The year of the handhelds

Representational pics/iStock

MSI Claw 8 Ai+

Not deterred by the sales of their last handheld, MSI has once again gone with team Blue, choosing Intel as their processor for Claw 8 AI+. The device will feature a Core Ultra 7 processor, an 8-inch FullHD 120Hz touchscreen display, 32GB of RAM, 1TB Gen 4 NVMe, 2 Thunderbolt 4 ports and a battery capacity of 80Whr, similar to the ROG Ally X. For connectivity, the device has both Bluetooth and WiFi 7. It will run Windows 11 Home as its OS and will also feature Windows AI overlord, Co-pilot. The triggers and analogue sticks are all Hall effect, which means they will be very durable. The handheld promises approximately four hours of gaming time. The handheld is already available in the US for $899(R77,767.55).

Acer Nitro Blaze 8

Acer is really going all in with its handheld offerings this year. The new Nitro Blaze 8 will feature a large 8.8-inch touchscreen with a 144Hz refresh rate, a 2560x1600 resolution and 500 nits of brightness. Both the handhelds feature the same processor, the AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS with 16GB of RAM and up to 2TB Gen4 NVMe. The handheld will come with Windows, just like its predecessor and its much larger sibling. Hall effect analogue sticks and triggers will be common between the Blaze 8 and 11. It is a bit surprising that Acer decided not to go for AMD Z2 Extreme, which is said to be more efficient. The battery is also a disappointing 55Wh. The handheld will retail for around $899 (R77,767.55).

Nintendo Switch 2

Nintendo revealed that a new Switch was coming our way. It will be bigger than the previous Switch, with a larger screen and controller. While the hardware specifications are not yet revealed, there is speculation that the Switch will feature a new chip capable of PS4-grade visuals. More details will officially be out in April later this year.

Acer Nitro Blaze 11

The Acer Nitro Blaze 11 is ridiculous. It's like a handheld made for giant hands. With a whopping 11-inch screen, it is by far, the largest handheld to launch yet. The screen has a resolution of 2560x1600, a refresh rate of 120Hz, and 500 nits of brightness. It's powered by the AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS but has only 16GB of RAM, and the hard drive is a Gen 4 NVMe 2TB. The controls on the device can be detached and used as a separate controller similar to the original Lenovo Legion Go, but this is still too massive to be comfortable while gaming. The device could retail for around $1099 (Rs 95,058.51).

Lenovo Legion Go S

The Lenovo Legion Go S is the cheapest model on this list, retailing at just $499.99 (R43,248.89), and part of the reason is that it will come with Steam OS out of the box. You can still buy a Windows 11 version by paying $729.99 (R63,131.10), but why would you? What you get for this is - an 8-inch screen 120Hz touchscreen, 32GB RAM, 1TB storage and a 55Whr battery. While it doesn't feature the latest processor, opting for an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme, this previous-gen processor is capable of playing a lot of games out of the box.

Lenovo Legion Go 2

This is the one everyone was waiting for; in the last generation, if there was a competitor to the ROG Ally X, it was the Lenovo Legion Go. With the second iteration of this product, Lenovo has gone with the AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme and has packed in 32GB of RAM and a 1TB hard drive. The screen is a big 8.8-inch Full HD touchscreen with 144Hz refresh. The resolution is much lower than the previous generation, but this is a good thing, not a bad one. The device features an adequate 74Wh battery, which should be enough for at least four hours of gaming. So far, the Go 2 seems to be a worthy successor to the original. There is no pricing as the device is still in prototype.