Acer just revealed its largest gaming handheld yet—the Nitro Blaze 11 and its sibling, the Nitro Blaze 8, has just been revealed at CES 2025. Read on to find out more about its specs and its massive screen!
Acer’s Newest Gaming Handheld Is Huge
Nitro Blaze 11 For 11 Inches
Acer is pushing the definition of "portable" to the next level with their upcoming Nitro Blaze 11 gaming handheld, a device wielding a massive 10.95-inch display.
The device was revealed in CES 2025, along with its "little" sibling, the Nitro Blaze 8, and the Nitro Mobile Gaming Controller accessory for mobile gamers.
The Blaze series will run on the same hardware, namely WQXGA touch displays that go up to 144 Hz, an AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS processor with AMD Radeon 780M GPU, 16GB of LPDDR5x RAM, and a 2TB SSD storage. These devices promise to deliver "cutting-edge performance and versatile features" with their specs, as well as "immersive visuals" all in one portable, foldable package for on-the-go gaming. Additionally, the purchases come with a free three months of PC Game Pass. The only real difference between the Blaze 8 and the Blaze 11 are the screen sizes, with the former sporting an 8.8-inch screen instead.
However, the Blaze 11 can be heavy to hold, weighing at a whopping 1050g. In comparison to more popular handhelds such as the Steam Deck and the Switch, it packs quite the weight on hands. The Steam Deck OLED is approximately 640g, and the Nintendo Switch sits at around a comfortable 297g. The Blaze 8 is also heavy at 720g, but it’s on par with other portable PC handhelds such as the Lenovo Legion Go and the Asus ROG Ally.
All three devices will be available for purchase some time in Q2 of 2025, retailing at $1099 USD for the Blaze 11, $899 USD for the Blaze 8, and $69.99 for the Nitro Mobile Gaming Controller.
No Z2 Steam Deck 2, Says Valve
While the Nitro Blaze series runs on the powerful AMD Ryzen 7 chipset, it may have narrowly just missed the chance to feature AMD’s newest gaming handheld processor line instead, the Ryzen Z2. This new line aims to bring in a new wave of powerful gaming handhelds, devices that have been steadily growing in popularity in the video gaming industry for its convenience and portability. Portable handhelds like the Lenovo Legion Go, Asus ROG Ally, and the Steam Deck were featured on AMD’s promotion slides, giving the impression that future versions of these handhelds will be equipped with these new chips.
However, Valve, the masterminds behind the Steam Deck, clarified that "There is and will be no Z2 Steam Deck." In a post by Valve coder Pierre-Loup Griffais on social media platform Bluesky, he responded to the now-deleted slide that featured the supposed Z2-powered Steam Deck, saying that it’s not happening. He further clarified that the slide perhaps just meant to show that the processor line is for gaming handhelds in general, without any specifics.
But that doesn’t mean a Steam Deck 2 is off the table—Valve definitely intends to do so, but it will take a massive, next-generation upgrade before that happens.
Source:
Acer Press Release
Pierre-Loup Griffais on Bluesky
AMD introduces Ryzen Z2 Series
