Acer Unveils 11-Inch Handheld at CES 2025

Acer has just unveiled its largest gaming handheld to date—the Nitro Blaze 11, alongside its smaller counterpart, the Nitro Blaze 8, at CES 2025. Dive into the details of their impressive specs and expansive screens!

Acer’s Newest Gaming Handheld Is Huge

Nitro Blaze 11: A Giant Leap in Handheld Gaming

Acer is redefining what "portable" means with the Nitro Blaze 11, featuring a massive 10.95-inch display. Unveiled at CES 2025, this device comes with its "little" sibling, the Nitro Blaze 8, and the Nitro Mobile Gaming Controller, catering to mobile gamers.

Both models in the Blaze series are powered by the same robust hardware: WQXGA touch displays with a refresh rate up to 144 Hz, an AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS processor paired with an AMD Radeon 780M GPU, 16GB of LPDDR5x RAM, and a spacious 2TB SSD. These specs promise "cutting-edge performance and versatile features," delivering "immersive visuals" in a foldable, portable package perfect for gaming on the go. Purchases also include a complimentary three-month subscription to PC Game Pass. The primary difference between the Blaze 8 and Blaze 11 lies in their screen sizes, with the Blaze 8 featuring an 8.8-inch display.

However, the Nitro Blaze 11's heft at 1050g might be a consideration for some users, especially when compared to lighter handhelds like the Steam Deck OLED at 640g and the Nintendo Switch at 297g. The Blaze 8, weighing in at 720g, aligns more closely with other portable PC handhelds such as the Lenovo Legion Go and the Asus ROG Ally.

All three devices will hit the market in Q2 of 2025, with the Blaze 11 priced at $1099 USD, the Blaze 8 at $899 USD, and the Nitro Mobile Gaming Controller at $69.99.

No Z2 Steam Deck 2, Says Valve

While the Nitro Blaze series boasts the powerful AMD Ryzen 7 chipset, it missed out on featuring AMD's latest gaming handheld processor line, the Ryzen Z2. This new line is set to power the next wave of gaming handhelds, a category that's rapidly gaining traction in the gaming industry due to its convenience and portability. Devices like the Lenovo Legion Go, Asus ROG Ally, and the Steam Deck were highlighted in AMD's promotional materials, suggesting future models might incorporate these chips.

However, Valve has clarified that "There is and will be no Z2 Steam Deck." In a social media post on Bluesky, Valve coder Pierre-Loup Griffais debunked a now-deleted slide suggesting a Z2-powered Steam Deck, stating it was a misunderstanding. He emphasized that the slide was meant to indicate the processor line's suitability for gaming handhelds in general, not specifically for a Steam Deck 2.

This doesn't rule out a future Steam Deck 2, though. Valve has expressed intentions to release a next-generation model, but it will require significant advancements before coming to fruition.