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The Zotac Zone is a 7.0 inch 16:9 Windows handheld that plays everything up to PS3 well. It came out in October 2024 at $799. Inside is the AMD Ryzen 7 8840U with 16 GB of RAM.
Who it's for
Buy it if
- You want to play everything up to PS3.
- You want a 7.0 inch screen and carry it in a bag or a jacket.
Skip it if
- You only play up to PS1: handhelds under $60 do that.
Zotac Zone videos
What it plays
Plays up to: PS3. Chip: AMD Ryzen 7 8840U.
Scores out of 100. 100 means the system runs at full speed with no known issues on this device. 80 or more plays well (green), 50 to 79 plays partly (yellow).
What the specs mean
16:9 screen
PSP and Switch games fill it. 4:3 home consoles show bars at the sides, and Game Boy games look small.
Based on: Display math: native screen shapes of each system
Sharpest fit: GBA
At 6x, GBA fills 67% of the screen with even pixels. Filling the rest means stretching, which some people smooth with a filter.
Based on: Display math: largest whole-number scale that fits the screen
Same chip as 4 other handhelds
The AMD Ryzen 7 8840U also powers the AYANEO Flip DS, AYANEO Flip KB, GPD Win Mini 2024, OneXPlayer X1 Mini. The same chip means similar speed, though memory and cooling can differ.
Based on: Our handheld database (chip field)
D-pad on top, sticks below
The d-pad has the natural thumb spot, which suits 2D games. In 3D games your thumb lives on the lower stick.
Based on: Layout data (d-pad placement)
DS on one screen
DS games show both screens shrunk side by side, or one big screen you swap. The touch screen stands in for the stylus.
Based on: Layout data: single screen with touch
Rating
How we score: what it plays 30%, how many players own and recommend it 20%, screen 15%, price compared with handhelds that play as much 10%, controls 10%, size and weight 10%, battery size for its chip 5%.
Good
- Plays everything up to PS3 well
- AMOLED screen with deep blacks
- 120 Hz screen
- Hall effect sticks, so no stick drift
- Video out to a TV
Not so good
- High-end price
- Small 48.5 mAh battery
Screen fit
Screen: 7.0 inch, AMOLED, 16:9, 1920 x 1080.
| System | Original | Sharpest scale | Screen filled |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game Boy | 160 x 144 | 7x (1120 x 1008) | 54% |
| GBA | 240 x 160 | 6x (1440 x 960) | 67% |
| NES and SNES | 256 x 224 | 4x (1024 x 896) | 44% |
| Genesis | 320 x 224 | 4x (1280 x 896) | 55% |
| PS1 and N64 | 320 x 240 | 4x (1280 x 960) | 59% |
| DS, one screen | 256 x 192 | 5x (1280 x 960) | 59% |
| PSP | 480 x 272 | 3x (1440 x 816) | 57% |
Whole-number scales keep every pixel the same size. Screen 1920 x 1080.
Size
310 x 135 x 40 mm. Too big for a jeans pocket
- Zotac Zone (310 x 135 mm)
- iPhone 15 (71.6 x 147.6 mm)
True scale, front view. Jeans pocket = front no bigger than an iPhone 15 Pro Max in a case (160 x 82 mm).
Specs
| Performance | |
|---|---|
| Chip | AMD Ryzen 7 8840U |
| CPU | AMD Zen 4 |
| Cores | 8 |
| Clock speed | 3.3 GHz - 5.1 GHz |
| GPU | AMD Radeon 780M |
| RAM | 16 GB LPDDR5X |
| Cooling | Yes |
| Screen | |
| Size | 7.0" |
| Type | AMOLED |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz |
| Pixel density | 314 ppi |
| Aspect ratio | 16:9 |
| Touch screen | Yes |
| Dual screen | No |
| Controls | |
| D-pad | Disc, Upper placement |
| Analog sticks | Yes |
| Stick layout | Double, symetrical |
| Hall effect sticks | Yes |
| L3 / R3 | Yes |
| Shoulder buttons | Stacked |
| Analog triggers | Yes |
| Gyroscope | Yes |
| Connectivity | |
| Storage | 512 GB M.2 2280 SSD |
| SD card | Yes |
| Wi-Fi | Yes (6e) |
| Bluetooth | Yes (5.2) |
| USB-C | Yes |
| Video out | Yes |
| Headphone jack | Yes |
| Build | |
| Form factor | Horizontal |
| Dimensions | 310 x 135 x 40 mm |
| Battery | 48.5 Wh |
| Shell | Plastic |
| Speakers | Bottom |
| Software | |
| Operating system | Windows |
| Windows version | 11 |
Questions
Can the Zotac Zone play PS2 games?
Yes. PS2 scores 100 out of 100 on our emulation scale.
Is the Zotac Zone good for GBA?
GBA runs at full speed. At 6x it fills 67% of the screen with even pixels.
Does it have a headphone jack?
Yes.
How big is the battery?
48.5 mAh. The middle Windows handheld in our database has 65 mAh.
Can it connect to a TV?
Yes, it has video out.
How much does the Zotac Zone cost?
It launched at about $799 in Oct 2024. Prices on the used market change, so check current listings.
Price and newer models
$799 at launch $250 and up
The newest in its line in our database, out since Oct 2024.
Similar handhelds
Specs and emulation scores from the retrocatalog.com handheld database. The score out of 10 is our own.