I can juuuust stretch my fingers far enough to grasp this wide boy.
The PC handheld space continues to grow, and the biggest of all is Acer’s new Nitro Blaze 11. As soon as I saw it announced at CES, I knew I had to try and get it in my hands, at least for the sheer curiosity of “Will this thing even fit in my hands?” The answer is yes — though kind of just barely.
I brought a Steam Deck OLED with me for a quick size and feel comparison. One of the first things I noticed is that it’s much more precarious to pick up the Blaze 11 the way I’m used to grabbing the Steam Deck: by gripping it on the top and bottom edges. My fingers just barely stretch far enough for this position. Once in hand, the 2.3-pound Blaze 11 actually feels lighter than you’d expect, making it not too unwieldy if you do most of your “portable” gaming at home on the couch like I do. (Playing it in bed may be a hazard to your face.)
While the Blaze 11 isn’t as heavy as I feared, the Steam Deck OLED’s 1.41 pounds feel like a featherweight in comparison. The Deck also feels a little more solidly built. Acer’s handheld isn’t flimsy, but it did seem cheaper.
But credit where credit’s due: playing games on such a big screen in your hands is a treat, and the kickstand felt solid for propping it up in tablet mode with detached controllers, which the Steam Deck can’t do. Acer also gets points for using Hall effect sticks and triggers.
We’ll have to wait and see how this jumbo $1,099 handheld fares when it launches in Q2 2025, as the competition heats up with the impending arrival of the Lenovo Legion Go S and the constantly leaking Nintendo Switch 2. In the meantime, here are a bunch of pictures of the Blaze 11 and the Steam Deck OLED.
Maybe if we one day get 13- or 14-inch handhelds, a Steam Deck will be able to fit within the screen itself.
The Steam Deck OLED’s screen is 7.4 inches, compared to the 10.95 inches of the Blaze 11.
I only held the Blaze 11 for a short time, but I can say I did find the Steam Deck more ergonomic.
Acer’s launcher looks and feels a bit spartan. It sits atop Windows, while Valve’s SteamOS is Linux-based.
I don’t know what these pins on the bottom of the Blaze 11 are, but I’ve reached out to Acer to find out.
The top of the Blaze 11 has dual USB 4 ports, a USB-A 3.2 port, a microSD card slot, and a 3.5mm headset jack.
Don’t talk to me or my son ever again.
The rear feels like a wall of black plastic.
The Blaze 11 has detachable controllers and a kickstand, which the Steam Deck does not.
The Blaze 11’s tablet mode. With a screen this big, it actually seems fairly usable in this configuration.
A handheld this big isn’t likely to be something you take on the road very much.
Photography by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge