In the last two years, the handheld gaming console market has been on fire. In addition to Nintendo Switch, many PC manufacturers have launched such devices with AMD and up to Intel processors. So far, ASUS, Lenovo, MSI – now Zotac has come out with its own handheld gaming console known as the Zotac ZONE. Though the device was showcased for the very first time at the Taipei Computer Show in early June this year, it has only recently been officially announced. The Zotac ZONE is the first handheld console ever to feature an AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. Since its initial unveil, the device has been shrouded in excitement and high expectations, and now finally, we can get to try it out.
What makes the Zotac ZONE unique is its AMOLED high-refresh display with a 120Hz refresh rate. This screen is much better compared to the IPS panels used in most handheld consoles, offering better brightness of as high as 800 nits to make it suitable for outdoor play.
The resolution of the screen is 1920 x 1080, while, due to the unique self-illuminating properties of AMOLED, it boasts finer details, higher brightness, and higher contrast.
In terms of performance, the Zotac ZONE features an AMD Ryzen 7 8840U processor with an AMD Radeon 780M integrated graphics card that can run most games quite decently.
Moreover, the device introduced innovations in its control layout by adding two mouse touchpads and a two-stage adjustable trigger, allowing for easy switching between long and short trigger travel for an enhanced gaming experience.
Design
The button layout of the Zotac ZONE closely resembles that of the Xbox controller, but with a few extra buttons for commonly used functions, plus support for a touchpad. The left touchpad functions as a scroll wheel, while the right one is designed for sliding.
The back of the device features a prominent hollow air inlet, with an RGB light strip above it that pulses in sync with the game. Two customizable M keys are located next to the light strip.
A retractable stand at the bottom of the console allows it to be easily propped up on a flat surface.
Equipped with a Hall-type joystick, the Zotac ZONE also has a menu key next to the directional buttons to access the in-game menu. Beneath the joystick is a touchpad that serves as a scroll wheel. Below that is the ZONE button, which provides quick access to the “ONE LAUNCHER” control suite.
Other elements
On the right side, there’s another Hall joystick, and next to the ABXY buttons, you’ll find a menu key. Below the joystick is a touchpad that functions as a cursor. The left side, under the touchpad, contains additional buttons for adjusting various parameters of the handheld, while the right side features a Home button for quick navigation back to the main desktop.
The Zotac ZONE is the first handheld gaming console to offer a two-stage adjustable trigger, allowing users to switch between long and short trigger travel with a single click. The long-stroke trigger is ideal for games that require precise control, mimicking a throttle, while the short-stroke trigger is better suited for fast-paced games that require quick reactions.
At the top of the handheld, you’ll find a headphone jack, USB4 port, volume button, power button, and an air vent.
The bottom of the device features another USB4 port, a Micro SD card slot, and includes a 65W PD Type-C GAN power adapter.
Screen and disk
Screen Test
The Zotac ZONE features a 7-inch AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 800 nits.
In comparison to IPS panels, AMOLED screens deliver superior contrast. Each pixel emits its own light, so when displaying black, individual pixels can be completely turned off, resulting in true black and infinite contrast. Moreover, since AMOLED screens don’t require a backlight, the colors appear more vibrant and pure.
One of the standout advantages of AMOLED screens is their incredibly fast response time, which helps reduce screen ghosting during gameplay, making it ideal for gaming.
Actual testing reveals that the Zotac ZONE display covers 100% of the sRGB color gamut, 94% of the Adobe RGB color gamut, and 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, making it one of the best-performing handheld game consoles available.
In terms of brightness, the screen exceeds expectations, reaching 846.1 nits at maximum brightness—higher than the advertised 800 nits—making it more than bright enough for outdoor use. The contrast ratio is an impressive 31,340:1 at full brightness, ensuring excellent visual quality.
Regarding color accuracy, the highest Delta E value is 3.41, the lowest is 0.22, and the average is 1.63, which indicates highly professional color reproduction.
Memory Bandwidth Test
Testing of the memory bandwidth reveals the following results: the read bandwidth is 59,222 MB/s, write bandwidth is 103 GB/s, and copy bandwidth is 74,538 MB/s, with a latency of 128 ns.
Ryzen 7 8840U benchmark performance test
CPU-Z
The single-core score of the Ryzen 7 8840U in CPU-Z is 665.2, with a multi-core score of 5837.4.
CineBench R15
In CineBench R15, the Ryzen 7 8840U achieves a single-core score of 257cb and a multi-core score of 2115cb.
CineBench R20
In CineBench R20, the Ryzen 7 8840U scores 644cb in single-core and 5149cb in multi-core performance.
CineBench R23
In CineBench R23, the Ryzen 7 8840U scores 1652pts in single-thread and 13279pts in multi-core.
CineBench 2024
The Ryzen 7 8840U delivers a single-thread score of 97pts and a multi-thread score of 759pts in CineBench 2024.
Chess
For chess performance, the Ryzen 7 8840U scores 71.99, with 34,556 thousand steps per second.
Battery test
PCMark 10 Battery Life Test
The Zotac ZONE comes with a 48.5Wh internal battery. For the battery life test, we used PCMark 10 in the modern office scenario, selecting the 30W performance mode, closing all other processes, and setting the screen brightness to 50%.
Although the battery isn’t very big, the Zotac ZONE did quite well and lasted 6 hours and 46 minutes in the PCMark 10 modern office scenario. For this, the low power consumption of the AMOLED screen is to blame. If one only does mobile office work with it, then the device can easily survive a whole day with one charging.
Game Battery Life Test
Battery life can be a challenge for many handheld game consoles. With the Zotac ZONE set to 40% brightness, connected to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and playing GTAV for 10 minutes at 30W power consumption, the battery drained by about 16%. Generally, a full charge would provide about an hour of gameplay.
While playing GTAV with brightness set to 40%, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connected, after 10 minutes of gameplay at 15W power consumption, the battery dropped by 10%. In total, this device provides about an hour and a half of gaming battery life.
Baking Machine Test
In AIDA64 FPU for 20 minutes, the processor’s power consumption finally stabilized at about 30W. The total power consumption of the device reached 45W and the CPU temperature reached 70°C.
The highest temperature during the stress test was 54.3°C, mainly concentrated around the air outlet, and did not affect the handle area.
Wrap up
After days of continuous testing and gaming, my experience with the Zotac ZONE has been nothing short of exceptional.
First of all, the CPU in this console is the Ryzen 7 8840U, which does a great job in gaming, with power consumption up to 30W. All the games I tried ran smoothly at frame rates between 60 and 70 fps, including several AAA titles, which positions it as one of the best-performing handheld consoles available.
The button layout on the Zotac ZONE is well thought out: there’s only one button for each direction to avoid accidental presses, and they are easy to operate with a simple touch of the finger. And, of course, there’s a touchpad that further enhances the user experience.
Where the screen is concerned, the Zotac ZONE truly shines. For a handheld console, it boasts a 120Hz AMOLED high-refresh display, peaking at 800 nits, which no other handheld console does. The display quality is really sharp and clear, providing a better user experience and color accuracy than the IPS panels. The 800 nit brightness is on par with modern smartphones, which makes it usable even outdoors.
Although the Zotac ZONE may have arrived a bit later than expected, its performance, thoughtful design, and exceptional screen make it well worth the wait. With its powerful CPU, excellent button layout, and stunning AMOLED display, the ZONE is a standout in the handheld console market and is definitely worth considering.
With more and more new products emerging, the competition in the handheld console market is becoming increasingly fierce. If you like handheld game consoles, please leave a message!
