Microsoft's Surface Pro meets Nintendo's Switch 2 in this absurd Evangelion-inspired gaming handheld — and it's ludicrously expensive

A unique gaming handheld has been refreshed with a new chip and now has a limited-edition model inspired by Evangelion. The OneXPlayer X1 Pro is now available with an Intel Core Ultra 7 255H processor.

You can find the OneXPlayer X1 Pro at Minixpc for $1,649.99.

The OneXPlayer X1 Pro looks like a combination of the Microsoft Surface Pro 11 and the Nintendo Switch 2. It's a convertible 2-in-1 PC that can also be used with controllers attached to each side.

You can also use the controllers as a gamepad, which is a nice option since holding a tablet with a 10.95-inch display can get tiring after a while.

When the OneXPlayer X1 launched last year, a 10.95-inch screen on a gaming handheld almost seemed silly. While still larger than most gaming handhelds, the screen seen on the OneXPlayer X1 Pro and its sibling devices is only a bit bigger than some competing pieces iof hardwarew.

The Nintendo Switch 2 has a 7.9-inch display, which is a whopping 1.7 inches larger than the original Switch's. The MSI Claw 8 AI+ has an 8-inch screen.

Of course, when it comes to using a device in your hand, two or three inches make a big difference. The OneXPlayer X1 Pro can get away with its massive screen because it is also a 2-in-1 PC — or maybe it's a 3-in-1?

A disappointing price

The limited-edition OneXPlayer X1 Pro with an Evangelion theme costs $1,649.99.

For that price, you get a unique gaming PC with 64GB of RAM and 2TB of storage. The OneXPlayer X1 Pro's Intel Core Ultra 7 255H processor is a bit surprising.

I would have expected a device like the OneXPlayer X1 Pro to have a Lunar Lake chip inside due to Battlemage (Xe2) graphics. Processors from that lineup stack up well against the AMD Ryzen AI 300 (Strix Point) lineup. Lunar Lake processors also have better battery life than Arrow Lake chips.

The Arrow Lake-based Intel Core Ultra 7 255H has worse graphics performance than its Lunar Lake successors, but it should be able to handle some of the best PC games.

Still, for the price of the device, I'd have liked to see a better processor inside.

OneXPlayer X1 Pro: $1,649.99 at minixpc.com

This limited-edition version of the OneXPlayer X1 Pro has an Evangelion theme. The unique device is a convertible 2-in-1 PC that can also be used as a gaming handheld.