AOKZOE A1X review – finally, a Windows handheld done right

Appearing almost out of nowhere, the AOKZOE A1X is a brilliant Windows gaming handheld that has managed to shed all of the awkward quirks and bugs typically associated with the operating system, almost becoming a serious contender to the Steam Deck in the process, if not for its high price.

The AOKZOE A1X is one of the best gaming handhelds when it comes to raw performance, but its overall value is questionable. If you’re in the market for a Steam Deck replacement that can play everything from the latest triple-A games to indie classics, the A1X has you covered, while removing frustrating operating system issues that have plagued other Windows handhelds.

Specs

The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 is a popular choice among gaming handhelds, having also been used in the Ayaneo 3 and OneXFly F1 Pro. It has 12 cores consisting of four regular Zen 5 cores and eight compact Zen 5 cores. Its iGPU is the Radeon 890M, which is built on the RDNA 3.5 architecture.

In previous tests of this chip, it has performed exceptionally well at a 15-18W TDP with diminished returns, largely in terms of battery life, when pushed to higher TDPs. It’s quickly become the most popular handheld chip used in gaming handhelds that come out of Eastern countries, instead of the AMD Ryzen Z range.

With 32GB of RAM included in the model we tested, this allows you to allocate a substantial amount of memory to VRAM. For all of our tests, we adopted a 50/50 split og 16GB for system memory, and 16GB for graphics.

Design and features

As an 8-inch gaming handheld, the AOKZOE A1X is quite clunky when compared to 7-inch handhelds such as the Steam Deck or Ally X. That being said, when comparing it directly to other big-screen devices, such as the Legion Go or MSI Claw 8 AI+, it’s comparatively lighter, weighing just 730g compared to the 854g and 795g of the Go and Claw 8 respectively, while also sitting comfortably in your hands thanks to the simple controller-styler grips.

The controls include Xbox-style face buttons with asymmetrical thumbsticks and a four-directional d-pad. AOKZOE claims the thumbsticks are contact-free, but stops short of stating whether they use Hall Effect or any specific magnetic technology. However, the company does state they feature a 900Hz response time and only consume 100uA, which contributes to sustained battery life.

The thumbsticks themselves are very small, though, feeling considerably smaller than those on the ROG Ally X, Steam Deck, or any other gaming handheld I’ve used. This can result in some minor frustrations when playing games like F1 25, where the size reduction feels fiddly. It also feels that the total area of the thumbsticks’ movement circle is much smaller, too, but this can be offset by adjusting the thumbstick sensitivity and deadzone in the control settings.

Elsewhere, the triggers are Hall Effect linear ones, while the shoulder buttons feature tactile mouse-click switches. These triggers feel great, and it would have been nice to have a hair trigger switch like can be found on controllers like the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro, but it’s not in any way detrimental not to have them.

There are no rear inputs, which I find actually quite refreshing from a visual standpoint. I much prefer the cleaner look of the A1X without them, compared to how many handhelds have crammed some form of extra input on the back of the shell. I don’t miss having these inputs at all, but that’s a factor to consider if you’ve come to find use for them on a different handheld.

Strangely, there is also seemingly no way to bind mouse controls to the thumbsticks, meaning you have to rely on using the touchscreen and keyboard to get by, and they do work great, but having some mouse controls would have been useful in situations where accuracy was needed i.e. clicking on a link or in a small search box to trigger the keyboard.

The exhaust fans are located on the top of the handheld slightly off centre to the right, while the power and volume controls are on the left-hand side. Also running along the top of the A1X are a 3.5mm jack port, a USB-C 4.0 port, and a USB-A 3.2 port. On the bottom of the A1X is a second USB-C 4.0 port, an Oculink port, and a microSD card slot

On the rear of the handheld, the intake fans are kept very central, which is great for when you’re playing in hand, but not so much when the handheld is docked, as most docks will cover them up. Also on the rear is a kickstand, much like the original Nintendo Switch, only far sturdier. This stand is great for quickly deploying the A1X on a desktop so you can play using a keyboard and mouse or a controller.

Operating system

Where I would usually expect Windows to be the biggest issue when testing a gaming handheld, the AOKZOE A1X, to my surprise, isn’t held back by the operating system at all. The most common issues tend to rear their heads when using whatever software is in place to adjust system settings, or when games are trying to detect the handheld’s hardware details, which can sometimes result in crashes or erroneous error messages.

Instead, the OneXConsole software in place on the A1X is incredibly responsive and doesn’t come with any quirks or issues that plague some other Windows handhelds. Granted, there is an extremely short loading window when activating the quick access menu that needs to be respected, but this is the case with any quick access menu on a Windows handheld.

When pressing the quick access menu button, attempting to navigate it immediately will make any of the control inputs on the A1X temporarily active in the game and menu. This means while you’re trying to change settings or TDP, you’re still controlling what’s happening in your game; it will not automatically pause the game, nor stop inputs from being recognized. However, this lasts for less than two seconds, whereas in other Windows handhelds it’s a persistent problem.

Elsewhere, adjusting TDP settings is simple and changes are instant, with no awkward window where the system is slowly lowering or raising the power over time. Also, in my testing, changing the RAM/VRAM allocation hasn’t caused any issues with system crashes or games failing to recognize how much video memory is available. All in all, I’m mightily impressed with how Windows is running on the A1X, although admittedly, the bar was set so low that simply working here is somewhat of a triumph.

Display and sound

The AOKZOE A1X features an 8-inch LTPS display, boasting a 1,920 x 1,200 resolution and 120Hz VRR (variable refresh rate), meaning the display matches the refresh rate of the display to the frame rate in-game. The display is also set up in a native landscape orientation. This is crucial as it provides a more responsive display than portrait-to-landscape alternatives, such as the Ayaneo 3. These are displays that are portrait by default, but intended to be rotated and used in a landscape format, and require locking into place via the Windows display menu.

It also comes with a 500-nit brightness, DC dimming, and a 100% sRGB color gamut. All this adds up to one of the better screens I’ve used on a handheld, but it isn’t quite as vibrant as the screen on the MSI Claw 8 AI+, if comparing it to other non-OLED displays.

On the durability front, scratch-resistant glass is used in the display, and I put this to the test during a transatlantic flight, keeping the A1X in a soft-lined backpack alongside a few other items such as a power bank and a book. The screen remains unmarked and buttons undamaged despite being removed and replaced in the backpack many times during the long 15-hour journey. Given how easily other screens can be scuffed, namely the ROG Ally and Steam Deck, it’s reassuring to know your investment is protected by a sturdy build, although I will say, under normal conditions, finding a soft or hard carry case is still advised.

On the other hand, the speakers on the AOKZOE A1X leave quite a lot to be desired. While the speakers are incredibly loud, the quality of the audio at virtually all levels is disappointing, with it often sounding very compressed and echoey.

When recorded at a 30cm distance, the A1X hit a peak volume of 89.5dB with an average of 79.8dB when playing The Crew Motorsport. AOKZOE claims the A1X can reach a max output of 105dB when measured from 30cm, but I was not able to replicate this. This is still a louder peak than the Ayaneo 3, but both sit at a very similar average volume level. The biggest difference is the quality of the Ayaneo 3’s speakers, which are crystal clear at their highest volume, whereas the A1X struggles to maintain the same quality.

One way to improve and adjust the sound profiles on the A1X is to download FxSound, a program that allows you to adjust the sound profile of the handheld, and this can be obtained right from the OneXPlayer menu. Upon downloading FxSound and tinkering with some of the default profiles, the sound quality of the A1X was noticeably improved, and the clarity of the audio, even at high volumes, was vastly improved.

However, the A1X shouldn’t require additional software for the audio to reach its true potential, or at least if this is required, the software should be installed from when the device first boots.

Performance

If you’re chasing great gaming performance, the AOKZOE A1X is one of the best gaming handhelds. However, what impressed me the most about the A1X was its performance at the 18W TDP, which I would argue is its prime power level.

In most games, the move up from 18W to 30W yielded only a slightly higher frame rate while massively increasing the battery usage and fan effort required to keep the console cool, which in turn generates a ton of noise. In direct comparison to the Ayaneo 3, which uses the same Ryzen 9 AI HX 370 chip, the A1X often trails at the 8W TDP, but beats it at 18W, while the handhelds trade victories at the 30W level. This is also despite the A1X running a higher resolution display.

In our two staple benchmarks for handhelds, Cyberpunk 2077 and F1 24, the AOKZOE A1X performed very well, not just with the numbers you see in the above table, but with the visuals as well. Even when running these games at the 8W TDP, there would be significantly less stuttering compared to the Ayaneo 3, even though these games don’t really stand a chance of running at playable frame rates, as the lower TDP settings are better suited to less demanding indie games.

As we move up to the 18W TDP, the A1X shines brightest, with results such as 38fps in Cyberpunk 2077 when using the medium graphical preset at 1200p. By comparison, the Ayaneo 3 achieved 35fps in the same test at 15W, and only 47fps at 30W, with both tests being run at 1080p. Again, the complete lack of stuttering is a big win for the A1X here, too.

When comparing the results of the same Cyberpunk 2077 test to the MSI Claw 8 AI+, which also has a native 1200p resolution, the A1X still looks great, outperforming the Claw’s 55fps performance, without frame generation, when using the 17W profile.

Handheld gaming is about far more than performance benchmarks, though, and the A1X doesn’t miss a step in real-life gaming scenarios. The A1X quickly became one of my favorite handhelds to play on casually because of the reliable performance, but also because its battery life is phenomenal.

While other handhelds can sometimes push frame rates further at the 30W TDP, the A1X’s ability at the 18W TDP is remarkable, and I would argue that unless a game is so demanding that it needs to be run at something higher, then there is little need to stray from the A1X’s wheelhouse. A big part of this also needs to be credited to the efficiency of the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370.

As for the system’s cooling, the A1X rarely ran hot when gaming at 18W, but would quickly do so at 30W, even if the game itself wasn’t overly demanding. The fan settings are fairly basic, with an automatic/smart setting accompanied by two presets, which are annoyingly just labelled as “preset 1” and “preset 2.” These presets are effectively half speed and full speed, with full speed being quite loud and disruptive. It takes quite a substantial increase in operating temperature to trigger the full fan speed, so there isn’t much of a reason to ever use anything other than the automatic settings.

Meanwhile, system performance tracking, unfortunately, isn’t possible without downloading either RTSS or HWiNFO. This is another quirk of the OneXPlayer software, but it’s disappointing to see no pre-baked performance tracking included. Links to download either of these programs are available in the quick access menu, but ideally, just like the FxSound download, one should be included by default.

Battery life

The battery life of the AOKZOE A1X is very impressive. While not at the 80Wh level of the MSI Claw 8 AI+ or ROG Ally X, the 72.7Wh battery is able to outperform these larger batteries at an 18W TDP level.

When testing the ROG Ally X, I managed to achieve five hours of gameplay when playing Hades 2 at 720p on the 13W TDP profile. With the A1X at a 13W TDP, and using a 1200p resolution, the battery lasted the same amount of time. Dropping the TDP to just 4W saw this stretch all the way to ten hours, longer than the eight hours AOKZOE claims is possible, and the game was still playable with a 60fps frame rate.

Meanwhile, when running video playback via the Edge browser, the Ally X lasted around eight hours, whereas the A1X lasts just shy of 11 hours. This extended battery life across all functions makes the A1X a much more appealing handheld if you plan to play on the go, as you’ll find yourself stretching longer between charges. The idle battery drain is also far better on the A1X, with just 5% draining in 90 minutes when left running with sleep mode disabled.

Finally, on the charging front, the A1X is capable of fast charging up to 100W, and a battery bypass option is available should you wish to save the battery from being overcharged. Likewise, a charge cap can be placed on the battery with a custom percentage set in the OneXPlayer menu.

Storage

The AOKZOE A1X model I tested came with a 1TB SSD, which was rather curiously partitioned into two 500GB install locations. This created a bit of a headache as I played storage Tetris with some of the larger install files across Steam and other game launchers.

I can’t see any reason why the drive would be split in this way by default. It created some awkward moments where I would need to install a file, and had enough capacity to download it, but only across the two partitions, meaning I would have to move other files around in order to make space on one drive or the other.

As for the speeds of this PCIe 4.0 SSD, using CrystalDiskMark, I recorded a max sequential read speed of 6,898MB/s and max sequential write speed of 6,045MB/s, which isn’t miles away from the 7,195MB/s and 6,210MB/s claimed by AOKZOE on its Kickstarter.

Price

The AOKZOE A1X price starts from $1,099 for the AMD Ryzen 7 8840U model with 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, and tops out at $1,699 for the Ryzen 9 AI HX 370 model with 64GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD.

It’s possible to save up to 18% on the MSRP if you pre-order the A1X through the AOKZOE store in the lead up to the full release, depending on which model you want to buy. Even with this saving, there is no hiding the fact that the A1X is one of the more expensive gaming handhelds on the market, and the value doesn’t look great when compared to the price of the Steam Deck at $399 or even the MSI Claw 8 AI+ at $899.

Alternatives

MSI Claw 8 AI+
If you’ve got your heart set on an 8-inch gaming handheld, but don’t mind it not being AMD-powered, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ is a fantastic alternative. Some Windows quirks rear their ugly head, especially in relation to the MSI Center software, but a much cheaper MSRP and the AI Engine performance management feature are big wins for MSI’s flagship handheld.

Steam Deck OLED
It’s hard not to compare the Steam Deck to every new handheld on the market, even when they’re using different operating systems. SteamOS is the ace up Valve’s sleeve, and while there are compatibility issues for games that require certain anti-cheat software, the trade-off is a Linux-based OS that is perfectly optimized for handheld gaming. The Steam Deck OLED is also a far cheaper handheld, although there is a huge trade-off in performance compared to the A1X.

For more information, read our full Steam Deck OLED review.

Verdict

The AOKZOE A1Z is a Windows gaming handheld that works incredibly well, despite the precedent set by previous portables running the operating system. Had competitors figured out how to get Windows running this well in the past, there would be a much more lively debate as to whether the Steam Deck is still the king of the hill. Alas, even though the A1X nails the Windows optimization, its price is still hard to swallow.

From a pure performance perspective, anyone looking for the best gaming performance at mid-to-high TDP, with great battery life, a durable 8-inch display, and a comfortable in-hand design, you’ll struggle to find a better handheld than the AOKZOE A1X.

However, if you haven’t got at least $1,099 to spare, there are better value handhelds on offer elsewhere that, while compromising marginally on performance, can still hold their own for a fraction of the price.