The future of gaming handhelds is about to get a significant boost, thanks to AMD’s upcoming Ryzen Z2 Extreme APU. This next-gen chip, featuring Zen 5 and RDNA 3.5 cores, promises to elevate both performance and battery life for devices from major manufacturers like ASUS and Lenovo.
Current handheld gaming devices hover around entry-level desktop performance, but AMD’s new technology aims to push these boundaries. During IFA 2024, several companies made big announcements. Acer unveiled its new Nitro 7 handheld, which, for now, will run on AMD’s Ryzen 7 8840HS, built on Zen 4 and RDNA 3 architecture.
The real game-changer, however, will be the Ryzen Z2 Extreme APU, set to launch in early 2025. During a Q&A session, AMD’s Senior VP Jack Huynh emphasized that enhancing both performance and battery life is a top priority. He envisions gaming sessions lasting up to three hours on graphically demanding titles like “Black Myth: Wukong.”
Currently, most handhelds struggle to sustain such gameplay duration. The Ryzen Z2 Extreme, with its hybrid combination of Zen 5 and Zen 5c cores, promises to change that. Initial specs suggest an 8-core design split between 3 Zen 5 and 5 Zen 5c cores. A standard Z2 APU is also expected, likely a rebranding of the Ryzen 8040U “Hawk Point” APUs.
ASUS ROG Ally/X and Lenovo Legion Go, currently utilizing the Z1 Extreme chip, are expected to adopt the Z2 Extreme APU in their 2025 models. Other brands like Zotac and Antec, which use AMD’s Zen 4-based APUs, may also jump on the Z2 Extreme bandwagon. The competition will heat up further with Intel’s Lunar Lake-based devices like the MSI CLAW 8, also slated for a 2025 release.
The advancement in AMD’s APU technology, paired with the efforts of numerous manufacturers, signifies a bright future for handheld gaming. These new devices promise to deliver modern titles at higher frame rates, edging closer to the performance of mid-range desktop computers.
Here’s a quick overview of the anticipated specs for next-gen gaming handheld SoCs:
– **Intel Lunar Lake**: 8 cores/8 threads, TSMC N3B process, max clock of 5.1 GHz, 12 MB cache, TDP range of 8-30W, Xe2 GPU architecture with 8 Xe-cores.
– **AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme**: 8 cores/16 threads, likely TSMC N4 process, exact max clocks TBD, 16 MB cache, TDP range of 9-30W, RDNA 3.5 GPU architecture with 12 CUs.
– **AMD Ryzen Z2**: 8 cores/16 threads, TSMC N4 process, max clock of 5.1 GHz (tentative), 16 MB cache, TDP range of 9-30W, RDNA 3 GPU architecture with 12 CUs.
As these cutting-edge chips make their way into new handhelds in early 2025, gaming on the go is poised to become more thrilling and accessible than ever before.
