Just months after launching its first handheld gaming PC, Acer is back at CES launching the Nitro Blaze 8 and Blaze 11. While the Blaze 8 appears to be a fairly routine update akin to the Steam Deck, the Blaze 11 is packing some far more interesting hardware choices.
Companies are in a rat race to build the next best gaming handheld PC, as Valve still dominates with the Steam Deck. Acer’s latest attempt includes the Nitro 11 that comes with an enormous 10.95-inch screen and removable, Switch-like controllers.
Acer has taken a page out of Lenovo and Nintendo’s book for the Nitro 11’s controllers. That’s because they unclip from the sides of the massive tablet so that you can use them either separately or together for a more comfortable gaming option.
We were reasonably impressed with the equivalent controllers on the Lenovo Legion Go, though it took a few updates before Lenovo ironed out all the kinks. Meanwhile, Acer is upping the ante by equipping the Nitro 11’s controllers with Hall Effect sticks and triggers to help combat stick drift.
However, Acer isn’t packing the latest Ryzen Z2 Extreme silicon from AMD inside, but is opting for a Ryzen 8000 mobile chipset instead. Both Acer’s new handhelds will use the Ryzen 7 8840HS – also used in the Nitro 7 – which is a slightly more beefy chip than that used in the recent Zotac Zone, for instance.
Not that it’ll contend with the Ryzen AI HX chips found in devices such as the OneXPlayer F1 Pro. The onboard integrated graphics on the Acers are still the Radeon 780M model, while AMD has updated the GPU in its AI HX models to 800M series graphics.
Like the Lenovo Legion Go, Acer’s Nitro handhelds will both have 2,560×1,600 resolution screens, up from the Blaze 7’s 1080p panel. Both will continue to support 144Hz too, as did the original.
The Acer Blaze 8 and 11 are set to launch in the second quarter of 2025, so expect them after March. You’ll find the Blaze 8 priced at $899 and the 11 priced at $1,099.
Also announced is Acer’s new Nitro Mobile controller, which we don’t see hitting our best PC gaming controller list any time soon. However, the flexible controller could be quite nifty for those invested in mobile gaming.