New Zotac Zone handheld tipped to arrive with AMD Ryzen AI 300 series chip and faster RAM

Zotac officially confirmed it would launch a new gaming handheld at CES 2025. It is slated to be an upgraded version of the Zotac Zone launched earlier this year at Computex. Videocardz has now sourced some additional information about the console.

The new Zotac Zone will supposedly launch with an unspecified Ryzen AI 300 series chip. That leaves us with four contenders: Ryzen AI 9 HX 375, Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, Ryzen AI 9 365 and Ryzen AI 7 350. It probably won't be the first because it is fundamentally the second with a slightly faster NPU. A Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 powered Zotac Zone would a solid upgrade over the Hawk Point-based original, but it will almost certainly come with a corresponding price bump.

Apart from the upgraded (and more expensive) Strix Point silicon, its upgraded RAM (likely LPDDR5X-8000) and storage will definitely drive up its asking price. The original Zotac Zone was already pretty expensive at $799, and Zotac may have to make some compromises to keep the new model's price competitive. It will square off against the likes of Lenovo's Legion Go S and yet-to-be-determined AMD Ryzen Z2 and Ryzen Z2 Extreme-powered handhelds.