Acer Unveils Giant 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 specs and experience the awe of their expansive screens!

Acer's Newest Gaming Handheld Is Huge

Nitro Blaze 11 For 11 Inches

Acer is redefining what it means to be "portable" with the upcoming Nitro Blaze 11 gaming handheld, featuring a massive 10.95-inch display. Unveiled at CES 2025 alongside the Nitro Blaze 8 and the Nitro Mobile Gaming Controller, this series promises to elevate mobile gaming.

Both the Nitro Blaze 11 and Nitro Blaze 8 come equipped with identical hardware: WQXGA touch displays reaching 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 specifications ensure "cutting-edge performance and versatile features," delivering "immersive visuals" in a portable, foldable package ideal for gaming on the go. Purchases also include a complimentary three-month subscription to PC Game Pass. The primary difference between the two models is screen size, with the Nitro Blaze 8 featuring an 8.8-inch display.

However, the Nitro Blaze 11's heft, weighing in at 1050g, may pose a challenge for prolonged use. In comparison, the Steam Deck OLED weighs around 640g, and the Nintendo Switch is lighter at 297g. The Nitro Blaze 8, at 720g, aligns more closely with other portable PC handhelds like the Lenovo Legion Go and Asus ROG Ally.

All three devices are slated for release in Q2 of 2025, with the Nitro Blaze 11 priced at $1099 USD, the Nitro 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 incorporating AMD's latest Ryzen Z2 processors designed specifically for gaming handhelds. These new processors are set to power the next generation of portable gaming devices, including the Lenovo Legion Go, Asus ROG Ally, and the Steam Deck.

However, Valve has confirmed that "There is and will be no Z2 Steam Deck." Valve coder Pierre-Loup Griffais clarified on the social media platform Bluesky that a slide showcasing a Z2-powered Steam Deck was misleading. He emphasized that the slide was intended to highlight the processor line's suitability for gaming handhelds in general, not to indicate a specific model like the Steam Deck.

This doesn't rule out the possibility of a Steam Deck 2 entirely. Valve is open to the idea but awaits a significant, next-generation upgrade before moving forward.