The Acer Nitro Blaze 7 was finally unveiled on September 4th. It was first teased during a series of videos from Predator Gaming, but Acer officially announced it during the IFA Global Press Conference 2024.
The Nitro Blaze 7 will be Acer’s first handheld gaming PC. Despite being their first attempt, Acer is launching a device that can directly compete with popular options like the Steam Deck and ASUS ROG Ally X. With an AI-powered processor, LPDDR5X RAM, and a 7-inch full HD 144 Hz display, the Nitro Blaze 7 could quickly attract a large user base after its launch.
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Acer Nitro Blaze 7 release window speculation
At the moment, Acer has not provided an exact release date for the Nitro Blaze 7. Add that to the fact this is a first of its kind from Acer, and you’ve got a tricky situation when it comes to predicting its release date. Since we have no previous handheld PCs from Acer to go by, let’s first take a look and see if there are any patterns with its other products – specifically, when they were announced and their corresponding release dates.
Luckily, Acer announced new Nitro V laptops, a Predator XB273K gaming monitor, and some new UltraSpeed Nitro displays with refresh rates up to 600 Hz. These products are currently scheduled to arrive between September and December, with some even launching in Q1 2025. If Acer plans to release the Nitro Blaze 7 alongside these products, it could be available as early as October or November this year.
Product | Date Announced | Release Window |
Predator XB273K gaming monitor | September 4, 2024 | Q4, 2024 |
UltraSpeed Nitro displays | September 4, 2024 | Q4, 2024 (North America), Q1, 2025 (China) |
Nitro V laptops | September 4, 2024 | Nitro V 16 in October, 2024, and Nitro V 14 in September, 2024 |
We also have to consider what the competition is doing. Will Acer choose to release its product at the same time as the new MSI? We can’t really say with much certainty if we’re honest. MSI is planning to release the Claw 8 AI+ in early Q1 2025, and Acer may launch its handheld around the same time to compete with its launch.
The Steam Deck was first announced by Valve on July 15, 2021, and was officially released on February 25, 2022. The ASUS ROG Ally, on the other hand, was first announced on April 1, 2023, with some thinking it was an April Fools joke. However, the device was confirmed to be real shortly after the announcement, and the handheld was officially released on June 13, 2023. If Acer follows a similar timeline, we could see their handheld on the market within the next two to six months.
Based on all of the above, we’d say that we might see the Acer release in anywhere between 2 – 6 months, however, a more conservative prediction would have us place it in Q1 2025. Typically, we would expect to hear more at an upcoming Acer event, however, at this time it appears that there are no confirmed events in the calendar. This may change in the near future, so we’ll keep you posted and updated.
Acer Nitro Blaze 7 specs
During the IFA Global Press Conference, Acer gave an overview of the Nitro Blaze 7. Later on, in an official blog post, the company revealed its full specifications, which you can see below. We’ll also compare the specs with some popular competitors to highlight the advantages the Blaze 7 offers.
Product name | Acer Nitro Blaze 7 |
Model | GN771 |
Operating System | Windows 11 Home |
Processors | AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS (8-cores, 16-threads, 24MB cache, up to 5.1 GHz max boost) AMD Ryzen AI, supports up to total 39 AI TOPS |
Graphics | AMD Radeon 780M (Up to 2.7 GHz, AMD RDNA3 12 CUs) |
Screen | 7″ Full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS Display, 144Hz, 500 nits, 10-point touch panel, 7ms response time, 100% sRGB, AMD FreeSync Premium |
Memory | 16GB LPDDR5X SDRAM, 7500 MT/s (onboard) |
Storage | Up to 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 x4 Gen 4 SSD |
I/O Ports | 2x USB4 (Type-C 40 Gbps), Micro SD Card (SD 4.0) |
Control and Input | A B X Y buttons, D-Pad, LB/RB Bumpers, LS/RS Sticks, LT/RT Hall effect triggers, Power button with fingerprint reader, volume button, view button, menu button, Acer Game Space button, Pop-up keyboard button, Acer quick menu button, Mode switch button |
Audio | Speaker: 2 x 1W Microphone: 2 x D-Mic Audio Jack: 3.5mm CTIA |
Battery | 50.04 Wh Li-Polymer battery |
Power Supply | 65W Type-C AC Adapter |
WLAN and Bluetooth | Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 |
Software | Acer Game Space, PC Game Pass (3 months) |
Dimensions | 25.6 (W) x 11.35 (D) x 2.25 (H) cm |
Weight | 670 g |
Operating System
To begin with, the Acer Nitro Blaze 7 uses Windows 11. The Steam Deck OLED runs SteamOS, a Linux-based OS designed for gaming, but having Windows 11 means you’ll have access to a much wider range of software, and not just the games available on Steam.
Processor and GPU
As for the processor and GPU, the Nitro Blaze 7 is powered by the Ryzen 7 8840HS processor, which is built on the Zen 4 architecture, and the AMD Radeon 780M graphics. The CPU boasts 8 cores, 16 threads, and a max boost clock of 5.1 GHz, and it also offers Ryzen AI.
This means the processor packs enough power for multitasking, making it great for gaming and running demanding applications smoothly. When compared to the custom AMD APU of the Steam Deck OLED, 8840HS offers more raw power. However, the AMD Z1 Extreme processor of the ROG Ally X is almost similar in terms of specs and power, but it lacks AI capabilities.
Display
Coming down to the display, the Acer Nitro Blaze 7 offers a 7-inch screen with a full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution, 500 nits brightness, and a refresh rate of 144 HZ.
For comparison, the Steam Deck OLED has a 7-inch OLED display with a 1280 x 800 resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate.
The ASUS ROG Ally, on the other hand, has a 7-inch Full HD 1080p screen with a 120Hz refresh rate.
This means the Nitro Blaze 7 offers a superior screen in terms of refresh rate, but the OLED display of the Steam Deck offers better color accuracy, contrast, and superior response time. On top of that, the Steam Deck OLED also has a better max brightness of 1,000 nits (HDR) and 600 nits (SDR).
Memory and storage
As far as the memory is concerned, just like the Steam Deck OLED, the Acer Nitro Blaze 7 offers 16GB RAM. However, while the Steam Deck has LPDDR5 memory, the Nitro Blaze 7 uses LPDDR5X, which is a faster version. This should help the handheld offer slightly better performance in memory-intensive tasks. The ROG Ally X, on the other hand, offers 24 GB of LDDDR5X RAM.
The storage is yet another area where the Acer Nitro Blaze 7 takes the lead, as it offers up to 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 x4 Gen 4 SSD. Both the Steam Deck OLED and ROG Ally X offer up to a 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD.
Battery
The Acer Nitro Blaze 7 offers only a 50 Wh battery, which is significantly less than the ROG Ally X and the upcoming MSI Claw 8 AI+’s 80 Wh battery, but is the same as the one used in Steam Deck OLED. This means that the battery might drain quickly, and you’ll need to stay close to a power source for long gaming sessions. According to some users, a 50 Wh battery provides anywhere between 3 to 6 hours of gameplay, depending on the type of game you’re playing and its graphical settings. However, that’s for the Steam Deck, while the Windows 11-based Blaze could see less based on what we saw with the original ROG Ally.
Controls and weight
The Acer Nitro Blaze 7 also offers the standard controls and input layout, such as dual analog sticks, a D-Pad, and shoulder buttons. It also comes with Hall effect triggers but lacks a gyro sensor and trackpads, which are found in the Steam Deck. The Blaze 7 also offers dual USB4 ports, which can help you connect peripherals to the handheld.
As for its weight, the Nitro Blaze 7 weighs 670 grams and is slightly heavier than the Steam Deck, which weighs around 640 grams. However, it’s almost the same as the ROG Ally X, which weighs 678 grams. It also measures 25.6 cm (W) x 11.35 cm (D) x 2.25 cm (H). This makes it more compact in terms of width and depth when compared to the Steam Deck OLED and ROG Ally X, so it should easily fit into smaller bags and be comfortably held in smaller hands.
Acer Nitro Blaze 7 price prediction
At the time of writing, Acer has not disclosed the price of the Nitro Blaze 7. They have only revealed its appearance and specifications.
Something such as the ASUS ROG Ally X, which offers many similar specs, is priced at $799. In contrast, the Steam Deck OLED, which features a better-looking screen but less powerful hardware, is available for $550 (512GB model) and $650 (1TB model). We’d opt to place the Acer Nitro Blaze 7 between the original ROG Ally and Ally X in terms of power.
If we estimate based on this, we can tentatively predict the Acer Nitro Blaze 7 to launch with a price tag of anywhere between $700 and $850, depending on the configuration. For example, a variant with less storage might cost around $700, while a 2TB version could go up to $850. However, this is just a rough estimation, and we’ll only know the actual price when Acer confirms it.