Every hardware vendor seems to want a go at making a handheld, and now its ZOTAC jumping in with the Zone.
Teased during Computex it will come with an AMD Ryzen 7 8840U (Zen 4) and AMD Radeon 870M graphics (RDNA 3). It will also come with 2-stage adjustable triggers, hall effect joysticks and triggers, a 1920x1080 7" AMOLED multi-touch 120Hz display, a front-facing camera and even dual trackpads.
Zotac shared some images on X (formerly Twitter):
It looks pretty big. And of course, it will come with Windows. So if you want to run it on Linux, you'll need to wait for drivers to be worked on and for the likes of ChimeraOS and Bazzite to get support ready for it.
“Ever since the establishment of the ZOTAC GAMING brand, we have strived to provide an unmatched gaming experience for enthusiasts worldwide,” Said Tony Wong, Chief Executive Officer of ZOTAC. “We have made considerable efforts to raise the bar with our debut handheld, tailor-made with competitive features for all gamers.”
Valve well and truly lit a fire under everyone didn't they with the Steam Deck and Steam Deck OLED? Handheld PCs for gaming are now really becoming a bigger mainstream thing. We also had the silly-named MSI Claw 8 AI+ revealed recently too.
The ZOTAC Zone will launch in September priced reportedly around $800. So they're not even remotely trying to compete with the Steam Deck at that price. The price alone may be the biggest issue with it.
You can follow it on their store.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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I would never buy a Windows handheld. Every time you buy one, you put another sale on the list for Microsoft. All the vendors go, okay I guess we need to make Windows handheld. Microsoft gives deals to all of it's partners for cheaper Windows licenses as long as they always sell a Windows licences with their machines. With few exceptions of course. Buying devices with Windows licences are just reinforcing to these companies that their deal with Microsoft is the right choice and no money gets spent on support for any alternative operating systems.
16 Likes, Who?
It appears that ZOTAC is not aligning with the current market direction. I believe other handheld making companies will soon begin introducing updated models of their portable computers equipped with the latest Copilot+PC compatible processors, whereas ZOTAC was intending to launch their product with the previous generation 8040 CPU.
0 Likes
dziadulewicz Jun 4
Was hopeful for this to officially run Linux. Spydows 11? LOL an absolute no 
Buying few things from Steam instead then to support Valve who stands with current times and Linux.
Buying few things from Steam instead then to support Valve who stands with current times and Linux.
2 Likes, Who?
This handheld sort of reminds me of some of the prototype Steamdecks, what with the button positioning and the trackpads.
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Quote“We have made considerable efforts to raise the bar with our debut handheld, tailor-made with competitive features for all gamers.”
They have managed trackpads by the look of it, which is a significant upgrade over a lot of their competitors.
6 Likes, Who?
I am not sure the trackpads will be comfortable to use in this location.
It's interesting that they didn't go with AMD's Z series chip. This handled will probably be more powerful and use more power, though I hope they took the opportunity to include more than one USB port.
It's interesting that they didn't go with AMD's Z series chip. This handled will probably be more powerful and use more power, though I hope they took the opportunity to include more than one USB port.
1 Likes, Who?
Bwahaha, another. Lets watch them suffer.
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This Zotac handheld is about as close as you can make it look like a Steam Deck but even then, it runs Windows 11 and cost $800. I'm glad I don't fall into the temptation of buying any of these newer devices since the Steam Deck still does a pretty good job of playing most of the games I'm interested in.
0 Likes
Viesta2015 Jun 4
Quoting: nondetectIt appears that ZOTAC is not aligning with the current market direction. I believe other handheld making companies will soon begin introducing updated models of their portable computers equipped with the latest Copilot+PC compatible processors, whereas ZOTAC was intending to launch their product with the previous generation 8040 CPU.
Ah just what i needed... recall spyware on my handhelds.
2 Likes, Who?
RavenWings Jun 4
I remember having to do intense internet research in order to find a trustworthy seller to get the first GPD Win shipped from China to Germany. Now its pretty much raining devices like this everywhere you look. Great times!
This one looks a bit like the Steam Decks ugly brother, but to me its more important how it feels and performs. I appreciate the two trackpads, but going FullHD is still a bad descision on these devices IMHO. 800p is perfect with the current hardware.
This one looks a bit like the Steam Decks ugly brother, but to me its more important how it feels and performs. I appreciate the two trackpads, but going FullHD is still a bad descision on these devices IMHO. 800p is perfect with the current hardware.
3 Likes, Who?
Quoting: Viesta2015Ah just what i needed... recall spyware on my handheldsThe option to disable the Recall function is available in the Settings. And by rumors it's been available to select during the initial setup screen, at least in Europe.
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Linux_Rocks Jun 4
Zone is one letter too close to Zune for my tastes.
2 Likes, Who?
Wow the d-pad looks even worse than the horrible round d-pads you find on the other windows handhelds.
Valve really did an outstanding job with the Steam Deck.
Valve really did an outstanding job with the Steam Deck.
3 Likes, Who?
Quoting: HighballI would never buy a Windows handheld. Every time you buy one, you put another sale on the list for Microsoft. All the vendors go, okay I guess we need to make Windows handheld. Microsoft gives deals to all of it's partners for cheaper Windows licenses as long as they always sell a Windows licences with their machines. With few exceptions of course. Buying devices with Windows licences are just reinforcing to these companies that their deal with Microsoft is the right choice and no money gets spent on support for any alternative operating systems.Heres a hope Linux community is a good % of the already small % that is people who'd spend money on expensive devices like this, ud think tinkerers would buy such a device instead of a Switch.
I also hope Windows keeps ruining the experience on such devices. Deck's game mode is special - I know the OS wont make a game slower or crash due to how MINIMAL it gets.
Last edited by based on 4 June 2024 at 5:44 pm UTC
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Philadelphus Jun 4
Quoting: CatKillerAnd symmetrical thumbstick placement! Someone's finally learning the lessons from the Deck's design.Quote“We have made considerable efforts to raise the bar with our debut handheld, tailor-made with competitive features for all gamers.”
They have managed trackpads by the look of it, which is a significant upgrade over a lot of their competitors.
Quoting: MayeulCI am not sure the trackpads will be comfortable to use in this location.…though that is a consideration.
0 Likes
Mountain Man Jun 4
Too many companies making the mistake of trying to use Windows as a mobile operating system. 
2 Likes, Who?
Mohandevir Jun 4
I'll wait for the Steam Deck 2. My LCD Steam Deck is still rocking it!
2 Likes, Who?
Quoting: MayeulCI am not sure the trackpads will be comfortable to use in this location.
It's interesting that they didn't go with AMD's Z series chip. This handled will probably be more powerful and use more power, though I hope they took the opportunity to include more than one USB port.
Yeah, I have to agree, seems like they'd end up getting in the way and the thenar (area right under your thumb) would probably end up brushing against it. The D-Pad also doesn't look like it'd be particularly pleasant to use. Honestly the only positive aspect I see on this device is that they're being smart and building it with Hall effect sticks and triggers, something I cannot understand why the industry has not standardized outside of planned obsolescence.
2 Likes, Who?
Quoting: Mountain ManToo many companies making the mistake of trying to use Windows as a mobile operating system.They should be using WinCE!
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CyborgZeta Jun 4
I'll give them credit for one thing; it actually has dual trackpads.
1 Likes, Who?
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