Acer Unveils Giant 11-Inch Handheld at CES 2025

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

Nitro Blaze 11: A Giant Leap in Handheld Gaming

Acer is redefining what "portable" means with the Nitro Blaze 11, featuring a colossal 10.95-inch display. Showcased 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 identical hardware, including 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 2TB SSD. These specs promise "cutting-edge performance and versatile features," delivering "immersive visuals" in a portable, foldable 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 sporting an 8.8-inch display.

However, the Nitro Blaze 11's heft at 1050g might be a challenge for prolonged use, especially when compared to lighter competitors like the Steam Deck OLED at 640g and the Nintendo Switch at 297g. The Blaze 8, while still heavy 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.

Valve Clarifies: No Z2 Steam Deck 2

While the Nitro Blaze series boasts the powerful AMD Ryzen 7 chipset, it missed out on featuring AMD's latest gaming handheld processor, the Ryzen Z2. This new line is set to power the next generation of gaming handhelds, a market that's rapidly expanding 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 made it clear that "There is and will be no Z2 Steam Deck." In a statement on the social media platform Bluesky, Valve coder Pierre-Loup Griffais debunked a now-deleted slide that suggested a Z2-powered Steam Deck, clarifying that the slide was meant to represent gaming handhelds in general, not specific models. While a Steam Deck 2 is not off the table, Valve is waiting for a significant, next-generation upgrade before proceeding.