Nintendo and Steam are aiming to win the portable gaming market with SwitchOLED and SteamDeck consoles, but GPD, a popular company in the portable gaming space, is about to enter the mobile gaming space. The company reports that it is working on an Android-based portable gaming console with some unique features.
People from XDA developer Recently, we discovered that Shenzhen-based GamePad Digital (GPD) Technology Co. Ltd is working on a modular handheld game console called GPD-XP. The device recently appeared on the company’s official Discord channel. In terms of appearance, GPD-XP is very similar to Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck. However, reports show that it’s the Android-based portable gaming console that allows users to play high-end mobile games on the go.
GPD-XP – Android-based portable game console
In some details, the GPD-XP is reported to come with a 6.81-inch display, which is surprisingly surprising. There is a punched hole camera cutout Located in the lower left corner. So, as you can imagine, the company procured displays from smartphone display manufacturers.
However, it is not a console USP. Being an Android-based device, it comes with a console-style design for playing popular mobile games. On the left side of the device is a console-like controller with an analog stick, a cross key, and dedicated buttons for home, task manager, and back.
However, on the right side, the device supports a modular control system that allows users to magnetically connect compatible controllers. Therefore, the user can install a controller like a standard console with a second analog stick and a traditional ABXY button, or a controller with four face buttons. The latter is very useful for gamers who are interested in MOBA (Massive Online Battle Arena) games.
In addition, users can assign physical buttons on the controller to specific areas of the screen. This is especially for touch-based mobile games such as PUBG Mobile (or Battlegrounds Mobile India) and Call Of Duty Mobile.
Internally, GPD-XP has an ARM-based mobile processor. MediaTek Helio G95.. It is reportedly paired with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of UFS 2.1 storage. In addition, there is support for microSD cards to further expand internal storage and 4G connectivity. However, it disables calling and SMS features on the console, so it is for Internet access only. In addition, GPD-XP does not have a built-in microphone to support calls.
Currently, the first image of GPD-XP is from China. So, as reported by XDA, the device seems to be running a custom build of Android. Nevertheless, the international version of the device is reported to run Android 11 and come with Google services.
Price and stock status
No information is available at this time regarding the pricing and availability of GPD-XP. According to the images shared by the company, the device is almost ready for launch. As a result, Nintendo and Steam continue to try to acquire portable gaming space, which could lead to competition with the GPD in the coming days.
However, because GPD-XP is an Android-based device, unlike Nintendo and Steam, it targets dedicated mobile gamers rather than console gamers who use it. So it would be very interesting to see how the GPD handles the growing mobile gaming sector over the next few days.
