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Zotac's Computex 2025 booth has a beautiful handheld for showcase, pairing a 7-inch AMOLED panel with AMD's powerful Ryzen AI HX 370 APU from the Strix Point family. Breaking from Windows and SteamOS, Zotac has opted for Manjaro Linux as the Operating System. The handheld is currently called Zone 2, but its final name, pricing, and availability are still unconfirmed.
Zotac's original Zone 1 handheld debuted in September last year. It is powered by AMD's last-generation Ryzen 7 8840U, introduced in December 2023. Zotac has clearly been on a slower release schedule compared to the competition. Initially revealed at CES in January, Zotac has once again showcased the expected follow-up to the Zone 1 at Computex. Their representative confirmed that the "Zone 2" designation isn't final, but that's what it will likely be called, with an expected launch window sometime later this year.
The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 APU powering this handheld features a 12-core (4x Zen 5 + 8x Zen 5c) layout, the Radeon 890M (12 CUs) iGPU, along with a 50 TOPS capable NPU. While other alternatives are sticking to the handheld-focused and conservative Ryzen Z2 Extreme, Zotac is choosing the faster and potentially more expensive option. 24/32GB LPDDR5x memory options complement this with a 1TB PCIe 4.0 (M.2 2280) SSD that is user-upgradeable.
One of the most important highlights is the 7-inch 1080p AMOLED touch display, offering a 120 Hz refresh rate, 800-nits peak brightness, and support for HDR. Similar to the Nintendo Switch, Zotac has equipped this handheld with a built-in kickstand to meet your tabletop gaming requirements. It sports two touchpads, hall-effect joysticks and triggers (dual-stage adjustable), along with a radial dial beneath the joysticks.
The handheld is powered by an immutable version of Manjaro Linux, featuring the KDE Plasma 6 desktop environment, similar to Valve's SteamOS. The device will likely use Proton for game compatibility, which means it will face the same anti-cheat limitations in multiplayer games as other Steam-based systems. Though other titles should work without any hiccups, similar to the Steam Deck. You do have the option to switch to Windows, or any other Operating System for that matter.
Backed by a 48.5Wh Li-ion battery, the system offers a similar playtime to the original Zone 1. For I/O, you get a UHS-II microSD slot, a 3.5mm jack, and several USB4 (40 Gbps) ports. Wireless connectivity is provided by WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 options. At the back, we can spot two additional buttons, toggles for the dual-stage triggers, and a mesh-style design for heat dissipation. You can expect more details leading up to Zotac's global launch, whenever it happens.
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