Acer Unveils Giant 11-Inch Handheld at CES

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. This giant joins its smaller sibling, the Nitro Blaze 8, and the new Nitro Mobile Gaming Controller.

Both Blaze models pack impressive specs: WQXGA touchscreens (up to 144Hz refresh rate), an AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS processor, AMD Radeon 780M graphics, 16GB LPDDR5x RAM, and a 2TB SSD. Acer promises cutting-edge performance, immersive visuals, and versatile features in a foldable, portable design. Buyers also receive a three-month PC Game Pass subscription. The key difference? Screen size; the Blaze 8 features an 8.8-inch display.

However, size comes with a weight penalty. The Blaze 11 tips the scales at a hefty 1050g, significantly heavier than competitors like the Steam Deck (approx. 640g) and Nintendo Switch (approx. 297g). The Blaze 8, at 720g, is closer in weight to other PC handhelds such as the Lenovo Legion Go and Asus ROG Ally.

All three devices (Blaze 11, Blaze 8, and the controller) will be available 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 out on AMD's latest Ryzen Z2 processors designed for gaming handhelds. Although AMD's promotional materials initially suggested future iterations of handhelds like the Steam Deck would use the Z2, Valve swiftly clarified that there are no plans for a "Z2 Steam Deck." Valve coder Pierre-Loup Griffais stated on Bluesky that the promotional slide likely represented the processor's general application to gaming handhelds, not a specific device. This doesn't rule out a future Steam Deck 2, but Valve indicates it requires a substantial, next-generation upgrade before such a release.