Acer shows off its latest generation of Nitro Blaze gaming handheld devices at CES 2025

CES 2025 is in full swing and Acer has announced two new gaming handhelds, the Nitro Blaze 8 and Nitro Blaze 11. However, it seems that these handhelds seem more of a mid-cycle upgrade to the previously announced Nitro Blaze 7 than anything major.

The Nitro Blaze 8

The first of the two, the Nitro Blaze 8 features an 8.8-inch WQXGA touchscreen display with a resolution of 2560 x 1600 and a 144 Hz refresh rate. The screen supports a peak brightness of 500 nits, which should suffice for those planning to play with it on the go. Powering the Blaze 8 is an AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS processor with integrated Radeon 780M graphics (same as the Blaze 7) along with 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 2TB of PCIe Gen 4 storage. 

Weighing at 720g, the Nitro Blaze 8 lacks detachable controllers and a built-in kickstand though it makes up for it with key features such as Hall effect joysticks and triggers, as well as support for AMD’s upscaling technologies. Finally, it comes with a 55Wh battery and connectivity options that include a USB4, USB 3.2, USB-A, and a microSD card slot. 

The Nitro Blaze 11

As its name suggests, the Nitro Blaze 11 features a large 10.95-inch WQXGA touchscreen display, also with a resolution of 2560 x 1600 though it has a lower 120 Hz refresh rate. Like the smaller model, the screen offers 500 nits of brightness and shares the same configuration of an AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS processor, Radeon 780M graphics, 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, and up to 2TB of PCIe Gen 4 storage.

What sets the Nitro Blaze 11 apart is its detachable controllers, built-in kickstand, and back buttons, providing greater flexibility for various gaming scenarios. These features make it comparable to other gaming devices like the Nintendo Switch or Lenovo Legion Go, which offer the option to use the handheld in tabletop mode. 

Interestingly, despite the larger size and weight of 1.05 kg, the device is powered by the same 55Wh battery as the Nitro Blaze 8 and includes the same connectivity options as its smaller sibling. Both devices come preloaded with Windows 11 and Acer’s Game Space software

Pricing and availability

The Nitro Blaze 8 will start at US$899 whereas the Nitro Blaze 11 will start at US$1,099. Both devices are expected to launch sometime in Q2 2025, though it is unsure whether it will be released here in Singapore. We will update the article with local pricing and availability once it arrives.

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