This transforming, dual-screened Android console is the most interesting handheld I’ve ever tested

It isn’t often that something entirely new crops up in the gaming space. Nintendo is the only player still innovating when it comes to handhelds, but even then the evolution from the Wii U in 2012 to the Nintendo Switch 2 released just a few months ago feels far more iterative than say, the leap from the Game Boy to the Nintendo DS.

Then there’s the ONEXSUGAR SUGAR 1. With two screens, folding controllers, and more power than nearly any other Android gaming handheld on the market, this thing is unlike anything I’ve ever seen or tested.

I’ve spent the past few days tinkering with an early prototype, and while I can’t say this is the perfect handheld for everybody, the experience is so unique that I think it’s worth the early adopters’ risk.

Before I get too far, I need to reiterate that this was a prototype. The internals are the same as the retail model, but the chassis and hinges are not. The final version will use an aluminium frame with stainless steel hinges, which should make it significantly more resistant. Because of that I’m not going to give this device a review score or anything like that.

Still, I have to say I was very impressed. I was expecting the ostentatious design to feel far flimsier than it did, especially when swapping between modes (more on this in a moment).

Instead, it felt rock solid. There are powerful magnets opposite the hinge to hold the controllers firmly in place, with virtually no flexing when attached. The Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-Cons also use magnets to stay in place, so it’s not too surprising that the approach works. I wouldn’t hold the controller and swing the device around like a nunchuck, but for normal use it should be absolutely fine.

That said, I only tested the device for a few days. It’s more than possible that the hinges degrade after months of use. Again, the final build will have improved hinges compared to the prototype, so I’ll reserve my final judgement for now.

As for the controls themselves, they’re a bit hit and miss. The Hall effect sticks are a joy to use, and the buttons are nice and clicky. The shoulder buttons rotate with the controller in a clever way, but they feel a little cheap to me. I hope these are improved on the retail model.

The D-pad is also a big disappointment. Since they rotate, they have separated, Joy-Con style buttons. This works fine for cardinal directions, but the diagonals are not great.

There’s a magnetic D-pad cover to convert it into a more traditional experience, but it’s even worse than the bare buttons. I was also very afraid that I would lose it since it doesn’t house anywhere on the machine. Instead, it sticks to the sides with those same magnets.

Of course, those flippy controllers are only interesting because of the other unique part of this device, and that’s the second screen. When using the main 6.01-inch OLED, it tucks away into the body of the device. When opened, the almost-square 3.92-inch OLED sits between the two controllers. I believe this is the same panel used in the AYANEO Pocket DMG and Retroid Pocket Classic.

Both screens are excellent, and I was surprised by just how compact the whole thing is. It’s definitely top-heavy when playing with both screens, but there’s an open space behind the smaller screen that allows you to get a little extra grip. I actually found it more comfortable to flip the whole thing upside down, with the smaller screen on top, as shown above. This only works for games that don’t require frequent touch inputs on the second screen, but it’s not something you can do on a standard Nintendo 3DS console.

A big reason why the ONEXSUGAR SUGAR 1 is so great for Nintendo DS and 3DS emulation is because of the software. Android is notoriously finicky with two-screen devices, but the company seems to have come up with a very unique solution.

The software menu gives you several options for the screen layout. You can turn either screen off (the smaller display turns off automatically when stowed), switch the two screens, or use the unique Fusion mode. This appears to combine the two displays into one long display, at least as far as the emulation software is concerned.

That’s really the secret sauce here. Fusion mode completely sidesteps wonky support for second screens on Android, instead relying on custom layouts within the emulator itself. The result is a much better experience for 3DS and DS emulation, although it does require a little extra setup.

For everything else, you can use one or both screens normally. You can, for example, be playing one game on the large screen with a guide open on the smaller screen, or play a classic Game Boy game on the smaller screen while watching YouTube on the larger screen.

To be honest, I don’t find this as comfortable as propping my phone up next to me, but maybe it’s just a matter of getting used to it. I did, however, like that I could use the second screen as a kind of kickstand when playing on the main screen with a Bluetooth controller. I doubt this was the intended use, but it’s very sturdy.

The software supports a few other features, like adding overlays to perfectly match 16:9, 3:2, and 4:3 content. You can also change fan settings and swap the power profile from Saving to Balanced. There isn’t a higher power profile at the moment, but based on my testing, it’s still an incredibly powerful handheld.

Before I get into actual emulation performance, let’s have a look at the benchmarks. This is one of the first handhelds with a Snapdragon G3 Gen 3 chipset, which was designed specifically for gaming handhelds. It’s essentially a modified Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and it’s an absolute beast.

The graphs below compare the results of the AYANEO Pocket ACE (Snapdragon G3 Gen 2), AYN Odin 2 Portal (Snapdragon 8 Gen 2), and the ONEXSUGAR SUGAR 1. The new chipset sports a solid 20% boost in multi-core scores, with more modest gains in single-core performance.

GPU performance also sees a significant boost, again showing a roughly 20% boost over the G3 Gen 2-sporting Pocket ACE. That means that this device, as well as the upcoming AYANEO Pocket S2 with the same chipset, are now the top dogs in terms of Android gaming handheld performance.

Despite this, temperatures never spiraled out of control like I’ve seen on gaming phones with a Snapdragon 8 Elite. The peak temperature I recorded was 45°C (113°F), which is cooler than the Pocket ACE but much hotter than the Odin 2 Portal. The SUGAR 1 has two fans on each side of the chassis, but I suspect this also makes it fairly difficult to cool.

Benchmarks are one thing, but the ONEXSUGAR SUGAR 1 also delivers in emulation performance. Obviously, Nintendo DS games run flawlessly, as do all retro systems up to and including PS2. Nintendo 3DS games also run well and look spectacular when upscaled on the larger OLED screen. I still think 3DS games are best played on a 3DS, but this comes close.

Thankfully, the chipset is capable of far more than that. Not only can it play the most demanding games like Genshin Impact with ease, it can also readily handle Nintendo Switch emulation.

Eden with the latest Turnip driver ran most games cleanly, and although I wouldn’t recommend buying an Android-based handheld to play Switch games, it shows that this chipset is built to tackle whatever you throw at it.

My only complaint here is the battery. I suspect the second screen doesn’t leave a lot of space for a large cell, which is why it will ship with a 5600mAh battery. Battery life wasn’t as bad as my original ROG Ally, but the two screens and powerful chipset need a lot of juice.

I didn’t know how much the ONEXSUGAR SUGAR 1 would cost while testing it, but yesterday the company finally announced early bird pricing at $599 during the Indigogo campaign, which launched just now. That’s several hundred dollars less than I was expecting for a device this unique. I’m reserving my final judgement for the finished product, but based on what I’ve seen so far it’s a fairly compelling offer.

Up until now, your options for 3DS emulation have been pretty limited on Android handhelds, so the fact that the SUGAR 1 works this well out of the box is a breath of fresh air. The powerful chipset means it can play literally everything that’s possible to emulate on Android, although you will make some sacrifices in terms of ergonomics and battery life.

Normally I’d recommend a few more devices to consider instead, but this time there simply aren’t any. The AYANEO Flip 1S DS has two screens in a similar layout, but it’s a traditional clamshell handheld, and it runs Windows. You can slap one of Retroid’s second screen attachments onto a standard handheld, but it’s not going to be anywhere near as seamless as this without the software.

And those flippy controls? They’re a novelty for sure, but a novelty that actually adds to the experience, rather than taking away from it. It makes other handhelds look boring by comparison, which is something only Nintendo has managed to do until now.

Granted, I still think it’s best for early adopters and collectors. I really hope ONEXSUGAR continues to iterate on this design, but it’s one of the most fascinating devices I have used in my 35+ years of gaming. That alone might be worth the price of entry.