Exploring the Power of OneXPlayer: A Deep Dive into the OneXFly F1 Pro

I’m a delighted feline. And it has nothing to do with the appealing red attire of the variant of the new OneXFly F1 Pro I’ve been experimenting with, either. Which is fortunate, because this Evangelion EVA-02 model isn’t available outside of China, so if that was the decisive factor, you all would be out of luck.

No, the decisive element is that this is the first gaming handheld PC I’ve encountered, held, or evaluated that features AMD’s newest APU, the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370—the chip whose name I can seldom pronounce correctly on the first attempt. Seriously, it’s a jinx, and I only ever recall the initial part because I’m aware it’s AMD desperately trying to make ‘Ryzen AI’ a thing. Stop trying to make Ryzen AI happen.

The Strix Point silicon is somewhat of a revolution for handhelds, particularly when you factor in all the additional features AMD has designed that genuinely cater to the literal needs of PC gamers. Radeon Anti-Lag and Fluid Motion Frames 2 are truly the main ones for handheld gaming, but also any game that implements FSR3 and its own specific per-game frame generation features, too.

Those features are what distinguishes the OneXFly F1 Pro from any other gaming handheld you might care to mention, due to how the HX 370 enhances performance beyond the competition. Keep in mind, the $1,339 price tag will also make it stand out. That amount of money could get you a full RTX 4070 Super gaming PC and still leave you with enough extra to purchase a respectable 1080p gaming monitor, as well. So yes, you have to really want the form factor and performance to consider spending that kind of money on a handheld.

However, mobile gaming is costly; high-end handheld PCs even more so. This is where Valve stepped in and executed brilliantly with the Steam Deck; it utilized Nintendo’s Switch ingenuity, selected a lower specification chip, and maintained a particular price point. Asus and Lenovo, leveraging their own manufacturing prowess, have succeeded in reducing costs for their own performance devices, but smaller scale producers, like OneXPlayer and Ayaneo, seemingly find it difficult to compete on that front leading to pricing that feels excessively high.

What you are acquiring with the OneXFly F1 Pro, however, is a remarkable little gaming device with performance that matches its visual appeal. Although it’s worth noting these are the same visuals that adorned the original OneXFly F1.

That’s not a bad thing, as the somewhat rubberized texture and smooth contours of the chassis feel excellent in the grasp. And, while it has a relatively significant weight—around the 600 g mark—its ergonomics and balance make it feel like one of the most well-designed handhelds I’ve used. It’s built for extended gaming sessions, and I haven’t experienced any of the hand cramping I encounter with the Steam Deck or other larger gadgets.

Okay, I claim it’s designed for the long haul, but sadly that does not apply to the OneXFly’s battery. I want to address this issue right away; this is the primary drawback of an otherwise exquisite little gaming handheld: the battery life. Aside from the upgraded APU, the 48.5 Wh battery was the sole element I genuinely wanted to modify from the original design. It is far too diminutive to provide a believable long-term gaming experience with the OneXFly.

Essentially, you are definitely going to need an external power pack if you wish to enjoy this device for more than an hour and forty comfortably. I wish there had been a method to fit a larger capacity battery into that chassis, but it’s so tightly enclosed that it’s just not feasible.

The degree of gaming capability you can obtain from it while consuming just 15 W is quite astonishing.

The positive aspect is that the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 (wow, got it right on the first attempt) delivers remarkable performance within a handheld gaming PC. From our evaluation of it in laptop format, this came as no shock, yet I must assert that the extent of gaming capability you can achieve from it at just 15 W is significantly impressive. Certainly, this is primarily realized through the dual foundations of upscaling and frame generation, but achieving between 43 and 52 fps in Star Wars: Outlaws at an upscaled 1080p resolution is quite gratifying.

Particularly when, while operating at the same 15 W level with identical settings, the original OneXFly F1—with its Ryzen 7 7840U APU—is merely capable of hitting the low 20s in the fps range.

That kind of performance gap seemed improbable, however, when I initially conducted my comparative testing against the earlier Ryzen APU. Reviewing most of our gaming performance statistics, you’ll notice that generally you’re only attaining a few fps between them, and the same remains true even when introducing upscaling.

There are some anomalies, like F1 24 and Hitman, where you’re observing around a 10 fps advantage for the Strix Point handheld, which is certainly more pronounced. But aside from that, the 16 compute units of the Radeon 890M in the HX 370 APU, contrasted with the 12 compute units of the Radeon 780M GPU of the Ryzen 7 7840U (and 8840U), do not appear to make a substantial difference in most games.

The situation shifts when you activate frame generation in any capacity. Immediately, a greater performance difference is noticeable, especially when you begin to limit the power consumption of the APU. I believe this is mainly due to the CPU cores in the F1 Pro running at relatively low speeds overall; while it can achieve 5.3 GHz boost clocks, under pressure, the F1 Pro typically operates around 3.3 GHz and lower.

It’s not that the games will be limited by the CPU on the new OneXFly, but utilizing frame generation aids in alleviating some of the CPU load, allowing those additional compute units to contribute more significantly to gaming performance.

The key takeaway, however, is that you can run most games at 15 W, utilizing either per-game frame generation or Fluid Motion Frame 2, and achieve excellent gaming performance that is both fluid and responsive.

Nonetheless, even at 15 W in Star Wars: Outlaws, I noticed the battery depleting at nearly precisely 1% per minute. This will grant me more gaming duration than the PCMark gaming benchmark offers at 30 W—in tests, that’s merely 68 minutes—but significantly, not double the amount.

It’s essential to mention that not every game will be as demanding as Star Wars: Outlaws or other contemporary 3D titles like Elden Ring. Insert something more lightweight, such as OlliOlli World or Lonely Mountains Downhill, into the equation, and you’ll notice that battery longevity extending much further.

The new AMD APU is one of the primary reasons I’m so enamored with the OneXPlayer F1 Pro, but it’s not the sole reason. That 7-inch 144 Hz OLED display has also captured my interest. Operating at 50% brightness, it still has a lot to offer, and cranking it up to maximum makes it appear simply breathtaking due to that 800 cd/m² peak brightness. The contrast is obviously remarkable, but the colors also come alive, and both the refresh rate and OLED response time enhance the gaming experience significantly.

I’ve also received the 32 GB RAM / 1 TB SSD variant of the F1 Pro for evaluation, which makes it a very competent PC, too. Coupled with the fact that the Acer SSD in question is quite fast (7,300 MB/s and 6,600 MB/s for sequential read/write performance) and that you receive two USB4 Type-C connections along with a full-size USB 3.0 Type-A port, you could easily dock this device to a monitor and use it as a fully functional PC without much hassle.

Individuals will frequently mention what a disarray Windows 11 is on a handheld, and while yes, it’s not designed for touchscreen—particularly not on a small screen—set it up to boot directly into Steam’s Big Picture mode, and you’re not far off from SteamOS functionality.

The F1 Pro offers all the extra configurable physical buttons you could wish for, the OneXConsole application has matured significantly, and while it’s still not as intuitive as the outstanding Ayaneo software, it possesses all the functionality, especially now with performance profiles you can create and switch to on the fly.

It’s also a size that brings joy, too. I appreciated the Ayaneo Kun for its large screen and added touchpads, but it’s a cumbersome device to carry around. With the OneXFly, it’s simply the size of that 7-inch OLED display and the pads on either side. The bezels are narrow, and the device is relatively compact, albeit a little hefty. But, you know, comfortingly hefty.

So yes, count me as a significant admirer of the new OneXFly F1 Pro. For me, it ranks among the finest handheld gaming PCs I’ve tested, merging functionality with design and performance. I appreciate the ability to downscale the APU to such an extent and still achieve excellent gaming performance from the device, and it is unequivocally my favorite aesthetic among all the handhelds I’ve used. However, to be fair, the stunning Ayaneo Flip DS boasts considerable appeal as well.

Nonetheless, two major aspects are hindering the OneXFly F1 Pro: the exorbitant price and the frail, frail battery. With an external power bank, you can mitigate one of those issues, but there’s nothing anyone aside from OneXPlayer can do regarding the other.