Acer’s latest innovations have arrived at CES, just months following the debut of their initial handheld gaming PC. The company is now unveiling the Nitro Blaze 8 and Blaze 11, further solidifying its presence in the gaming landscape? While the Blaze 8 appears to be a straightforward upgrade similar to its predecessors, the Blaze 11 boasts a more striking lineup of innovative features.
As corporations engage in a fierce competition, they are racing to create the ultimate gaming handheld PC, a feat still dominated by Valve’s renowned Steam Deck. Acer’s latest endeavour, the Nitro 11, boasts a sprawling 10.95-inch full HD display and innovative, detachable controllers reminiscent of the Xbox Adaptive Controller.
Acer has seemingly borrowed from Lenovo and Nintendo’s playbook to craft the controls for its Nitro 11 tablet, mirroring the web page layout found in those brands’ guides. As a result, gamers can detach the controllers’ edges and utilize them separately or in tandem for an enhanced, customizable gaming experience.
While we were initially pleased with the Lenovo Legion Go’s controller, it required a few software updates to refine its performance and address early issues. In a move to revolutionize gaming experiences, Acer is elevating the stakes for its Nitro 11 series by integrating high-precision Corridor Impact controller technology, featuring drift-reducing sticks and triggers designed specifically for enhanced fight stick performance.
Despite lacking the latest Ryzen Z2 Extreme processor from AMD, Acer has opted for a Ryzen 8000 mobile chipset instead. Acer’s upcoming handheld devices will leverage the powerful Ryzen 7 8840HS processor, also featured in the Nitro 7, offering a slight performance boost compared to the Zotac Zone’s processor for instance?
Notably, this feature will address the Ryzen AI HX processors found in devices like the OneXPlayer F1 Pro. While Acer’s onboard built-in graphics are based on the Radeon 780M model, AMD has upgraded the GPU in its AI HX series to the more powerful 800M graphics sequence.
Like its Lenovo Legion Go counterpart, each Acer Nitro handheld boasts a high-resolution display, specifically a 2,560×1,600 pixel screen, an upgrade from the previous Blaze 7’s 1080p panel. Each device will proceed to support 144Hz refresh rates, just like its predecessor was capable of doing uniquely.
The Acer Blaze 8 and 11 tablets are scheduled for release in the second quarter of 2025, with an anticipated debut sometime after March. You’ll find the Blaze 8 available for $899, while the 11 model costs $1,099.
Introduced alongside is Acer’s new Nitro Cell controller, which fails to impress and will not be topping our list of best PC gaming controllers anytime soon. Although the versatile controller may be quite impressive for those passionate about mobile gaming.
