Acer's Massive 11-Inch Handheld Exposed at CES 2025

Acer unveiled its largest gaming handheld to date at CES 2025: the Nitro Blaze 11. Its smaller sibling, the Nitro Blaze 8, and the Nitro Mobile Gaming Controller also made their debut. Read on for a closer look at the specs and impressive screen size.

Acer's Newest Gaming Handheld: A Giant Leap for Portable Gaming

The Nitro Blaze 11: 11 Inches of Gaming Glory

Acer is redefining "portable" with the Nitro Blaze 11, boasting a massive 10.95-inch display. This behemoth, alongside the Nitro Blaze 8 and the Nitro Mobile Gaming Controller, was showcased at CES 2025.

Both Blaze models share impressive hardware: WQXGA touch displays with up to 144Hz refresh rates, an AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS processor paired with an AMD Radeon 780M GPU, 16GB of LPDDR5x RAM, and a generous 2TB SSD. Acer promises "cutting-edge performance and versatile features" alongside "immersive visuals" in a portable, foldable form factor. A three-month free trial of PC Game Pass is included with purchase. The key difference? Screen size—the Blaze 8 features an 8.8-inch display.

However, the Blaze 11's substantial 1050g weight is noteworthy. Compared to the Steam Deck (approximately 640g) and Nintendo Switch (around 297g), it's considerably heavier. The Blaze 8, at 720g, is more in line with competitors like the Lenovo Legion Go and Asus ROG Ally.

All three devices are slated for release in Q2 2025, with pricing set at $1099 USD for the Blaze 11, $899 USD for the Blaze 8, and $69.99 for the Nitro Mobile Gaming Controller.

No Z2 Steam Deck 2, According to Valve

While the Nitro Blaze series utilizes the powerful AMD Ryzen 7 chipset, it missed the opportunity to incorporate AMD's latest Ryzen Z2 processors, designed for high-performance handhelds. AMD's promotional materials initially suggested future iterations of handhelds like the Lenovo Legion Go, Asus ROG Ally, and Steam Deck would feature these chips.

However, Valve clarified that a Z2-powered Steam Deck is not in the works. Valve coder Pierre-Loup Griffais stated on Bluesky that a previous slide showcasing a Z2 Steam Deck was a misinterpretation, likely intended to represent the processor's suitability for handheld gaming in general.

This doesn't rule out a Steam Deck 2 entirely. Valve has confirmed its intention to release a successor, but only when a significant, next-generation upgrade warrants it.