These days, the market’s brimming with handheld gaming PCs, but Acer’s looking to make a substantial splash with its new offerings, the Nitro Blaze 8 and Nitro Blaze 11. These devices boast two of the largest displays we’ve seen yet in their category—8.8 inches for the former and 10.95 inches for the latter. With both devices flaunting a resolution of 2560 x 1600, paired with a refresh rate of 144 Hz on the smaller and 120 Hz on the larger, they’re offering plenty of eye candy for gamers.
These bright, high-refresh-rate IPS screens are likely to stretch the capabilities of current hardware, especially when it comes to the demands of AAA titles. Unfortunately, for those hoping for some groundbreaking internal tech, Acer has stuck with AMD’s Ryzen 7 8840HS CPU on both models. It’s akin to the chip found in Asus’ ROG Ally, suggesting a reliance on AMD’s upscaling tech to maintain smooth gameplay in many instances.
Acer’s specs reveal a 55 Whr battery within both devices, a step up from the original Ally’s 40 Whr and the Steam Deck OLED’s 50 Whr, though it falls short of the Ally X’s 80 Whr capacity. Both models are equipped with 16GB of RAM and offer up to 2TB of storage. Additionally, their touchscreens promise up to 500 nits of brightness. Interestingly, Acer highlights the CPUs’ 39 AI TOPS, though how this translates into real-world performance remains to be seen. So, while they might not redefine expectations for frame rates or battery longevity, the Nitro Blaze models definitely stand out size-wise when compared to their rivals.
In a tweak that might intrigue gamers, the Blaze 11 features removable controllers, somewhat akin to a larger edition of Lenovo’s Legion Go, albeit likely without an integrated mouse sensor. However, these controllers don’t seem to have dedicated cursor control, so manoeuvring through the Windows 11 Home OS may involve quite a bit of tapping and swiping—unless you’re operating within Acer’s Game Space software.
Naturally, a larger screen equals a heftier device, with the Blaze 8 weighing 1.59 pounds and the beefier Blaze 11 at 2.31 pounds. In my brief experience handling these models, the Blaze 11 wasn’t quite as gigantic as Acer’s promotional images suggested. Nevertheless, it isn’t something you’ll easily pop into a bag on the go, much like larger gaming laptops. My biggest concern here is about its battery life—powerful displays tend to consume more energy. But given its mostly homebound utility, remaining near a USB-C charger shouldn’t be too much of a hassle.
Pricing and availability have also been revealed: Acer expects to release the Nitro Blaze 8 and Blaze 11 in Q2, with the 8-inch version starting at $899 and the larger model beginning at $1,099.
