A new company in India is building an Android-powered handheld gaming console called the Arc X1. The company has taken an open approach to designing the device and just announced a partnership with Qualcomm. The X1 will incorporate compute, AI and wireless connectivity solutions from Qualcomm.

It remains unclear which specific chip will be used—whether a smartphone Snapdragon series or one of the Snapdragon G chips—as details are pending a future update from the Arc team. The goal for the X1 is to build a gaming handheld tailored to the Indian market, rather than repurposing hardware designed for Western or Chinese markets. The company is developing its own fork of Android for the Arc X1, named “Owl OS,” which will feature a controller-first interface, system-level performance optimizations, and access to games across platforms.

Interested users can join the waitlist at playarc.gg to participate in the development process and potentially test the device early. The testing initiative is split into two phases, with the second phase having started on August 1. Jobin Joseph, Co-Founder of Arc, stated that the partnership with Qualcomm aligns with their belief that the future of gaming hardware lies in efficient performance, not just raw power, emphasizing performance-per-watt as key for portability, battery life, and accessibility in emerging markets like India.