Acer's New Steam Deck Alternative Is Comically Massive

The handheld gaming space has witnessed several interesting launches since the Steam Deck burst onto the scene in 2022. The latest contender to make its presence felt in the segment — and one that is here to make a big statement — is the Acer Nitro Blaze 11. This behemoth of a gaming console gets a laptop-sized 11-inch display and weighs a little over a kilogram, dwarfing its competitors in size, weight, and sheer audacity. While the adage "bigger is always better" is generally true, is that really the case when the device in question is a handheld gaming console?

The Acer Nitro Blaze 11 is not the first handheld from the Taiwanese computer hardware manufacturer. Earlier in 2024, the company came up with the much smaller and sanely sized Nitro Blaze 7. While that product is yet to officially reach the consumer's hands, Acer has used CES 2025 to add a mid-tier 8-inch offering (Acer Nitro Blaze 8) and the top-of-the-line Acer Nitro Blaze 11 models to its lineup of handheld consoles.

Measuring 10.95 inches across, the IPS LCD panel used on the Nitro Blaze 11 is one of the largest to be featured on a handheld gaming console. This is apparent when comparing it with competitors, like the Steam Deck, which only has a 7.4-inch screen. At a whopping 1050 grams, it's almost as heavy as a small laptop. For context, competitors like the Steam Deck, Asus ROG Ally, and Lenovo Legion Go all hover below the 700-gram mark. Even the Nitro Blaze 8, at 720 grams, feels lightweight by comparison.

Despite being physically larger than its 7-inch and 8-inch siblings, the Acer Nitro Blaze 11 gets identical hardware specs. The Windows 11-powered machine gets the AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS processor with eight cores and 16 threads, offering up to 24 MB cache and up to 5.1 GHz max boost. There's a sprinkling of AI as well with AMD's Ryzen AI suite, capable of going up to 39 AI TOPS. For graphics, the Acer Nitro Blaze 11 gets the AMD Radeon 780M GPU that clocks up to 2.7 GHz.

Keeping gaming requirements in mind, the Acer Nitro Blaze 11 ships with 16 GB LPDDR5X SDRAM and packs up to 2TB of storage using M.2 PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD. The machine is also well equipped on the connectivity front thanks to twin USB-C ports (one of which is USB 4 compliant). Interestingly, Acer has also thrown a legacy USB Type-A port into the mix alongside a microSD card slot. Wireless connectivity features include full-fledged support for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. For audio, the Nitro Blaze 11 gets a microphone port and a 3.5mm audio jack. The controllers that adorn both sides of the Nitro Blaze 11 are detachable and play a part in adding to its overall size.

Powering all the hardware is a 55 Wh Li-Polymer battery, which, strangely, is the same capacity as the much smaller 8-inch model. Acer, perhaps realizing that the larger display on the device will lead to higher battery consumption, includes a 100W charger with the device, as opposed to a smaller 64W charger that comes with the 8-inch model.

Acer says that it intends to bring the Acer Nitro Blaze 8 and Nitro Blaze 11 handhelds to the North American market by the second quarter of 2025. Pricing for the 8-inch variant will start at $899, while the Nitro Blaze 11 will be a lot more expensive at $1099. These prices make the device significantly pricier than most of the competition.

For comparison, prices for the entry-level 256GB Steam Deck LCD start at $349, going up to $649 for the OLED model. The Asus ROG Ally starts at $499, going up to $799 for the latest 2024 ROG Ally X. Then there is the Lenovo Legion GO, which starts at $699. It goes without saying that Acer genuinely believes prospective customers would not mind shelling out a few additional dollars for the larger display. To sweeten the deal, Acer will offer buyers three months of PC Game Pass, giving them priority access to titles like "Call of Duty: Black Ops 6," "Indiana Jones and the Great Circle," "Ara: History Untold," and games from EA Play.

So, is the Acer Nitro Blaze 11 the ultimate handheld gaming console? For some, its massive screen and top-tier specs will be a dream come true. For others, its sheer size, weight, and premium pricing might be a dealbreaker. Either way, Acer's latest creation has made one clear: In the world of handheld gaming, going big is definitely an option.