Following a vague teaser last week, Zotac Zone handheld details are finally popping up thanks to Computex 2024. Not only have tech journalists across the board managed to get their hands on the would-be Steam Deck OLED rival, but it’s seemingly set to arrive in September for $800.
The Zotac Zone might be in for a shock when it reaches the best gaming handheld battlefield, as it’s now full of combatants. The Steam Deck OLED still stands in the center, swatting away rivals like Sauron at the start of The Lord of the Rings. However, in that nerdy metaphor, Valve’s pricing keeps it in the fight, as the Zone and existing soldiers like the Asus ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go pack more punch.
It’s still early days for the Zotac Zone, but with publications like Geeknetic reporting from Computex that the handheld will come in at $800, I’m now considering the state of the battlefield. At the moment, I’ve got no real gripes with that price tag, especially since the portable will rock a 120Hz AMOLED display, dual touchpads, hall-effect joysticks, and a beefy Ryzen 7 8840U APU. What I am a little concerned about is the lack of competition at Valve’s end of the pricing scale, as it could result in the handheld scene becoming less financially approachable.
But hey, the Zotac Zone does look to be an impressive handheld, and there are plenty of videos and pictures emerging that reveal all. In a rundown shared by PCWorld, we get a pretty close look at the portable’s physical traits, including its symmetrical stick layout, broader body, and clicky D-pad. The overall design gives souped-up Steam Deck vibes, which might make it a great device to jump to from Valve’s platform.
It’s worth noting that the Zotac Zone at Computex is an engineering sample, so some design traits could change before its supposed September release date. That said, there are a few spec decisions that are likely to stick, like the fact it’ll use a fairly standard 48.5Wh battery and 16GB LPDDR5 RAM. That might leave you questioning why you’d buy the Zone over the ROG Ally X, feeding into my cravings for handhelds that come at least a bit closer price-wise to the Steam Deck.
Sure, the original Ally still fulfills that role, but you won’t find many others battling it out in the sub-$500 ring. If Valve decides that the next Steam Deck should also attend the premium party, we could end up with no portable PC options sitting alongside the Nintendo Switch 2. All of that doesn’t mean the Zotac Zone won’t provide an excellent handheld experience, but I reckon we’ll need some cheaper options to emerge soon before the whole scene becomes laptop levels of expensive.
Already own Valve’s handheld? Swing by the best Steam Deck accessories and best Steam Deck dock for handy add-ons. Alternatively, take a peek at the best gaming laptops for something more powerful.
