Handhelds at CES: New high-end devices and retro consoles

CES 2025 in Las Vegas is also providing mobile gaming fans with news. In addition to three new devices so far, three new AMD processors specifically for handhelds were also announced with the "Z2" line. There is no news about a successor to the popular Steam Deck from Valve, but the manufacturer has let it be known that the in-house operating system SteamOS will be available for other hardware. Retro handhelds containing decades-old classic games are also coming onto the market.

This article will give you an overview of everything that CES has in store on the topic of handhelds. I will update the article if there are any further new products.

SteamOS on third-party devices

A big advantage of the Steam Deck so far is the SteamOS operating system developed by Valve, which feels more "console-like" compared to Windows on other handheld devices. Windows handhelds are also more susceptible to bugs and other problems - at least that's what my colleague Phil complained about in his review of the Asus ROG Ally X, which is linked below. SteamOS is based on Linux.

Now Valve has announced that it wants to make its operating system available to other manufacturers. It will start with the recently unveiled Lenovo Legion Go S, the "first officially licensed third-party handheld device with SteamOS technology".

Back in August 2024, Valve implemented support for the Asus ROG Ally in SteamOS. The Valve development team is currently still working on optimising the software. This experience should help with the implementation of SteamOS on other handhelds. In the future, there could therefore be very good alternatives to the Steam Deck without having to compromise on handling.

In fact, as an end user, you will soon be able to download a beta version of SteamOS and install it on your handheld. According to Valve, however, there is no guarantee that SteamOS will run flawlessly on all hardware.

Lenovo: Legion Go S and Legion Go Gen 2

The Legion Go S is a more budget-friendly version of the Legion Go, which was released in 2023. The device is equipped with an 8-inch IPS LCD touch display, which is slightly smaller than the 8.8-inch display of its bigger brother. In contrast to the Legion Go with its detachable controllers, those of the Legion Go S are permanently installed on the device. Under the bonnet, the "Z2 Go" will be powered by a new AMD processor, which was also announced at CES. However, this CPU utilises Zen 3 architecture and RDNA 2, which are already outdated technologies.

The Legion Go S will be released in January with Windows 11 and will initially cost around 740 US dollars. From May, a cheaper version with SteamOS will be launched on the market for 500 US dollars.

Lenovo also presented an early prototype for the second generation of the Legion Go. It should offer a better display with OLED (Gen 1: IPD LCD), a more powerful battery with 74 Wh (Gen 1: 49.2 Wh) as well as support for more RAM and better computing power. The new top processor "Z2 Extreme", which was only announced at CES, can also be used. It offers 16 Zen 5 cores and RDNA 3.5, but the resolution will be lower at 1920 × 1200 pixels (Gen 1: 2560 × 1600 pixels).

The price for the device is not yet known.

Acer: Nitro Blaze 8 and Nitro Blaze 11

After the Nitro Blaze 7, which was released in 2024, Acer is now launching two new handhelds on the market. The numbers in the names of the devices stand (roughly) for their display size: one 8.8 inches and one 10.95 inches. At eleven inches, the Nitro Blaze 11 is an almost monstrously large handheld. Its controllers can also be removed, as with the Nintendo Switch and the Legion Go, while the Nitro Blaze 8 has fixed controllers.

The two Windows 11 devices are equipped with an AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS processor with eight cores and a Radeon 780M graphics chip. Otherwise, they differ slightly in the refresh rate (120 Hertz / 144 Hertz) and the charging power of the battery (65 W / 100 W).

The new Nitro Blaze devices are set to be launched in the second quarter of 2025 and will cost €999 in Europe.

Accessories from Razer: Handheld Dock Chroma

Razer launches its first docking station for handhelds. With the "Handheld Dock Chroma" you can connect your handheld to a screen. In addition to RGB lighting (of course - it's Razer), the dock offers various connections. On the back are three USB-A ports for peripherals, a USB-C port with Power Delivery for connecting to the handheld, HDMI 2.0 and an Ethernet port. When plugged in, the dock can charge the handheld with up to 100 watts.

Thanks to the tiltable backrest, you can use the dock as a table holder, even for your tablet or smartphone. When folded, the dock, which is made from aluminium, should be easy to transport.

The docking station will be available from the end of January. It is expected to cost 90 euros.

Atari: Gamestation Go for retro games

The Gamestation Go is not a competitor for the handhelds described above. The former gaming giant Atari already presented the handheld in the run-up to CES. The device is primarily intended for arcade and retro classics. Atari is developing the handheld together with the manufacturer My Arcade, which specialises in retro gaming devices.

It is not yet known which games will be released for the Gamestation Go. Atari and My Arcade already offer the Gamestation Pro, a stationary console that comes with more than 200 classic Atari game stations from the 20th century. It can therefore be assumed that the Gamestation Go also contains the same or a comparable list of games.

Atari's retro handheld comes with various controls to the left and right of the screen. On the right-hand side there are four buttons and a numeric keypad, which is unusual for handhelds, while on the left there is an analogue stick, a D-pad and an equally unusual trackball. This allows games such as "Missile Command" to be played, which originally appeared on slot machines. These arcade machines often had a trackball. Depending on the game loaded, the required controls should be illuminated.

Two USB-C ports, an HDMI port, a jack connection for headphones and a slot for micro SD cards are part of the device's features.

My Arcade: Three retro consoles, including a handheld

In addition to the Gamestation Go licensed by Atari, My Arcade has announced three of its own consoles for retro games with the "Gamestation Retro" series.

The range of games is to be the same on all three consoles: more than 100 titles, with a focus on games from Bandai Namco and Capcom. These include classics such as "Pac-Man", "Street Fighter II", "Mega Man" and more. The only difference between the devices is their shape. The Gamestation Retro Go is a handheld with an 8-inch display.

The series also includes the Gamestation Retro Pro, a square stationary console with two controllers. The third device in the series is the Gamestation Retro Mega, which is visually reminiscent of the typical slot machines in amusement arcades and also has corresponding controls.

It is not yet clear whether these consoles will also be released in Europe.

Mecha Systems: Mecha Comet for apps and development

The startup Mecha Systems has unveiled the Mecha Comet, a modular Linux handheld. It is not a classic gaming handheld, but more of a portable mini tinker computer.

The Mechanix OS developed for it is based on Debian. Mecha Comet focuses on open source and modular hardware design. This means that all components apart from the 3.4-inch IPS touch display can be replaced and additional components, such as a game controller or a small keyboard, can be attached.

The development is being financed by crowdfunding, so there is no guarantee that the device will actually be released.

In the current episode of the A Tech Affair podcast, we also talk about the topic.