[Gamescom] Zotac launches its Zone portable PC console

Here’s a piece of news that further confirms that something is happening with portable PC consoles. Zotac made its Zone console official at Gamescom. The features of this new console are both interesting and disturbing. First and foremost, there’s a 7″ AMOLED Full HD 120 Hz screen, whose main argument is its excellent 800 nits brightness. There are also Hall-effect triggers, analog joysticks and touchpads. A choice that brings the ergonomics of this console closer to the Steam Deck than to Asus or MSI. Where you might think there’s a difference is in the composition of the machine’s hardware. Unlike Asus or Lenovo, Zotac has decided to equip it with the AMD Ryzen 8840U processor, which integrates a Radeon 780M graphics card… In fact, it’s very similar to the Rog Ally X, albeit with a lower TDP. To complete the picture, we have the right to 16 GB of LPDDR5X-7500 memory (perhaps a little low), two Thunderbolt 4 ports and the possibility of using standard-size M.2 2280 SSDs. Battery capacity is 48.5 Wh (compared with 80 Wh on the ROG Ally X).

While Asus and MSI are stepping up promotions on their consoles, Zotac has set a rather high price for this launch. Priced at €849 ($799 in the U.S.), the Zotac Zone is directly opposite the ROG Ally X (€899). It’s hard to say whether its ergonomics and screen quality will do enough to compete with the aforementioned giants.

In the meantime, here’s a summary of what’s on the market with the arrival of this new Zotac Zone: