- Aokzoe is ready to compete with other gaming handhelds this year with the A1 x
- Uses the new AMD Ryzen Ai HX 370 APU, which uses the same IGPU as the Z2 Extreme
- There is no confirmation of a release date or pricing
If CES 2025 wasn’t enough of a hint that 2025 could be one of the best years for gaming handhelds, then get excited about it: the Aokzoe A1 set to compete with Lenovo’s Legion Go 2 and the ASUS ROG Ally X, and could surpass the Nintendo Switch 2 based on rumored specs.
As VideoCardz points out, the Aokzoe A1 .5, with an 8-inch 120Hz VRR screen and a 72.7Whr. While it doesn’t quite match the Legion GO 2 or the Switch 2’s ergonomics with the detachable controllers, it certainly makes up for it in processing power.
We still haven’t seen how AMD’s Ryzen Z2 Extreme will perform as there are no portable gaming PCs using this processor – but, the AMD HX 370 APU uses the same integrated GPU with more cores and CPU threads (12 and 24), And it is already present in the Onexfly F1 Pro and has shown that it offers great performance in several games like Cyberpunk 2077 And God of War Ragnarok Via Eta Prime on YouTube.
This should be a good indication of how the Legion of Extremes Ryzen Z2 GO 2 may perform (based on its final specs as it’s still a prototype), compared to the recently announced Nintendo Switch 2 (if rumored specs are legit) – but it should also be noted that the price (which has not been confirmed nor a release date) will most likely determine the success of these handhelds in the market.
Is 8 inch the ideal screen size for portable gaming devices?
With portable gaming devices like the Acer Nitro Blaze 11, which has an 11-inch screen, questions regarding the ideal screen size for these systems need to be addressed. As my colleague Christian Guyton previously stated, 11-inch screens on a handheld gaming device are way too big, and I absolutely agree with that sentiment.
After testing the Lenovo Legion GO (which has an 8.8 inch screen) and spending most of my time with the Asus Rog Ally (uses a 7 inch screen), I can say that 8 inches is the sweet spot . Many of the criticisms that came with the Legion pass from users (and myself included) were that the device is too heavy to hold, especially after long hours of gaming.
Devices like the MSI Claw 8 Ai+ and the Lenovo Legion Go S (both of which use an 8-inch display) might provide different results regarding how comfortable they are to hold while gaming, as their designs will vary quite drastically. However, I fully believe that 8-inch screens should become the standard for new handhelds, because 7-inch (at least for me) is too small, especially for competitive gaming. Fortunately, it looks like the majority of handhelds coming in 2025 get the balance right between having a screen big enough to see what’s happening in games, without making a device too big and bulky to play comfortably for a long time.
