Acer’s Gaming Handhelds Expand with 9- and 11-Inch Displays: Nitro Blaze 8 and Blaze 11 Featuring AMD 8840HS CPUs

The world of PC gaming handhelds is bustling with options nowadays, but Acer is trying to carve out a niche with its latest offerings: the Nitro Blaze 8, featuring an 8.8-inch display, and the Nitro Blaze 11, which boasts a 10.95-inch screen. These devices are catching attention with some of the largest displays we’ve seen in this category. They come equipped with a resolution of 2560 x 1600 for both models, and the smaller device offers a 144 Hz refresh rate while the larger one provides 120 Hz. Clearly, there’s a lot going on in terms of display technology here.

Those vibrant, high-res IPS screens are certainly going to give the hardware a workout, especially with demanding AAA games. Acer has opted for AMD’s Ryzen 7 8840HS CPU to power these handhelds, the same processor found in Asus’ ROG Ally, courtesy of the 780M chip. You can expect to lean heavily on AMD’s upscaling technology to get the most out of your gaming experience.

The specs list features a 55 Whr battery for both devices, surpassing the 40 Whr battery of the original Ally but falling short compared to the Ally X’s 80 Whr. They’re also beefed up with 16GB of RAM and up to 2TB of storage, making them robust devices. The touchscreens themselves are rated at 500 nits of brightness, which is impressive. Interestingly, Acer highlights the CPU’s 39 AI TOPS, though it’s unclear how this makes the handhelds stand out performance-wise. Nonetheless, they are noticeably larger than much of the competition.

The Nitro Blaze 11 stands out with detachable controllers, making it resemble a supersized variant of Lenovo’s Legion Go, sans the integrated mouse sensor. These controllers seem to lack dedicated cursor control, which means users might find themselves frequently tapping and swiping through Windows 11 Home when not navigating Acer’s Game Space.

As you’d expect, those larger screens do add some heft to the devices. The Nitro Blaze weighs in at a manageable 1.59 pounds, whereas the Nitro 11 is a heftier 2.31 pounds.

During a short session with these devices, the Blaze 11 didn’t appear as enormous as some promotional images suggested. However, it’s not the kind of gadget you’d casually tote around everywhere. Similar to large gaming laptops, its size is more suited to home use. The primary concern with the Blaze 11 is battery life — that expansive, high-resolution screen could drain power faster than other portables. But if you’re mostly using it at home, staying close to your USB-C charger should mitigate that issue.

Acer has announced that the Nitro Blaze 8 and Blaze 11 will be hitting the shelves sometime in the second quarter of the year. Pricing is set to reflect their screen sizes: starting at $899 for the 8-inch model and $1,099 for the 11-inch version.