Acer Nitro Blaze 7 Handheld Gaming PC Launched to Take on the ROG Ally, Steam Deck, Lenovo Legion Go

Acer is entering the handheld gaming PC market with its first competitor to the Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally, named the Acer Nitro Blaze 7. The Nitro Blaze's entry into the market marks Acer's significant step into handheld gaming PCs. Its success will depend heavily on how it is priced against established competitors like the Asus ROG Ally (Review), Lenovo Legion Go, Steam Deck OLED, and MSI Claw.

Acer Nitro Blaze 7 Specifications and Design

This device features a seven-inch 1080p variable refresh rate IPS screen, refreshing at 144Hz. Acer has equipped it with a Ryzen 7 8840HS chip and a Radeon 780M integrated GPU, like other Windows handhelds.

With 16GB of 7500 MT/s memory and a 50-watt-hour battery, the Nitro Blaze 7 surpasses the original Ally's specifications. It offers up to 2TB of SSD storage. However, the $800 Asus ROG Ally X, featuring 24GB of memory and an 80Wh battery pack, remains a strong competitor. The Nitro Blaze's pricing will be crucial for its success in this competitive market.

The Nitro Blaze sports a shiny black and red design reminiscent of a black widow spider. Unlike many rivals, it lacks touchpads and back buttons but includes two USB4 ports, one located on the bottom. This allows users flexibility in choosing whether to charge or dock from the top or bottom.

Acer has included numerous dedicated keys on this system, including a unique key for bringing up the virtual keyboard. Despite not partnering with Microsoft for this device, which means no major UI improvements for Windows handheld gaming PCs are expected, these dedicated mode switch buttons set it apart from competitors.

Acer has yet to announce pricing or release dates for the Nitro Blaze 7. The complete spec sheet reveals its competitive edge in terms of hardware but leaves potential buyers waiting for more details on availability and cost.