Forget the Switch 2, Qualcomm's new release can power dual-screen handheld consoles

It seems that handheld consoles have exploded in popularity in recent years. From the incoming Nintendo Switch 2, to recent PlayStation Portal, rumoured Xbox handheld, and other SteamDeck and Windows variant consoles from Lenovo shown-off at the CES 2025 tech show earlier this year.

Now things have hotted up even more, with Qualcomm revealing its new Snapdragon chips at the Game Developers Conference, offering even greater versatility in future handhelds – including a dual screen option, the Sugar 1, as pictured both up top and directly below in this very article.

Of course, all these consoles are rather different propositions. SteamOS is distinct from Windows, with respective games catalogues available. Much as I might say 'forget the Switch 2', I think that's going to be impossible this year – because it might be the most important piece of entertainment tech to hit the shelves in 2025.

We'll be seeing early Switch information in April, with even more to follow after, but that console's unique first-person titles are what'll really sell it for Nintendo. It's rumoured to be powered by a new Nvidia Tegra chipset, too, which has the potential to bring AI-upscaling from the chipmaker's DLSS feature.

Qualcomm's chip, on the flip side, will be the first that's able to run Unreal Engine 5 with its full reflections and illuminations packages, i.e. ray-tracing, on Android-powered devices. So it's a step up in graphical quality and will make it an appealing option to put into other future handheld consoles.

In the Qualcomm-powered OneXPlayer OneXSugar Sugar 1 – yes, the handheld with the most mouthful of a name – that dual-screen aspect further opens versatility and is a glimpse into the widening world of handhelds coming down the pipeline. Ones that are more powerful than ever before.