Acer debuts new Nitro gaming laptops and a Steam Deck clone

Acer

Acer

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The generous 16-inch screen is 1920×1200 with a respectable 165Hz refresh rate for gaming. But if you’re feeling a little more lush, you can step it up to a 2560×1600 panel with a 180Hz refresh rate. This is a beefy 5.5-pound laptop, but for all that bulk you get a surprisingly small 57 watt-hour battery and just three USB ports (one USB-C, two USB-A), though it does come with a full-sized HDMI port for easy monitor access.

For the newer and sleeker Nitro V 14, Acer went with AMD guts. You can choose between a Ryzen 5 8645HS or a Ryzen 7 8845HS, both of which are new enough for some AI-powered extras. The top-end model will get an RTX 4050 discrete graphics, but cheaper versions will have to make do with an RTX 3050. The base model gets an RTX 2050. (I didn’t even know Nvidia was still making those.)

Acer

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RAM and storage are the same as the laptop’s bigger brother. Screen resolution is the same for both standard and upgrade models (though they’re naturally smaller on 14.5-inch panels) and both are limited to a 120Hz refresh rate.

Surprisingly, the smaller Nitro V 14 gets one extra port in the form of a microSD card reader that isn’t available on the Nitro V 16. It’s using the same 57-watt-hour battery, but the smaller body lets the Nitro V 14 slim down to just 3.75 pounds — not bad for a gaming laptop.

Acer

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The Nitro V 14 is coming later this month with a base price of $1,100 while the refreshed Nitro V 16 will arrive in October starting at $1,300. But I personally wouldn’t buy either at launch — expect both of them to get steep discounts on a regular basis, if you have the patience.

Acer Nitro Blaze 7 gaming handheld

Between Asus, Lenovo, MSI, and others, there’s a lot of variety in Steam Deck-style handhelds now. But the only thing that stands out about the Nitro Blaze 7 to me is its distinct lack of, well, distinction.

The 7-inch handheld seems to have shaved down the design to the absolute bare essentials, omitting touch pads, rear programmable buttons, and even the almost requisite LED lighting.