These days, the market is bustling with a variety of PC gaming handhelds, but Acer is looking to make a big splash with its latest entries, the Nitro Blaze 8 and Nitro Blaze 11. With display sizes of 8.8 inches and 10.95 inches respectively, these devices boast some of the largest screens we’ve seen in handheld gaming tech so far. Both feature a sharp 2560 x 1600 resolution, while the smaller model offers a 144 Hz refresh rate and the larger one clocks in at 120 Hz, giving gamers plenty of visual details and fluid motion to enjoy.
Now, these high-res, high-refresh IPS screens are sure to test the limits of today’s processors, especially when tackling demanding AAA titles. Unfortunately for those hoping for groundbreaking hardware, Acer has opted for AMD’s Ryzen 7 8840HS CPU for both models. This is the same chip you’ll find in Asus’ ROG Ally powered by the Z1 Extreme. So, if you’re diving into graphic-heavy games, you’ll likely need to lean on AMD’s upscaling technology quite a bit.
Acer has outfitted each device with a 55 Whr battery, which exceeds the Steam Deck OLED’s 50 Whr and the original Ally’s 40 Whr, though it falls short of the Ally X’s beefier 80 Whr battery. Both handhelds come with a solid 16GB of RAM and can be packed with up to 2TB of storage. Their touchscreens boast a brightness of 500 nits, which is pretty impressive. Oddly, Acer highlights the CPUs’ total of 39 AI TOPS, but given the hardware specs, don’t expect the Nitros to break records in frame rates or battery endurance. They do, however, stand larger than most competitors.
As for design, the larger Nitro Blaze 11 features detachable controllers, drawing parallels to Lenovo’s Legion Go, though it apparently lacks a built-in mouse sensor. The controllers also appear to be without a dedicated cursor, so you might find yourself doing quite a bit of tapping and swiping through the Windows 11 Home interface when you’re not using Acer’s Game Space software.
With the larger screens comes added weight. The Nitro Blaze weighs in at a manageable 1.59 pounds, while the Blaze 11 is heftier at 2.31 pounds. During a short hands-on session, the Blaze 11 didn’t seem as massive in person as some of the company’s promotional photos. However, it’s not the most portable option for those on the go. It’s quite similar to the bulk you’d expect from larger gaming laptops. My main concern with the Blaze 11 is its battery life. A screen of that size and resolution will undoubtedly consume more power, but since you’re probably using it at home, you won’t be too far from a handy USB-C charger.
Acer has slated the release of the Nitro Blaze 8 and Blaze 11 for the second quarter. As for pricing, the screens not only set the devices apart in size but also price, with the 8-inch model starting at $899 and the 11-inch version kicking off at $1,099.
