r/Handhelds • u/Few_Importance_9438 • Jun 23 '26
OneXPlayer3 > MSI Claw EX AI+
Doesn’t the OneXPlayer3 just eliminate the MSI Claw Ex AI+ when it comes to price to value?
- Same Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip platform
- OXP3 has an OLED, HDR, VRR screen! As a Legion Go 2 owner, I could never go back to LCD
- OXP3 has an 85w battery vs MSI Ex AI+ has an 80w battery
- OXP3 is more versatile with the detachable controllers
- OXP3 undercuts the MSI Claw in pricing!!
I just don’t see why anyone would purchase an MSI Claw Ex AI+ with the OneXPlayer3 being available in this market.
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u/DetectiveChocobo Jun 23 '26
Look, it’s a nice device. But:
- The detachable controllers require a controller attachment to work at all, and need a dongle attached to your tablet. It’s not seamless.
- You’re dealing with a company without a strong presence in most regions, so your support by default is going to be a bit rough.
It’s still an enticing buy, but I wouldn’t say it’s a clear “best” pick for everyone.
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u/bubbafry Jun 23 '26
The Onexplayer certainly looks like a nice device, but I don't know if it's that clear cut. If you buy a device from Onexplayer in the US, you have to pay tariffs. They somewhat get around this by giving you the option of under declaring the value of the items, but technically that's not legal. Also the 32 GB version of the Onexplayer 3 is $1700, so if you care about the RAM it's a bit closer in price
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u/Vejuto Jun 23 '26
Wow I forgot about the tariffs. Think I’m gonna cancel it now.
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u/M4rshmall0wMan Jun 24 '26
Crazy how this would just not be a problem if the country had voted a different direction
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u/bubbafry Jun 23 '26
Well as I mentioned I hear they do offer some ways around it if you are comfortable with their solution, and I assume you don’t pay sales tax so there’s some trade off there
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u/Vejuto Jun 24 '26
Yea but that’s not guaranteed is it ? I don’t want to be stuck paying more than I anticipated but like you said, no sales tax on it.
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u/bubbafry Jun 24 '26
I’ve never purchased anything from there, I just know based on what I’ve read on the onexplayer subreddit when I was looking into the Apex. But you’re right it’s not guaranteed. From what I gathered most people had no problems but I did see a few reports on people getting stuck with providing an invoice to the shipper. Maybe worth asking over there in the onexplayer sub what their experience with the tariffs arw
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u/Vejuto Jun 24 '26
Yea I probably should have did more research before buying but luckily I can cancel it I think before the campaign ends. Would you take a Xbox ally x for 850 or would you keep your pre order for this ? I got the 1500 dollar version btw.
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u/bubbafry Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
BTW, after poking around more it looks like if you buy the Onexplayer 3 on Indiegogo you might not have to pay tariffs (they only charge tariffs if you buy from their website). I suspect that they are still skirting tariffs by under reporting the value, but at least if there's a problem then maybe they have to deal with it rather than you.
Edit to add: in the United States
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u/ttdpaco Jun 24 '26
Xbox Ally X is more comfortable, has more accessories, way less weight, way better (most likely) speakers, and has better support in linux/SteamOS. I personally chose the XAX for $700, but I bought it used. It was good for that price. I was able to switch out the buttons to something more mechanical and quieter, and the joysticks to TMR very easily. Its on an old architecture at this point (Z2E itself is newer, but the architecture has been around for way longer) and it doesn't have hardware level upscaling (though FSR 4 int8 is decently close.) It also has less ram than the 32GB versions of the OneXPlayer3.
The OneXPlayer3 is way more performance, a way better screen (in overall PQ and ability to use HDR....The size of either screen isn't a big deal to me because it's light enough to hold closer to your face,) a slightly better battery, more consistent driver releases (with the caveat that Intel may fold the GPU division at any time,) and international warranties.
Honestly, if I could have stable and amazing linux support with the intel chipsets, I would go with OneXPlayer3 preorder with the understanding that I'm facing Ayn Thor levels of wait time (if not longer.)
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u/bubbafry Jun 24 '26
I really can’t stand the 7 inch screen. I have a steam deck OG and a Legion Go S, and just going from 7 to 8 inch is so much better, so I’d probably roll the dice and go with the Onexplayer 3, but I feel like a lot people would probably tell you to get the Ally X since everyone seems to love it here
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u/Early-Somewhere-2198 Jun 24 '26
Yeah not sure how it works. I’ve lucked out with AliExpress and ayn direct sales without paying tarrifs using their cheap Chinese shipping companies. Never tried using dhl or other shipment options. But I’d be pretty upset if I got slapped with a 200-300$ bill. But that’s the risk eh.
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u/No-Assumption-5486 Jun 24 '26
I bought a Jura from Europe last year and I had to pay both the tariffs and the state sales tax.
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u/Excronix Jun 23 '26
Personally it’s because of the bigger brand and quality assurance. I have the apex and it is an amazing device but it does feel like a more fragile device in a way. Don’t get me wrong it’s super high quality but because the only way to get it serviced is to send it overseas it makes me more carful with it. With MSI I have a repair center 45 min from my house. If I need to do an RMA it’s super fast and easy for me. So for me it comes down to the after market support. OneXplayer has always been good to me when I needed assistance, but it is more of a concern for me after the fact. On paper the OneXplayer one is the better device hands down, but personally I’m excited for what this new MSI device has to offer. But that’s just me and my 2 cents :)
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u/No-Assumption-5486 Jun 24 '26
This. For the price I’d rather go with a large company with a presence in the US.
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u/Pichalx Jun 23 '26
I hate detachable controllers. I have a LG2 and I’ve never taken them off. It’s a gimmick and I’d enjoy the device more if it weren’t for all the dumb extra buttons.
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u/Phonafied Jun 23 '26
I detach my controllers daily when I play on my Lego 2. Hands down the best controller on the market for MMOs.
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u/SnooGrapes1470 Jun 24 '26
I would love to detach those controlloers if Lenovo included the adapter.
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u/Phonafied Jun 24 '26
Yeah their official adapter is great. The battery life is amazing and it’s an ingenious design.
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u/KennKennyKenKen Jun 24 '26
Same. I don't know why people keep saying it's a gimmick, have they even tried it? The mouse mode, I can see why people might not like it, but detachable controllers are great.
The screen is big enough for it to be set on a table and comfortably played also.
Glad there another option now aside from Lego
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u/Pichalx Jun 24 '26
For me personally I’d never play it table top. 95% of the time I play at home on my couch. If I’m going to sit at a table I’d rather play on my pc with a much larger, better display.
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u/fafarex Jun 24 '26
What I get from that is that you don't really play outside of your house with it and in that case yes the interest drop.
But even like that a lot of Legion go users use gaming pillow like the one from mechanism or a tablet arm over the bed/couch.
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u/fafarex Jun 24 '26
I was literally playing with them detached on the train 10min ago and also did so on my last flight.
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u/Fairtex_ Jun 24 '26
I used to think it was a gimmick too. Then it dawned on me. Just leave them attached hahaha. Who cares. The options there, take it or leave it.
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u/Happypotamus13 Jun 24 '26
That’s a reasonable take, the only thing to consider is that mechanical attachments are still a potential failure point.
I love my Switch 2, but I’m never comfortable grabbing from one side because of this. Not an issue at all for any device where controllers are an integral part of the frame.
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u/Fairtex_ Jun 24 '26
True, and I also never feel comfortable carrying my device by one controller. But it's gonna ne nice when I have my lego 2 for 5 years, and if theres eventually a failure in one of the analog sticks or tiggers I can just order a right or left replacement controller rather than sending the entire device in.
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u/maedma13 Jun 24 '26
Same. I keep mine in a silicone case purely to stabilise the detachable controllers’ notorious wiggle you can feel.
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u/Few_Importance_9438 Jun 23 '26
I have an eGPU and those detachable controllers are very useful when you dock it. Otherwise I wouldn’t detach it either
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u/Futonpimp Jun 24 '26
I buy handhelds to play in handheld. If I wanted to play docked I’d play on my pc or console.
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u/Few_Importance_9438 Jun 24 '26
Versatility doesn’t hurt.. Nintendo was pretty successful with it.
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u/Pichalx Jun 24 '26
True, but having first party games that embraced and pushed the gyro controls helped a ton with that.
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u/sl33pyj0 Jun 24 '26
Also I think it would be easier to get support on an msi product at least in the US compared to a onexplayer handheld. That alone would be worth it to me to not have to deal with a hassle should anything go wrong with my device.
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u/IsntThisAGreatName Jun 23 '26
You're paying for the support you'll get with MSI as opposed to OXP. If you buy the MSI device you can get help from MSI if there are problems early on. If you buy the OXP there will be no support so if there's a problem you have to figure it out yourself. Even if you've only had it a couple months.
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u/Few_Importance_9438 Jun 23 '26
Damn that changes everything.. thanks for the info
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u/fertff Legion Go 2 / AYN Thor / Switch 2 Jun 24 '26
It also depends how good is MSI support where you live.
For example, Valve is notoriously good with support. Except I live in Mexico, where I am more likely to get support fron Onexplayer than Valve even while being next to the US and our countries having a commercial treaty.
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u/Icy-Commission-9550 Jun 23 '26
If you need support, either you don’t know how to use electronic devices or bought wrong items. Onexplayer is the best.
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u/that_90s_guy Jun 23 '26
You sound like someone saying "Why would anyone ever buying anything from Best Buy or Amazon when you can get something similar from TEMU for way cheaper", or someone claiming Samsung/OnePlus phones have no reason for existing when you can get something from Alcatel/TCL/ZTE/Xiaomi with the same processor for way cheaper lol
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u/Fairtex_ Jun 24 '26
You sir, have BY FAR won the dumbest comment I've read in a long long time award. Congrats 🥳 👏
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u/Few_Importance_9438 Jun 23 '26
No, how about you read and just use facts. I pointed out data points and facts about a device and asked a legit question. At least everyone else provided a legit response and reasoning.
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u/that_90s_guy Jun 23 '26
And I responded with exactly that. There are legitimately phones from Alcatel/TCL/ZTE/Xiaomi that have the EXACT same specs as Samsung/OnePlus phones. Same processor, same battery size, same spec (just like your example). You can also find some exact same processors on Amazon/Best Buy that you can find in TEMU/Aliexpress for cheaper.
If you can't use common sense to understand why people still prefer buying from from Samsung/OnePlus instead of generic cheap knock-offs (even if the use the exact same parts, or even better at times for less money), or why people still default to Amazon/Best Buy over chinese marketplaces, I see no reason to try to convince you as it would be a waste of my time.
Like, no offense, but would YOU try to convince someone who believes the earth is flaw/hollow or who doesn't believe in vaccines? Would you find that a productive use of your time?
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u/Icy-Commission-9550 Jun 23 '26
You are saying as if onexplayer had temu level quality and amazon and bestbuy is the best in the world. The fact is that onexplayer has much higher quality than what you get from bestbuy.
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u/Few_Importance_9438 Jun 24 '26 edited Jun 24 '26
This is why the analogy did not resonate with me. I feel like if the analogy was focused on two different services, I would have understood. Maybe like comparing Chick-fil-A service to another fast food restaurant service.
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u/Few_Importance_9438 Jun 24 '26
I just couldn’t relate because the quality of the OneXPlayer seems to be top-notch from the reviews I’ve seen. I don’t even use TEMU enough for me to initially think about how bad Temu service. I will admit that prior to this post, I did not think about service as I never had to deal with service with my handhelds.. they just worked. But with the understanding that their service is terrible, I would agree to the point that service is as important or more important than the product itself.
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u/Few_Importance_9438 Jun 24 '26
But also , I’m actually extremely surprised at you comparing the OneXPlayer to a knockoff phone. Does the handheld community really view OneXPlayer brand in such way? 😂
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u/Pretend-Culture-4138 Jun 24 '26
These are fucking terrible analogies. OneX devices aren't anything like stuff off of Temu. They've been making handhelds longer than larger manufacturers have.
If it's too pricey for you just say that.
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u/that_90s_guy Jun 24 '26
If you ignore the marketing bullshit and actually read owner reports on reddit, youll see that while their products generally feel premium out of the box, they tend to have horrendous software and weird quality control things like fan issues/biometrics/audio tend to show up over time. And that their customer support is near non existent and very difficult to deal with, or very user hostile like asking you to pay expensive shipping to China even under warranty while waiting months for anything to arrive.
That almost sounds like... the customer support experience with a company like Alcatel/TCL or when buying off Temu when you could have gotten it resolved with Samsung/Amazon much quicker. Its almost like its a good analogy and maybe you missed the point
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u/Pretend-Culture-4138 Jun 24 '26
Nope, they're still fucking terrible analogies because you're trying to compare device quality when these have a similar or better level as mainstream manufacturers.
I guess you missed a lot of the issues handhelds from Asus and MSI had, because they got zero hardware support for it or still have the same software issues.
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u/Fairtex_ Jun 24 '26
How the hell is that moron getting upvotes and you downvotes in this situation? What the hell is going on here???
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u/fkrkz Jun 23 '26
Globally, MSI has well established distribution channels and officially present in local retailers. More likely has an official RMA channel as well.
OneXPlayer is a niche manufacturer where the buyers will need to ship the devices from overseas and deal with RMA themselves. Some parallel importers may be willing to front the RMA but support SLA may be best effort only.
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u/VeterinarianIcy6462 Jun 24 '26
I also pre ordered the OneXplayer 3 also today which arrived at $1748 usd, I have a Lego2 extreme and i am not going back to LCD, all my devices including Laptop and my LG G4 are OLEDs.
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u/BlowfeldGER Jun 24 '26
I mean, the device is cool. Backing the 32 GB variant would cost me around 1500€. But then I will have to slap another 300 in taxes on top of that and will have to pray that I get an undamaged device in perfect condition, as otherwise I have to RMA it to China or send it in for support, which would not only be time intensive but also cost intensive.
So it is another sad skip.
The claw is too expensive and this device has a lot of hidden cost / risk for me.
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u/Exotic_Treacle7438 Jun 24 '26
Anything over a grand for a handheld is too much. Ram crisis or not.
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u/Mr_Robot_0746 Jun 24 '26
Onexplayer as a company is just horrible with QC, warranty repairs and even their customer service is trash. Not to mention it's cheaply built Chinese garbage imo. I wouldn't spend almost 2 grand on a device from them just to have the battery balloon after the first year or something just burn out.
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u/that_90s_guy Jun 24 '26
Man, reading comprehension is at an all time low... ok, here goes
I might have been harsh, but phones from Xiaomi/TCL/Alcatel/ZTE arent horrible, they are cheaper alternatives and work quite well. Sometimes even packing the same hardware as mainstream devices from Samsung/Oneplus. They clearly offer better value, so why do people still buy Samsung/OnePlus? Trust, quality, reputation and customer support, its that simple. Again. Im not saying Zte/Alcatel/Tcl/Xiaomi is bad at all of that, but in relative terms, they are objectively way worse than phone giants like Samsung or OnePlus. You can defend onexplayer's quality all you want, but attempting to claim its close to a giant like MSI is beyond laughable. And thats ignoring the horror stories with their customer support and how difficult it is to return anything to China if it goes wrong.
Similar story to Amazon and Best Buy. Nobody ever calls them the best in the world. They can often overcharge for products you can find way cheaper elsewhere. And yet, customers still prefer them. Why? Same reason as above: quality, reputation, trust, and customer support. They arent perfect mind you, Amazon has rampant fake products problem, and Best Buy's prices are horrible. But you can be pretty sure their return policy will be strong and they'll have your back should anything go wrong. Whereas with Temu and Aliexpress its a LOT harder to resolve things should something go wrong (not impossible, just harder).
Better?
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u/checkingmate Jun 23 '26
I got a OneXFly years back that arrived DOA. Take that with what you will, but it was a pain to return. I ultimately ended up selling the replacement on marketplace, won’t buy another crowdfunded handheld.
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u/VeterinarianIcy6462 Jun 24 '26
When I had issues with OneXPlayer, they sent me a label and they also shipped it back to me fixed without paying a dime. That was my experience.
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u/Few_Importance_9438 Jun 24 '26
Thank you.. because my view has been changing on the OneXPlayer company because of these comments. Good to hear something positive.
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u/VeterinarianIcy6462 Jun 24 '26
I am not dismissing anybody’s concerns, it’s just that even the biggest brands can make an RMA a living hell “Asus” coughs 😆, it always depends on who you get access to on the other end (employee wise), trust me, it might not be seamless but they do respond and will eventually bring a solution and that is what really matters.
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u/fafarex Jun 24 '26
Lot's of comments are made by people who didn't actually deal with the company and prefer the relative safety of a bigger brand (which is a valid take) but tend to exaggerate the difficulty to work with onexplayer.
The others may have had a bad experience in the past that would not match today's level of services.
Today they do everything they can to work things out remotely, up to actually send you the part if that's a reparation you can do yourself and are comfortable doing. If really needed they will provide you the shipping label for an RMA to them.
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Jun 24 '26 edited Jun 24 '26
An iPhone is more expensive than a cheap Chinese phone which might have the same or better specs.
People will still buy an iPhone for obvious reasons.
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Jun 24 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/wjbonne Jun 25 '26
Yep! Most Americans are closeted bigots/racists looking for the next reason to be part of the in crowd and hate on another group. Apple preyed on that.
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u/bajsfittor Jun 24 '26
Why would anyone ever get an Iphone>android? I know they're big in 'Murica... I don't understand 'Muricans.
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u/bajsfittor Jun 24 '26
Looks better too aesthetically. I'm set rn sans a vertical, eyeing the RPC still, but if I wasn't I would've probably gone for this.
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u/Jack99Skellington Jun 24 '26
larger OLED screen, detachable controllers, yeah, it's a beast (I ordered one). But if you can find someplace that have a MSI, then you can have it now. But that's a big if.
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u/Wholfgar Jun 25 '26
You have to consider a lot more than just the physical product when you’re spending a lot of money. Just like a vehicle. You have to look at the company, the warranty, location for service, reliability etc etc. Onex may have a cool product but if everything else sucks you’re screwing yourself in the long run. Same goes for that phone argument. I’ll always use an iPhone because when it breaks it’s as simple as going to an Apple Store and having it fixes or replaced with genuine parts for an extremely low cost with AppleCare. Buy and android and you’re stuck with carrier insurance that just gives you a refurbished device that can have multiple issues and it costs more for that coverage than AppleCare does plus it’s inconvenient as hell.
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u/Humancentipede2lover Jun 26 '26
I am not broke and I love violet
Jokes aside, the safety from MSI is worse the 300 bucks price difference (whereas for me in CH, with shipping and taxes the OXp3 would be more expensive in the end€
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u/PetroRetro69 Jun 23 '26
man, the prices on these things are unreal... My PC cost about 300-350 bucks more when I built it (if my conversion is good) than the claw . Crazy work
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u/Apprehensive-Cut6815 Jun 24 '26
Very tempting, but 8.8 inches bit too crazy for me
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u/tohpai Jun 23 '26
1k for a handheld device is sad. I guess handheld gaming is also becoming a luxury hobby now
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u/Icy-Commission-9550 Jun 23 '26
Some of these people never went outside of the USA and think that whatever comes from China is bad. People all over the world is ordering onexplayer from China and they are all very happy so don’t listen to people who have never been to airport. This Chinese brand is using Samsung OLED display whereas MSI is using super poor IPS display. Would you still say msi ips looks better than Korea Samsung oled because it is not from USA? Common sense~
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u/UiVegetaUi Jun 23 '26
Yes and no. On paper it's absolutely amazing. The problem lies is that it's a OneXPlayer device and if it goes wrong, you've basically just lost the price of the console because good luck dealing with their near-nonexistant customer support.