I think there used to be some functional differences, mostly in the cranks, now I don't think there's any difference other than XX is slightly lighter than X0.

SRAM's mountain portfolio is a complete cluster****. There's now a total of 8 different 1x lines and I've long since stopped trying to make sense of them all. I ride trail, not XC, and in my world GX1 = good enough and X01 = slightly better. I haven't tried NX1 yet but it's quite a bit heavier. XX1 and eagle are pretty much only on ~10k bikes so I'll leave it to the dentists.

Isn't the only "benefit" the monster granny gear? 12 speeds, but same gaps between all other sprockets?

I just built a fatty from scratch and really did a lot of research / etc. I never even considered 12 speed because I felt it wasn't even remotely reasonably priced for what you get.

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24 Hour World TT Champs-American record holder
Fat Bike Worlds - Race Director
Insta: chris.s.apex

The main difference between X01 Eagle and XX1 Eagle is the XX1 Eagle cranks are hollow and X01 Eagle cranks have a foam core.

You can get XX1 Eagle cranks/shifters/derailleur in black. You'd have to get the X01 Eagle cassette for the fully black group though.

I just used my existing cranks- 11 speed narrow-wide chainring works fine.
Then I used XX1 Eagle rear derailleur, shifter and chain.
XO1 Eagle cassette- because it was just as light and I did not want a gold cassette.

Sorry I don't understand what you mean by this. Please explain?

XO1 cassette is Black- XX1 cassette is gold.

That's a benefit I would be willing to pay a couple hundred bucks extra for. Plus if I'm in the market, why purchase something that's not much lower in price but closer to obsolescence?

Anyways, the granny gear may not be important to you for where you ride, your power to weight ratio, and your preferred cadence -- but I ride hilly terrain, have a mediocre power to weight, and prefer a high cadence, so I find myself reaching for more gears even on my 10-42 setup, not to mention my 11-40 XTR group. Especially during the season, I mountain bike on my easy, unstructured days and the more I can moderate my effort on those days the better.

The downside to eagle is that you can't buy it used. You basically can't even buy it new because SRAM is fulfilling OEM orders first it seems. Oh and the fact that on an absolute basis it's just stupid expensive.

What, a $500 cassette is expensive to you?