(Photo : Acer / Screenshot taken from official website)
Acer announced that it plans to compete with the Steam Deck with its Nitro Blaze 11 in the handheld Windows gaming market.
The reveal of the massive device was made at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2025 started on Jan. 7, 2025, and is expected to run until Jan. 10. 2025. The company's newest device is so big that it can pass as a laptop with detachable controllers.
Acer's Nitro Blaze 11
The Nitro Blaze 11 has a design that was based on the Nitro Blaze 7 and was originally shown off at the Innovation For All (IFA) event in September 2024. Similar to the Lenovo Legion Go, the Nitro Blaze 11 can be used as a miniature gaming suite.
You can also prop it up with its built-in stand, connect a mouse and keyboard, and use it as your personal Windows workstation. The device is equipped with the AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS, which is the same processor found in the Nitro Blaze 7, according to Gizmodo.
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Additionally, the upcoming handheld Windows gaming device has a standard 16 GB of LPDDR5X RAM and has up to 2TB of storage. The Nitro Blaze 11 weighs 1.04kg, which is almost twice as heavy as the Steam Deck, which weighs 0.64kg.
The handheld Windows gaming device also comes with a front-facing camera and works like a large tablet but with built-in controller support. Despite its large size, the Nitro Blaze 11's specifications put it on par with the Asus ROG Ally X.
Growing Market for Handheld Gaming
The device also has Hall Effect triggers and sticks, and its display is 2560x1600 IPS @ 120 Hz. If you want the Nitro Blaze 11, you may need to save a little bit because the baseline price in the United States is $1,199, Forbes said.
On top of this, the handheld has two USC-C ports, one USB-A, and one Micro SD card slot. The Nitro Blaze 11, along with the Nitro Blaze 8, are set to become available sometime in the second quarter of the year.
The market for handheld gaming is growing bigger every year, and 2025 is set to become notable because of the Nintendo Switch 2. Additionally, the Steam Deck is still a very popular gaming device that dominates the field.
Other than the Nitro Blaze 11, Acer also has a folding mobile game controller, which features a USB-C docking design for phones. This is similar to existing products from BackBone and Razer, according to CNET.
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