These days, the market is flooded with a variety of PC gaming handhelds, but Acer is looking to carve a niche with its latest offerings. The Nitro Blaze 8 and Nitro Blaze 11 come with impressively large screens, measuring 8.8 inches and 10.95 inches respectively. These are among the biggest displays we’ve encountered on handheld gaming devices. Both models feature a sharp 2560 x 1600 resolution. The smaller model boasts a 144 Hz refresh rate, while the larger one runs at 120 Hz, ensuring smooth and vibrant visuals.
These cutting-edge, high-resolution IPS screens will undoubtedly push the envelope for current hardware capabilities, especially with demanding AAA titles. In terms of power, there’s no groundbreaking innovation here; Acer has equipped both devices with the AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS CPU, the same 780M chipset found in the Z1 Extreme inside the Asus ROG Ally. With this setup, you’ll likely lean heavily on AMD’s upscaling technology to get the best performance from many games.
Acer mentions that both models carry a 55 Whr battery, which is more than what’s found in the original ROG Ally (at 40 Whr) and the Steam Deck OLED (at 50 Whr), though it falls short compared to the Ally X’s 80 Whr. Complementing the Ryzen 7, each device has 16GB of RAM and offers up to 2TB of storage. Both touchscreens shine bright at 500 nits. Interestingly, Acer highlights the CPUs’ 39 total AI TOPS, but don’t expect breakthroughs in frame rates or battery longevity. Still, these devices are notably larger than many competitors.
The larger Blaze 11 includes removable controllers, offering a versatility akin to Lenovo’s Legion Go, though presumably without the integrated mouse sensor. The controllers seem to lack specific cursor control functions, so you might find yourself frequently tapping and swiping on the Windows 11 Home OS, unless you’re navigating within Acer’s Game Space software.
It should be no surprise that such expansive displays come with added heft. The Nitro Blaze has a reasonable weight of 1.59 pounds, whereas the Nitro 11 tips the scales at 2.31 pounds, making it a heftier option.
During a brief hands-on session, the Blaze 11 didn’t seem as unwieldy as it appears in some press images. However, it’s not a device you’ll casually slip into a bag for a commute. Much like larger gaming laptops, it’s best suited for use in more stationary settings. My primary concern remains the battery life; with such a large and vivid screen, energy consumption will be higher than smaller portables. But, in all likelihood, this device will see most of its use near a power source, like a USB-C charger at your home.
Acer has announced that both the Nitro Blaze 8 and Blaze 11 are slated for release in the second quarter of next year. Pricing reflects the display size, starting at $899 for the 8-inch model and $1,099 for the 11-inch version.
