First Intel Core Ultra “handheld” announced but there’s a big catch

One Netbook has announced the OneXPlayer X1, the first gaming handheld to make use of Intel’s Meteor Lake-based Core Ultra CPUs. But, it has a gargantuan 10.9-inch display.

Remember OneXPlayer? They’re one of many manufacturers of handheld PC consoles, much like Ayaneo. Now, they’re back with a brand-new device which might be the first Intel Core Ultra gaming handheld of its kind.

The chip being used is not specified, however it is likely to be a certain 100H variant of the chip, to allow it to make use of the Intel Arc graphics inside. With performance looking promising for the new chips, this could be a nice break from the swathes of 7840U and Z1 AMD chips we’ve seen in so many handhelds this past year and change.

But, there’s one big catch to this brand-new “handheld” from the company. It’s screen size.

Is the OneXPlayer X1 even a handheld at this point?

Sporting a 10.9-inch, 120Hz, “2.5k” LTPS display, the OneXPlayer X1 might be more of a mini gaming laptop than a handheld. The trailer shows off rails where we assume that controllers belong, but this display size is massive, and we can’t help but think that it might get a bit heavy to use. Considering we don’t even see any gamepads in the initial teaser, it could be more like a hybrid mini-PC than a dedicated handheld. The device also supports OCuLink, meaning you will also be able to hook it up to a more powerful dedicated graphics card, which is always a nice boon.

Details are still pretty scarce for the device, but it could be the first of many Intel Core Ultra-based handhelds we might see released in 2024. Many other competitors will likely follow, like Ayaneo, GPD, and more.