Arc X1 Gaming Handheld Debuts in India With Snapdragon G2 Gen 2

Arc has entered India’s handheld gaming market with the Arc X1, a new Android-based gaming device. The homegrown gaming company has priced the handheld at Rs. 29,500 for users on its early waitlist. Early access orders will open on October 2, while the general public price is Rs. 33,500.

The Arc X1 uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon G2 Gen 2 Gaming Platform. It has a 7-inch Full HD display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The device also includes active cooling, gaming-focused controls and a 9,300mAh battery.

Arc X1 display and design

The Arc X1 features a 7-inch Full HD LTPS TFT LCD panel with a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels. It has a 16:9 aspect ratio and a 120Hz refresh rate.

Arc says the screen reaches 500 nits of typical brightness and covers 100 percent of the sRGB colour gamut. The display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3.

The company has designed the device around gaming controls. It comes with TMR analogue sticks and microswitch-based ABXY buttons and a D-pad.

Snapdragon G2 Gen 2 powers the handheld

The Snapdragon G2 Gen 2 platform is built on a 4nm process. It uses an octa-core Qualcomm Kryo CPU and an Adreno A22 GPU.

The chipset is paired with 8GB of LPDDR5X RAM running at 8,533 MT/s. Storage includes 128GB of UFS 3.1 memory. Users can expand storage by up to 1TB through a compatible microSDXC card.

For thermal management, the Arc X1 has an active cooling system with a centrifugal fan. Arc says air enters through vents on the rear and leaves through exhaust ports on the top.

Gaming controls and haptics

The Arc X1 uses zero-drift Tunnel Magnetoresistance (TMR) analogue sticks. Its analogue triggers use Hall-effect sensors and have mechanical trigger locks.

The handheld also has two programmable buttons on the rear grips. Users can calibrate the analogue sticks and remap controls for individual games.

For haptic feedback, the device uses dual Linear Resonant Actuators (LRAs).

OwlOS brings gaming-focused software

The Arc X1 runs OwlOS, Arc’s custom operating system based on the Android Open Source Project. The software includes per-game performance and control profiles, frame-rate overlays, resolution scaling and custom fan curves.

OwlOS also supports Quick Resume. These features give users additional control over game performance and the handheld’s controls.

Connectivity and battery

For connectivity, the Arc X1 supports Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.4. It also has USB OTG, a 3.5mm headphone jack and a USB Type-C port.

The handheld packs a 9,300mAh battery and supports 27W charging. Arc claims the device can provide more than eight hours of battery life in Silent Mode.

Arc X1 price and availability in India

Arc said the X1 was developed over 16 months with input from its gaming community. The company has now brought the device to India as part of its entry into the handheld gaming market.

The Arc X1 will first be available through early access for eligible early-waitlist members. Orders for that phase will open on October 2 at Rs. 29,500, while the general public price is set at Rs. 33,500.