Indian gaming hardware company ARC has officially unveiled the ARC X1, its first gaming handheld. The device has been in development for 16 months and combines Qualcomm’s Snapdragon G2 Gen 2 Gaming Platform with a 7-inch 120Hz display, TMR analog sticks, and a 9,300mAh battery.
The ARC X1 has a 7-inch LTPS TFT LCD panel with a 1920 x 1080 resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. It offers 500 nits of typical brightness, around 100% sRGB coverage, and a 16:9 aspect ratio. The display is protected by Gorilla Glass 3.
The device is powered by the Snapdragon G2 Gen 2 Gaming Platform, built on a 4nm process. It has an 8-core Kryo CPU and Adreno A22 GPU, along with 8GB LPDDR5X RAM running at 8,533 MT/s.
There is 128GB of UFS 3.1 storage, with microSDXC expansion supporting cards up to 1TB.
ARC has also added active cooling with a centrifugal fan. Air enters through the rear and exits from the top to help maintain performance during longer gaming sessions.
ARC X1 runs OwlOS, the company’s controller-first operating system based on AOSP. Instead of simply putting a standard Android interface on a handheld, ARC has designed OwlOS around physical controls. It includes a unified game library, game launcher, native Android gaming, and cloud gaming.
Players can also configure per-game performance profiles, controller mappings, resolution scaling and fan settings. Other features include an FPS overlay, Quick Resume, controller remapping and OTA updates.
This is potentially one of the X1’s biggest advantages. Android gaming handhelds are already common, so the quality of the software experience could be what separates ARC’s device from the competition.
ARC has equipped the X1 with TMR analog sticks, which are designed to offer better durability and lower power consumption than traditional potentiometer sticks. The controls also include Hall-effect analog triggers with mechanical trigger locks.
The handheld has tactile microswitch ABXY buttons, a microswitch D-pad and two programmable rear buttons. Players can calibrate the sticks and create different controller mappings and profiles for individual games.
The X1 also uses dual LRA haptic motors for more precise vibration feedback.
The X1 packs a 9,300mAh battery with support for 27W USB Power Delivery charging. ARC claims more than eight hours of gaming in Silent Mode, although actual battery life will depend on the game and system settings. An 80% charging limit is included to help manage battery health over long-term use.
The ARC X1 supports Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.4. Its USB-C port supports USB 3.1, USB OTG and display output.
For audio, it has dual front-facing stereo speakers, a 3.5mm headphone jack and noise-cancelling microphones.
The handheld weighs between 450 and 500 grams. ARC has also designed the X1 with repairability in mind. The battery and joystick caps are replaceable, while modular daughterboards are intended to make servicing easier.
The ARC X1 will enter Early Access on October 2 at ₹29,500 for people on ARC’s early waitlist. The regular price is ₹33,500.
At this price, the X1 has an interesting hardware package. The 7-inch 120Hz display, large battery, active cooling and TMR controls all make sense for a gaming handheld.
The bigger question is OwlOS and real-world performance. ARC is entering a market where users already have several established handheld options, so the X1 will need to deliver a polished software experience and good game compatibility to stand out.
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