Razer's Qualcomm-powered handheld dev kit leaked in blurry slides

[Shawn Knight]

The big picture: Qualcomm has commissioned Razer to build a developer kit based on its upcoming Snapdragon G3x platform. Unfortunately, the slides don't provide conclusive evidence as to exactly what we are dealing with, but Qualcomm is expected to supply some answers later today.

In the slides VideoCardz acquired, the portable is described as a new platform designed for innovation in handheld gaming. It will feature a 120Hz HDR OLED display and a 1080p webcam as well as a 6000mAh battery, DisplayPort over USB-C and 5G mmWave support. Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity are also mentioned along with Snapdragon Sound and “incredible ergonomics and haptics.”

The publication further notes that based on other slides it received, the handheld in question could be advertised as a game streaming device.

VideoCardz also shared Snapdragon 8 Gen1 slides in the same post, but it’s not entirely clear if this is a separate product, or if the Snapdragon G3x is the name of the dev kit that’ll be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen1.

We also don’t know if the Razer handheld is strictly a dev kit, or if they are planning to pull a Microsoft and sell the machine directly to consumers. The latter would be an interesting route as it would compete with the Steam Deck and others that could eventually hit the market, while a dev kit would just serve as inspiration for other hardware makers.

Fortunately, we shouldn’t have to wait too much longer to get some clarity on the matter as Qualcomm is hosting its Snapdragon Tech Summit later this afternoon.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/92432-razer-qualcomm-powered-handheld-dev-kit-leaked-blurry.html

 

[Shadowboxer]

A handheld gaming devices hardware is typically defined by its screen. You get a bad screen and it’s a bad device. So a 1080p 120hz OLED sounds very promising. Certainly a lot better than the 720p 60hz LCD the steam deck is pushing lol.

Curious to see what the platform is like, ARM is the future but it will be limited, we won’t be running our full existing PC game libraries on it.

 

[Dimitriid]

Why would I want to spend money on a device that gives me a luxury experience on mobile games for all of the 15 minutes I can play a game before the timers and other gacha mechanics get in the way?

And yes the fact that this is ARM based sadly tells me there's no other market this could possibly serve: just the bottom of the barrel of gaming on Android.

 

[Shadowboxer]

Why would I want to spend money on a device that gives me a luxury experience on mobile games for all of the 15 minutes I can play a game before the timers and other gacha mechanics get in the way?

And yes the fact that this is ARM based sadly tells me there's no other market this could possibly serve: just the bottom of the barrel of gaming on Android.

I agree. But if somehow we could get say PC games on it then it could be great. Like you can play a lot of full games on a switch, that’s ARM based. It’s definitely possible.

Personally I don’t think Razer has the weight to push devs to get games on ARM however.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

A handheld gaming devices hardware is typically defined by its screen. You get a bad screen and it’s a bad device. So a 1080p 120hz OLED sounds very promising. Certainly a lot better than the 720p 60hz LCD the steam deck is pushing lol.

Curious to see what the platform is like, ARM is the future but it will be limited, we won’t be running our full existing PC game libraries on it.

If ARM cannot run the massive backcatalog of x86 software, then it isnt the future, just a sad tag along, like it has been for the last decade.

 

[Shadowboxer]

If ARM cannot run the massive backcatalog of x86 software, then it isnt the future, just a sad tag along, like it has been for the last decade.

I reckon a lot of people said that about Mac when they announced they were moving to ARM.

X86 is on its way out and at somepoint a bright spark somewhere will realise there’s money to be made selling PC games on an ARM platform, many users will already have an ARM based system on windows/Apple/Chrome OS etc.

As for our game libraries, most will likely be emulatable. And there will probably be a large market of older gamers who keep a legacy tower PC or so. I can see a streaming service being created for users who might wish to run X86 legacy software. Of course this is pure speculation on my part.

But one thing is for sure, ARM will be no tag along, it’s about to eat X86 big time, with Apple making its own ARM CPUs that crap on the pre existing Intel ones and Windows apparently developing their own aswell. It’s only a matter of time.

 

[Watzupken]

In my opinion, when I see Qualcomm and Razer gaming console, I think it is going to be Android base. If that is the case, it is just one of those consoles that will die a premature death. Why lug another console when one's mobile phone is just as good for gaming? Sure, its better cooling, got proper controller for games, but the latter can be overcome with a controller that is more economical. Plus, "gaming" phones may also come with its snap on controller. Also, Razer likes to come up with "gaming" peripherals, but I don't believe they will try and reinvent the wheel by coming up with their own console OS and then getting game makers to develop for them.

 

[passwordistaco]

But one thing is for sure, ARM will be no tag along, it’s about to eat X86 big time, with Apple making its own ARM CPUs that crap on the pre existing Intel ones and Windows apparently developing their own aswell. It’s only a matter of time.

It seems you missed the actual review of the M1:

https://www.techspot.com/review/2357-apple-m1-pro/

Apple's "magic" is integrated memory and dedicated coprocessors. No doubt some x86 chips will get integrated RAM, probably HBM. An x86/GPU system typically doesn't need the coprocessors the M1 has to compensate for the weaknesses of the ARM cores.

 

[Shadowboxer]

It seems you missed the actual review of the M1:

https://www.techspot.com/review/2357-apple-m1-pro/

Apple's "magic" is integrated memory and dedicated coprocessors. No doubt some x86 chips will get integrated RAM, probably HBM. An x86/GPU system typically doesn't need the coprocessors the M1 has to compensate for the weaknesses of the ARM cores.

Yes it’s not actual magic. It’s just a very impressive CPU. If you think it’s not then you probably just don’t actually understand it.

 

[passwordistaco]

Yes it’s not actual magic. It’s just a very impressive CPU. If you think it’s not then you probably just don’t actually understand it.

It's a very well-designed package. It is not "about to eat x86 big time" by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[Shadowboxer]

It's a very well-designed package. It is not "about to eat x86 big time" by any stretch of the imagination.

The only personal devices we use that still uses X86 are laptops and desktops. They are also in the process of being updated to ARM by Windows and Apple. Apple did a very good job moving their eco system into ARM, windows will take longer and really how fast the world progresses will largely depend on MS.

It will also be dependent on software, we won’t get full adoption until developers port their software to ARM but that has started to happen on a large scale now and will exponentially rise.

There of course will be some miserable old farts who will stubbornly sit on their Intel or AMD based machines but they will drift into obscurity over time.

Of course in servers, data centers, workstations etc X86 isn’t going anywhere. It’s personal devices that will change.