A Powerful Gaming Tablet That Cannot Find Its Place
The OneXPlayer X1 Air is a bold attempt to blend gaming handheld, tablet, and ultra portable laptop into one device. On paper it looks fantastic. It packs Intel's new Lunar Lake Core Ultra 7 258V processor, an impressive Arc 140V integrated GPU, 32 GB of fast LPDDR5x memory, and a bright 11 inch 2560 x 1600 display running at 120 Hz. For PC gamers and hardware fans, that spec sheet is seriously tempting.
In practice though the X1 Air ends up feeling like a powerful but deeply frustrating piece of kit. It delivers excellent gaming performance for an integrated GPU and looks gorgeous while doing it, yet is constantly dragged down by awkward design choices, flaky behaviour, and a price that pushes it into proper gaming laptop territory.
This is the follow up to the earlier Meteor Lake based OneXPlayer X1. That model had teething issues with Intel's then new graphics drivers. The hope was that Lunar Lake would fix the problems and turn the concept into something special. Unfortunately many of the core issues remain.
Specs, Performance, and Battery Life
At the heart of the X1 Air is Intel's Core Ultra 7 258V. This Lunar Lake chip pairs eight CPU cores with the new Arc 140V GPU. For a tablet style device it offers seriously strong performance, especially in games. In some titles it can hang with or even beat AMD's latest Strix Point APUs, which is impressive for an Intel integrated solution.
The rest of the hardware is stacked as well:
- CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 258V Lunar Lake
- GPU: Intel Arc 140V integrated graphics
- Memory: 32 GB LPDDR5x 8533
- Storage: 1 TB M.2 2230 SSD with an extra mini SSD slot
- Display: 11 inch 2560 x 1600, 120 Hz, bright and vivid
- Battery: 72.77 Wh
- Ports: 2x USB4, 1x USB A 3.2, 3.5 mm audio, TF 4.0 card slot, mini SSD slot
In real gaming use the Arc 140V is the standout. As a handheld PC or a small laptop you can actually play modern games at respectable settings, especially if you use the resolution smartly and leverage the 120 Hz screen for smoother motion. The device also benefits from OneXPlayer's OneXConsole app, which lets you fine tune power limits and performance to get more life out of the battery or squeeze out higher frame rates.
Battery life though is not amazing. At full speed in a gaming workload it managed around 103 minutes in PCMark's gaming battery test. That is a little over an hour and a half, which is short for a device built for handheld play. The good news is that Lunar Lake scales very well at lower power. By dropping it to around 15 W you can significantly extend play time while still getting decent performance, especially in less demanding or well optimized games.
While the raw performance is strong and the screen is excellent, the overall experience is where things start to come apart.
Three Modes, None Of Them Great
The X1 Air is marketed as a 3 in 1 gaming creator PC. You can use it like:
- A chunky Windows tablet
- A tiny laptop with clip on keyboard and trackpad
- A handheld gaming PC with detachable controllers
As a small laptop on a desk, it is actually decent. The keyboard attaches magnetically and while it is on a floppy cover style base, the key travel is better than a lot of thin and light laptops. The keys are well spaced, typing feels comfortable, and the trackpad is responsive. The integrated metal kickstand on the back is a big improvement over the previous generation, offering more rigidity and better positioning options.
The problems start the moment you move away from a desk. Like many tablet plus keyboard setups it is terrible to use on your lap. All of the hardware is behind the screen and the keyboard is just a thin cover, so you rely entirely on the rear stand. That is awkward and unstable, and it makes long sessions uncomfortable compared to a normal laptop with a real hinge.
As a pure tablet it also struggles. The device is thick and heavy, and Windows 11 tablet mode still is not great. More annoyingly, auto rotation seems to be broken after the latest Windows update. The quick toggle has disappeared, leaving you to dig into Windows settings and manually change orientation every time you want portrait mode. That is tedious, especially when the previous Meteor Lake model did not suffer from it.
Then there is handheld gaming mode with the clip on controllers. This is where many buyers will hope the X1 Air shines, but it is arguably the worst way to use it. The controllers feel hollow and flex when attached. The buttons do not feel premium and inspire little confidence, especially given the weight of the main tablet. With no smart weight distribution like you get on dedicated handhelds such as Steam Deck or ROG Ally, the whole setup is simply not comfortable to hold for long sessions.
If you are used to the ergonomic shaping of handheld only devices, the X1 Air will feel like strapping controllers to the sides of a heavy 11 inch slab. You can play like this, but it is not something you will want to do for hours.
Bugs, Quirks, and Value
Even if you can live with the form factor compromises, the software quirks and reliability concerns are hard to ignore. The earlier X1 had visual artifacts and driver weirdness with Meteor Lake. The X1 Air avoids those but introduces a new set of frustrations.
There are random boot and charging issues. After fully draining the battery during testing, the unit repeatedly refused to boot properly even when plugged in. It required a series of hard resets, cable swaps, and waiting before it eventually came back to life. Power button reliability and flaky standby behaviour also add to the sense that this device is not polished.
OneXConsole remains powerful but rough. Some sections, especially the update tool, still show Chinese text and Windows Defender flags the update packages as suspicious. None of this is beginner friendly. If you like tinkering with power curves and do not mind the occasional headache, you might work around it. For anyone else it will feel like unnecessary hassle.
The final blow is price. The configuration tested sits around 1,499 dollars and is currently discounted to about 1,280 dollars. That is serious money. At that price you can buy a proper gaming laptop with a dedicated Nvidia RTX 5070 or a top tier handheld gaming PC and still have cash left over. You can also get a straightforward Lunar Lake laptop that will be far better as a daily driver.
The X1 Air offers excellent integrated graphics performance and a beautiful 11 inch 120 Hz display, but it does not truly excel as a laptop, as a tablet, or as a handheld gaming machine. It lives in an expensive middle ground full of compromises.
If you absolutely want a powerful Windows tablet with gaming chops and you are patient enough to deal with buggy behaviour and questionable ergonomics, you might appreciate what OneXPlayer is trying to do. For most PC gamers though there are better, cheaper, and more comfortable ways to play.
Original article and image: https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/handheld-gaming-pcs/onexplayer-x1-air-review/
