ZONE has AMOLED screen and AMD’s Ryzen 8000 processor
ZOTAC launches preorders for its first gaming handheld.
The rumors were unfortunately true: the ZOTAC ZONE gaming handheld is launching at a premium price of $799. This is the same price as the ROG Ally X, and both devices feature similar APUs. The Ally, however, comes with more memory (24GB vs. 16GB) and larger default storage (1TB vs. 512GB). But ZOTAC is the only premium handheld featuring an AMOLED screen. So, is this feature worth the price? That’s hard to say because the preorder went live without any reviews. This, of course, raises concerns about the device, and as always, we would never recommend preordering something that hasn’t been tested.
ZONE handheld, Source: ZOTAC
The ZONE is equipped with the Ryzen 7 8840U, a Hawk Point APU offering specs identical to Phoenix silicon, except for NPU performance. The fact that this product uses AMD’s official SKU means users will have fewer concerns about driver updates. For Ryzen Z1-based systems, drivers are provided by OEMs, but ZOTAC ZONE users will only need to worry about official app updates, with drivers managed by AMD. ZOTAC even mentions that the device will support Fluid Motion Frames and FidelityFX Super Resolution at launch. This wasn’t the case with the Ally and Go systems.
The APU has 8 cores and boosts up to 5.1 GHz. More importantly, it uses Radeon 780M graphics with 12 Compute Units based on RDNA3 architecture. Of course, the elephant in the room is the just-launched Strix Point APU, which offers up to 16 RDNA 3.5 CUs, but so far, none of the larger brands have even teased the possibility of launching a new gaming handheld with such specs. Perhaps everyone is waiting for AMD to announce the Ryzen Z2 series.
ZONE handheld, Source: ZOTAC
The device comes with 16GB LPDDR5X-7500 memory and 512GB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0×4 storage. This appears to be the only option available. Users will also have access to UHS-II microSD card expansion should they need additional storage.
The standout feature of this handheld is obviously the screen. It is the only premium system with an AMOLED display, featuring a 7-inch screen size, 1080p resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and an impressive 800 nits peak brightness. The device also includes hall effect triggers, dual touchpads, and dual USB4 ports.
ZONE handheld, Source: ZOTAC
This product should soon be available for preorder at $799. We couldn’t find any listing with the product yet, but rest assured, it is officially launching at Gamescom which starts in 2 days, so perhaps we need to wait a day or two.
| Handheld Gaming Consoles Specs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VideoCardz | ZOTAC ZONE 🆕 | ASUS ROG Ally X | ASUS ROG Ally 2023 | Lenovo Legion Go |
| Picture |  |  |  |  |
| Architecture | AMD Zen4 & RDNA3 | AMD Zen4 & RDNA3 | AMD Zen4 & RDNA3 | AMD Zen4 & RDNA3 |
| APU | AMD Ryzen 7 8840U 8C/16T up to 5.1 GHz | Ryzen Z1 Extreme 8C/16T up to 5.1 GHz | Ryzen Z1 Extreme 8C/16T up to 5.1 GHz or Ryzen Z1 6C/12T up to 4.9 GHz | Ryzen Z1 Extreme 8C/16T up to 5.1 GHz or Ryzen Z1 6C/12T up to 4.9 GHz |
| SoC GPU | AMD iGPU 12CU @ 2.7 GHz | AMD iGPU 12CU @ 2.7 GHz | AMD iGPU 12CU @ 2.7 GHz [Z1E] 4CU @ 2.5 GHz [Z1] | AMD iGPU 12CU @ 2.7 GHz [Z1E] 4CU @ 2.5 GHz [Z1] |
| External GPU | USB4 | USB4 | ROG XG Mobile (up to RTX 4090) | USB4 |
| Memory Capacity | 16GB LPDDR5X-7500 | 24GB LPDDR5X-7500 | 16GB LPDDR5-6400 | 16GB LPDDR5X-7500 |
| Storage Capacity | 512GB | 1TB | 512GB | 1TB/512GB |
| Storage Type | M.2 NVMe 2280 SSD PCIe4x4 | M.2 NVMe 2280 SSD PCIe4x4 | M.2 NVMe 2230 SSD PCIe4x4 | M.2 NVMe 2242 SSD PCIe4x4 |
| Display | 7″ 1080p AMOLED 120Hz, 800 nits | 7″ 1080p, 120Hz, 500 nits, 7ms, VRR | 7″ 1080p, 120Hz, 500 nits, 7ms, VRR | 8.8″1600P IPS, 144Hz, 500 nits |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6E, BT 5.2 | Wi-Fi 6E, BT 5.2 | Wi-Fi 6E, BT 5.2 | Wi-Fi 6E, BT 5.2 |
| Battery | 48.5 Wh | 80 Wh | 40 Wh | 49.2 Wh, 900 mAh |
| Weight | < 700g | 678g | 608g | 854g |
| Dimensions (L×W×H) | 31.0 × 13.5 × 4.0 cm | 28.0 × 11.4 × 3.7 cm | 28.0 × 11.7 × 3.2 cm | 29.9 × 13.1 × 4.1 cm |
| Default OS | Windows 11 | Windows 11 | Windows 11 | Windows 11 |
| Retail Price | $799 | $799 | $699/€799 [Z1E] $599/€699 [Z1] | $749 [Z1E+1TB] $699/€799 [1E+512GB] |
| Release Date | August 2024 | June 2024 | June 2023 [Z1E] September 2023 [Z1] | October 31, 2023 |
Source: ZOTAC