Acer just tossed its hat into the handheld gaming ring with the Nitro Blaze 7

The handheld gaming war is heating up today, with Acer tossing its hat into the ring with the Nitro Blaze 7. Why the number 7, you ask? Well, that’s because it will be using an AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS to power the handheld. While details are still light, it would appear that Acer is forgoing some of the features handheld gamers have come to expect, so there are no touchpads to be seen, and there aren’t even any rear buttons that are almost standard on the competition. So it looks like a no-frills device, forgoing the little extras the likes of Valve and Asus are known for, which could very well mean an affordable price. Only time will tell.

If you’re looking for a quick intro what to expect from the Acer Nitro Blaze 7, Acer has dropped a video showcasing the handheld. The AMD Ryzen 8840HS processor will offer up to 39 AI TOPS (for some reason, the video claims 38), with a 780M GPU in tow, paired with 16GB of RAM. NVMe storage is supported up to 2TB (which means you can slap in your own stick to upgrade). You can also expect a 7-inch touchscreen that supports a 144Hz variable refresh rate, and it’s a 1080p IPS panel. All in all, impressive specs that should place this handheld somewhere in between the original ROG Ally and the newer ROG Ally X.

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The Acer Nitro Blaze 7 will have to nail its price

This all means pricing will be very important, as the Acer Nitro Blaze 7 likely won’t topple the current king (the ROG Ally X, of course), but sadly, we still don’t know what Acer will price the unit at. Ideally, the lack of frills like touchpads and rear buttons means Acer is gunning for a competitive price point, but this remains to be seen. It’s also worth noting Acer has already stated it didn’t partner with Microsoft for this handheld, which means those who are hoping for an improved UI for gaming on Windows 11 won’t be seeing one here beyond proprietary apps needed to clean up Microsoft’s mess. So, like all Windows handhelds to date, the OS will still be an issue where it doesn’t lend itself well to gaming on the small screen.

Acer’s Nitro Blaze 7 is a very welcome addition to the handheld gaming scene

All in all, Acer joining the ranks of Asus, Valve, Lenovo, and Ayaneo is a good thing for consumers, as competition will ideally drive prices down. This could also have a bump-on effect where game devs will start paying more attention to minimum specs to ensure the latest games can be played across this new range of handhelds, including Acer’s. So even if you don’t plan on picking up the Acer Nitro Blaze 7 whenever it drops, the more manufacturers that jump on the bandwagon, the better, something all gamers should be cheering on. So it’s certainly an exciting time to be a gamer, especially if you prefer playing on handhelds.

Acer Nitro Blaze 7

The Acer Nitro Blaze 7 is a new PC gaming handheld offering a Ryzen 7 8840HS chip, along with a 7-inch 144Hz variable refresh rate touchscreen IPS panel, and 16GB RAM. The price is still unknown, but we already know it will forgo touch pads and rear buttons, which could mean a competitive price.