A new company in India is building an Android-powered handheld gaming console. Interestingly, the company has taken an open approach to designing the device – dubbed the Arc X1 – and it just announced a partnership with Qualcomm.
The X1 will incorporate compute, AI and wireless connectivity solutions from Qualcomm. Unfortunately, there are no details on which chip the company wants to use – a smartphone like Snapdragon number series or one of the Snapdragon G chips? We’ll have to wait for a future update from the Arc team.
The goal for the X1 is to build a gaming handheld that caters to the needs of the Indian market rather than to repurpose hardware made for the Western or the Chinese markets.
STILL BUZZING. STILL BUILDING.
ARC x @qualcomm_in is officially a thing, and honestly, we’re still taking it in.
What started as a dream to build something meaningful for Indian gamers is now getting bigger than we imagined. We’re incredibly proud of this one.
And the crazy… pic.twitter.com/TncmOiiWZ5— ARC (@PlayARCX1) August 31, 2026
The company is working on its own fork of Android for the Arc X1 – it’s called “OwlOS” and will offer a controller-first interface, system-level performance optimizations and “access to games across platforms” (this suggests support for more than just mobile games). You can read more about OwlOS here.
By the way, if you are interested, you can go to playarc.gg to join the waitlist – this will make you a part of the development process and you may get the opportunity to test the Arc X1 early. The testing initiative is split in two phases and the second phase started on August 1.
“We believe the future of gaming hardware lies in efficient performance, not just raw power. For markets like India, performance-per-watt is key to delivering portability, battery life, and accessibility. Qualcomm Technologies’ leadership in power-efficient computing makes them the ideal technology partner for ARC. Together, we’re building a new generation of gaming hardware that brings immersive gaming experiences to more players across India and emerging markets,” said Jobin Joseph, Co-Founder, Arc.