Portable consoles: after the Nitro Blaze 7, Acer is preparing a Predator version

Better late than never! While many players, including its compatriot Asus, have already launched their consoles / laptops, here comes the Taiwanese Acer to jump into the arena. And take advantage of the Berlin IFA show to announce its first model: the Nitro Blaze 7.

Seven, like the screen diagonal. A beautiful, very high-end Full HD OLED panel (1920 x 1080 pixels), running at up to 144 Hz and with a maximum brightness of 500 cd/m² (nits). The screen is both beautiful and fluid.

The technical platform is known. The AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS is the PC version of the AMD Z1 Extreme. It has the same number of CPU and GPU cores and the same frequencies. The advantage of the latter, which powers the Asus ROG Ally, is that it can go lower in terms of consumption with only 9 W, while the Ryzen selected by Acer can theoretically only oscillate between 20 and 30 W. A limit that AMD and Acer could eventually unlock via firmware.

In any case, with the same Radeon 780M GPU as the ROG Ally and the Lenovo Legion GO, we already know the performance level of the Acer Nitro Blaze 7: sufficient to enjoy all games on the go.

In the footsteps of the competition

While we haven’t yet been able to test the device on the packed booth at the press conference, the first hands-on experience with the device is very satisfying. The screen is very bright and handles the reflections of the booths rather well. The system controls are easily identifiable, and the game sticks and buttons seem to be of very good quality – but in this area, we’ll really have to wait for a test. It did indeed take a little time to highlight the small weaknesses of the ROG Ally.

In terms of performance, it should be of the same ilk as the competition, and therefore (unfortunately) the same in endurance. Two good hours with the most demanding games, all performances at full speed, we were told on the stand.

Acer is following in Asus’ footsteps when it comes to menus. A dedicated button lets you manage performance, energy consumption, screen definition or frequency, etc. The Taiwanese company is not reinventing the wheel here. But one might wonder if Microsoft would be interested in consolidating all of this.

A price that is long overdue

At the stand, our questions about the as yet undisclosed price initially lead us to the same answer: we are still determining it. But by scratching a little, we end up getting a little more.

Justifying a later arrival and an offer approaching the competition, the various interlocutors emphasize that Acer’s current proposal must be positioned (in terms of price, editor’s note) a little below what already exists. And our interlocutors tell us that the subsidiaries in different European countries have started negotiations with the parent company in order to lower the base target price. A price that cannot be higher than the competition already in place on the one hand and which must leave room for an upgrade on the other hand. “You haven’t missed the fact that this is a Nitro,” an employee of the brand points out to us. To which he adds a rhetorical question: you know that we have more high-end products for gaming?

A Predator version on the way!

So the wick was sold! The Nitro Blaze would only be the first offspring of a range of portable consoles. By pushing our questions further, we learn that if Acer is the latest arrival, it is because it has taken the time to study the market. The Nitro Blaze 7 is therefore not only a test product and Acer plans a real increase in grams with its Predator brand. Well, “if all goes well”, we were told. The problem for the moment being that the price of these devices remains high. But manufacturers like Acer potentially have a tool to lower the bill.

Steam OS and consoles 100 € cheaper

The trick up Acer’s (and others’) sleeve would be to do without Windows and use Valve’s free operating system (OS), Steam OS. Already powering the PC game sales platform’s Steam Deck console, this OS is already installable in dual boot on Asus’ ROG Ally.

The trump card of Steam OS is that it is free. If Microsoft is a supporting partner, it must also be given money. How much does that represent for a console like the Nitro Blaze 7? Around €100 less, an Acer manager explains to us. Who assures us that if nothing is done for the moment, discussions are underway to integrate Valve’s OS. With or without Microsoft? Again, nothing has been decided, we were told.

In any case, between the first models of the Chinese brands GPD, Aya and others, up to the models of Asus, Lenovo and now Acer, the console / laptop format is slowly starting to take off. Even if for the moment the Americans HP and Dell – yet a pioneer with its Alienware UFO prototype presented at the beginning of 2020, have not yet presented any model…