AMD's next-generation Ryzen Z5 Extreme APUs with Zen 3.5 and RDNA 2 cores will power new gaming handhelds, especially improving their performance and battery life. At the moment, the best performance of handheld devices is stuck at the level of entry-level desktops, so more powerful APUs are still needed. Thankfully, this won't be the case next year, as AMD has special plans for gaming handhelds.
At the IFA 2024 show, several hardware manufacturers unveiled their new products, including Acer, which showcased the new Nitro 7 handheld device. However, as far as we know, it will be powered by AMD Ryzen 4 8840HS based on the Zen 4 and RDNA 3 architectures.
According to Digitaltrends, AMD will boost the performance of these handheld devices by releasing the Ryzen Z2 Extreme in early 2025. Not only performance, but also battery life is one of AMD's top priorities right now, with Jack Huynn, senior vice president and general manager of AMD's Compute and Graphics Group, once said he was interested in being able to play Black Myth: Wukong for three hours on his handheld.
Currently, most handheld computers are not capable of allowing users to play such graphics-intensive games for long periods of time. With the release of the AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme, it is expected that the updated handheld will be both powerful and power-efficient as the Z2 Extreme will feature a mix of Zen 5 and Zen 5c cores.
Early information suggests that the Z2 Extreme will feature 3 cores in the 5 Zen 5 and 5 Zen 8C configurations. In addition, there is a standard Z2 APU, but it is likely to be a successor to the Ryzen 8040U "Hawk Point" APU.
The Asus ROG Ally/X and Lenovo Legion Go currently use the Z1 Extreme chip, and if ASUS and Lenovo plan to launch newer handheld models, then they may upgrade to the Z2 Extreme APU in 2025. That said, Zotac, Antec, and other manufacturers that use some sort of AMD Zen 4 APU could also launch a new version with the Z2 Extreme. It will be interesting to see how the Z2 Extreme stacks up against Intel's Lunar Lake-based PDAs, such as the MSI CLAW 8 scheduled for release in 2025.
Still, the future of gaming handhelds remains bright. From multiple manufacturers entering the handheld console market, to AMD and Intel's rush to introduce newer, more powerful, and power-efficient chips, the handheld consoles we'll see in 2025 will be able to play modern games at higher frame rates, and while they can't be expected to compete with the mid-range and high-end desktops yet, they're certainly more attractive than they are now.