The Acer Nitro Blaze 7 is the latest entry into the increasingly crowded handheld gaming PC market. It’s poised to take on heavyweights like the Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally X. This device stands out with a 7-inch 1080p IPS touchscreen offering a variable refresh rate of up to 144Hz, 2TB of SSD storage, and 16GB of LPDDR5x memory running at impressive speeds.
The AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS SoC is powering it all, a slight upgrade over the Ryzen Z1 Extreme found in other top handhelds, particularly in AI performance. The Blaze 7’s design is distinctive, with a black plastic chassis accented by white and red touches, making it easy to spot in a sea of similar devices. It’s equipped with two USB4 ports—one of which is Thunderbolt 4 for video output—making it easy to dock. The 50WHr battery provides solid playtime, ensuring you won’t be tethered to an outlet too soon.
While it lacks the back macro buttons seen on the ROG Ally, the Blaze 7 delivers a smooth gaming experience, consistently hitting 60FPS at 1080p with medium settings. Acer’s Game Space software does a good job of managing your game library, even if it’s still hampered by the limitations of Windows 11 on handheld devices. Overall, the Acer Nitro Blaze 7 looks to be a formidable challenger in the handheld gaming market, combining strong performance with a unique aesthetic that sets it apart.
In other hand-held gaming news, see the AYANEO Pocket EVO.