market in general. And to be honest, it’s probably best I don’t get my sights honed in on the OneXPlayer G1 in particular, given it’ll probably be incredibly expensive. That is, assuming the F1 Pro is anything to go by.
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