ARC X1 Revealed: An Android Gaming Handheld With a Tempting Spec Sheet
In a sea of Retroids, Anbernics, and AYNs, it’s nice to see new Android gaming handhelds being released from time to time, and in this case, it’s the ARC X1. A first-generation device from the Indian-based company Arc, it’s got a compelling set of features that firmly set its crosshairs to target handhelds like the Retroid Pocket 6 and Anbernic RG477M.
It’s rocking a Snapdragon G2 Gen2 chipset, a 7″ Full HD 120Hz LTPS display, a humongous 9,300 mAh battery with support of up to 27W fast charging, a pair of TMR joysticks, and 8GB of LPDDR5X RAM.
You can check out the full spec sheet below!
TL;DR
- Snapdragon G2 Gen 2
- 7-inch 120Hz display
- 16:9 aspect ratio
- 8GB LPDDR5X RAM
- 9,300mAh battery
- 128GB internal storage UFS 3.1
- Owl OS – Arc’s Android-based software experience
- ~$308 launch price
- Expected Q1 2027 delivery
Credit: Arc
At this point, we’re very familiar with the Snapdragon G2 Gen2, which is a dedicated mobile processor that initially debuted with the now-discontinued Retroid Pocket G2. It’s an interesting choice given that it can sometimes trade blows with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 performance-wise, but the biggest difference will be the driver support.
As more and more people dip their toes into PC gaming on Android, being able to inject custom GPU drivers in apps like GameNative is a big deal, and the G2 Gen2 isn’t as widely supported by the community like its other Snapdragon brethren.
But if you’re looking at this as a pure nostalgia emulation handheld? This might be a tempting offer. I have my own Retroid Pocket G2 that I’ve been hammering PlayStation 2 games at 3x resolution and it hardly breaks a sweat! Even Nintendo’s *secret console* works well in docked mode using select MrPurple drivers. If that’s anything to go by, it’s safe to assume the Arc X1 will perform similarly in these areas considering they share the same chipset and RAM configuration.
Credit: Arc
Instead of shipping with vanilla Android, the Arc X1 comes packaged with its own custom flavor called Owl OS. I love it when companies get creative with their handhelds, and having some handy features baked into the operating system is an area where most Android gaming devices get lost in the sauce. Hopefully, we can get our hands on the X1 and see their Owl OS implementation in full effect!
Credit: Arc
Right now, you can join the waitlist on the Arc X1 for their first batch of handhelds with a discounted price of roughly $308.05 (₹29,500) which has a target delivery around Q1 of 2027. After that, the regular price goes up to $350 (₹33,500). On paper, the ARC X1 is shaping up to be one of the more interesting Android handhelds in its price range. The real question is whether Arc can deliver the software polish and driver support needed to make that hardware shine. Think its worth the price tag given its spec sheet? Let’s talk about it below!
