- The once Sunday Dragon 3D One prototype handheld is now launching mid-November as the abxylute 3D One
- The company claims it will be the ‘world’s first’ glasses-free 3D handheld gaming PC
- Its retail price will be $1,799, costing nearly as much as GPD Win 5, which is the most powerful handheld gaming PC
The handheld gaming PC market is seeing new additions in quick succession, with the recent launch of the Lenovo Legion Go 2 and the ROG Xbox Ally X and ROG Xbox Ally devices – and this new, ambitious one might just be the most ludicrous yet.
As reported by Notebookcheck, the abxylute 3D One handheld is launching on Kickstarter (a crowdfunding platform), with an estimated November 13 release date. Retail pricing is $1,799, while early-bird pricing is $1,499 for a limited time.
The abxylute 3D One handheld has a 10.95-inch screen, possibly the biggest handheld gaming PC screen we’ve seen yet, with a 2560×1600 display resolution, using Intel‘s impressive Lunar Lake Core Ultra 7 258V (also found in the MSI Claw 8 AI+) – and abxylute also claims this is the ‘world’s first’ glasses-free 3D PC handheld.
This device might ring a bell if you tuned into CES 2025 coverage, as there was a handheld called the Sunday Dragon 3D One in its prototype phase from Tencent – and there was a chance that it wouldn’t have even seen the light of day, but here we are, with the abxylute 3D One based on the concept.
It certainly isn’t the world’s first glasses-free 3D handheld gaming device, given the Nintendo 3DS. Still, it can technically be the world’s first glasses-free 3D handheld gaming PC if it launches before the DigiEra HoloMax laptop-handheld hybrid PC, which appears possible, as the latter hasn’t launched yet.
If it wasn’t obvious already, I think this is quite ludicrous, just as I first thought when the prototype was revealed earlier this January, alongside the Acer Nitro Blaze 11 (priced at $1,099). Both of these handhelds have a ridiculously oversized 11-inch screen, which disregards any idea of portability (mind you, that’s one of the most important aspects of a handheld), but what makes the abxylute 3D One arguably the worst offender is the $1,799 retail price.
There’s already plenty of criticism from consumers (and me) about handheld prices, and this manages to cost almost as much as the most powerful handheld on the market, the GPD Win 5 (using AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395), without meeting the same performance capabilities.
Many may feel that the glasses-free 3D capability isn’t warranted, and especially not the 11-inch display size, which pushes a handheld into the territory of a gaming laptop. It’s another clear reminder of why Valve’s Steam Deck has been so successful, sticking to affordability, with a reasonable display size, and a processor that does more than enough for handheld gaming.
There’s no doubt that there will be an audience for an 11-inch handheld, but as I mentioned before, let’s hope this is the limit for handheld devices, because it’s not a great look as it stands.
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