Acer Unveils Massive 11" Handheld at CES 2025

Acer Unveils Giant 11-Inch Nitro Blaze Gaming Handheld at CES 2025

Acer redefined "portable gaming" at CES 2025 with the launch of the Nitro Blaze 11, a behemoth of a handheld boasting a massive 10.95-inch display. Alongside its smaller sibling, the Nitro Blaze 8, and the new Nitro Mobile Gaming Controller, Acer is making a significant statement in the mobile gaming market.

Both Blaze models share impressive specs: WQXGA touchscreens 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 immersive visuals in a portable, foldable form factor. A three-month PC Game Pass subscription is included with purchase. The key difference? Screen size—the Blaze 8 features an 8.8-inch display.

However, the Nitro Blaze 11's size comes at a cost: it weighs a substantial 1050g. This contrasts sharply with competitors like the Steam Deck (approx. 640g) and Nintendo Switch (approx. 297g). The Blaze 8, at 720g, is more comparable to other high-performance handheld PCs such as the Lenovo Legion Go and Asus ROG Ally.

All three devices (Blaze 11, Blaze 8, and the controller) are slated for release in Q2 2025, priced at $1099, $899, and $69.99 respectively.

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 specifically for high-performance handhelds. While promotional slides initially suggested a Z2-powered Steam Deck, Valve promptly clarified that a "Z2 Steam Deck is not happening." Valve coder Pierre-Loup Griffais stated on Bluesky that the slide likely represented the processor's broader applicability to gaming handhelds. This doesn't rule out a future Steam Deck 2, but Valve indicates it requires a significant, next-generation upgrade before such a release.