Valve"s launch of its Steam Deck handheld gaming PC a few years ago became a surprise hit. Since then, a number of competitors, including the Asus ROG Ally, the MSI Claw, and the Lenovo Legion Go, among others, have tried to get some of the Steam Deck"s audience.
Today, as part of its IFA 2024 announcement, Acer revealed its own handheld gaming PC. It"s called the Acer Nitro Blaze 7, and like most of the Steam Deck competitors, it uses Windows 11 as its operating system (Steam Deck features a custom Linux-based operating system called Steam Deck OS).
This portable gaming PC includes a 7-inch Full HD 1,920 x 1,080 IPS touchscreen display with a 144Hz refresh rate and AMD FreeSync Premium for stutter-free gaming. Inside, it has the AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS processor along with the AMD Radeon 780M graphics and up to 16GB of RAM.
It supports up to 2TB of onboard SSD storage, and there"s a microSD card slot for adding even more disk space. The PC also has the exclusive Acer Game Space app to help owners navigate through their game library.
The press release adds:
The touch interface’s responsive controls allow players to engage games more naturally and give more possibilities for innovative gameplay mechanics. Plus, a hotkey that instantly transports players to their game libraries, and the Nitro Blaze’s joystick and directional buttons make it even easier to navigate through the gaming realm with greater precision and versatility.
Like other Windows 11 portable gaming PCs, the Acer Nitro Blaze 7 will include a code for three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which allows users to play hundreds of PC games. However, Acer has not revealed the price of the handheld, nor is there a release date.