OneXPlayer has just unveiled a groundbreaking gaming handheld, the OneXFly Apex, featuring a GPU that could rival some of AMD’s desktop graphics cards. This portable powerhouse boasts an impressive 120W Thermal Design Power (TDP), granting it four times the raw power of many existing handhelds. This immense wattage allows its AMD CPU and GPU to push performance boundaries, promising an unparalleled gaming experience on the go.
At its heart, the OneXFly Apex will be powered by the cutting-edge AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 processor. This marks a significant upgrade for OneXPlayer, moving beyond the popular Ryzen AI 9 HX 370. The new CPU integrates a robust 16 Zen 5 cores alongside a formidable Radeon 8060S GPU, which features 40 compute units – eight more than found in the Radeon RX 7600 desktop card. This configuration promises exceptional gaming performance, especially when utilizing its full 120W TDP (though it defaults to 55W). To put this into perspective, the Steam Deck’s GPU has only eight compute units and an older architecture, suggesting the Apex could deliver up to five times the rendering power.
Beyond its raw processing power, the OneXFly Apex will feature an impressive 8-inch, 120Hz VRR native landscape display. However, the true highlight remains its 120W TDP, which OneXPlayer claims will be efficiently managed by an innovative “silent liquid cooling” system, ensuring peak performance without excessive noise.
Our experience with other high-TDP handhelds, like the Ayaneo 3 and AOKZOE A1X (typically 30W-35W), suggests that such power levels can be demanding on battery life. The OneXFly is only going to have an 85Wh battery, meaning playing at the highest TDP would result in well under an hour of playtime. While greater power enables significantly faster and more sustained CPU and GPU clock speeds, translating to higher frame rates, this comes at the cost of endurance.
Intriguingly, the Apex features a removable battery, hinting at the potential for higher-capacity options to be released, either at launch or shortly after. This innovative design could revolutionize portable gaming, allowing for extended high-performance sessions or quick battery swaps to keep the action going. The concept of a user-swappable battery is also a key highlight for upcoming devices like the GPD Win 5.
Storage on the OneXFly Apex will be highly flexible, supporting Mini SSDs. This offers a convenient upgrade path, delivering the rapid speeds of a traditional SSD combined with the ease of swapping similar to microSD cards, providing both performance and practicality.
Whether this ambitious high-TDP approach will prove successful in the long run remains to be seen. We will be keenly observing the OneXFly Apex’s journey and eagerly anticipate its performance in real-world scenarios.
While these advancements are undoubtedly exciting, it’s worth noting that such extreme power isn’t essential for enjoying the vast library of excellent handheld games. Many popular titles continue to run perfectly on Valve’s established Steam Deck.
So, what’s your take? Are you eager for a 120W handheld, pushing the limits of portable performance, or do you prefer gaming at a more balanced power level?