#gaming-handhelds

#gaming-handhelds

Acer made a big splash at CES 2025 with the announcement of its surfboard-sized Nitro Blaze 11 gaming handheld, but its targeted second-quarter release came and went long ago. There's been no word of the chunky 11-inch Blaze or its smaller siblings.

Gaming handhelds are supposed to fit in your hands, but AMD's new Strix Halo processors generate serious heat and drain batteries faster than you can finish a boss fight. The GPD Win 5 and OneXFly Apex responded by strapping external battery packs to their backs, which works, but looks like your handheld is wearing a fanny pack in the wrong spot. It's practical but awkward, and it raises an obvious question: if you're adding external batteries anyway, why not just make the whole device bigger?

This Baseus portable charger has a full capacity of 20,800mAh. That's enough power to recharge an iPhone 16 Pro more than three and a half times over. That's also more than one full charge of a Steam Deck. A charger like this really is ideal for anyone traveling with heftier devices than just their phone such as a laptop, Steam Deck, Nintendo Switch 2, or the new Asus ROG Xbox Ally.

Microsoft and Asus launched two Xbox-branded ROG Ally handhelds this month, with the higher-end ROG Xbox Ally X priced rather steep at $1,000. Now, Microsoft has said that Asus guided the pricing for the new devices. According to the Xbox parent, the Taiwanese firm, which manufactured the ROG Xbox Ally handhelds, determined the prices based on market considerations, features and other factors.