Acer Predator Atlas 8 Handheld Packs Intel's New Arc G-Series Panther Lake Chips
Acer is one of the first out of the gate with a gaming handheld designed around Intel's new Arc G-Series system-on-chip (SoC) silicon. The Arc G-Series is basically Panther Lake optimized for handhelds, and it is what underpins Acer's new Predator Atlas 8. There are two main variants, one with an Arc G3 Extreme chip and another with a regular Arc G3 inside.
"With the Predator Atlas 8, we are
combining the Predator design philosophy with the power of the new Intel Arc G-Series
processors to blur the lines between gaming PC and handheld performance. From the Predator
AeroBlade cooling system to PredatorSense to the adaptive trigger controls, every element of
this handheld is curated to give gamers maximum control over their own experiences, wherever
they choose to play," says Jerry Kao, COO at Acer.
It starts with the graphics. The Arc G-Series packages up Battlemage for the handheld sector, with the Arc G3 Extreme wielding integrated Arc B390 graphics and the standard Arc G3 featuring Arc B370 graphics. Both support real-time ray tracing and Intel's AI-enhanced XeSS 3 upscaling.
As the model name implies, the Predator Atlas 8 sports an 8-inch display. In this case, it's a WUXGA (1920x1200, 16:10 aspect ratio) panel with a 120Hz refresh rate, 10-point multi-touch, variable refresh rate support, and 500 nits of brightness. It's covered with Gorilla Glass Victus with DXC for scratch protection and to reduce glare.
Other cores specs include up to 24GB of LPDDR5X-7467 memory and up to a 1TB PCIe 4.0 solid state drive (full-size M.2 2280 form factor).
The standard creature comforts of a handheld are here, including dual thumbsticks, a circular D-pad,, A-B-X-Y buttons, a view button, a menu button, a power button with built-in fingerprint sensor, volume up/down buttons, L2/R2 Hall-effect analog triggers, L/R macro buttons, and adjustable L/R trigger switches. In addition, users will also find an Xbox Game Bar Widget button and PredatorSense button.
Ports include dual Thunderbolt 4, a 3.5mm combo audio jack, and a microSD card reader. On the wireless side, the handheld is kitted with Intel Killer Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4. And for audio, there are dual 2W speakers.
Acer's Predator Atlas 8 with the Arc G3 Extreme also packs a capacious 80 Wh battery. Combined with Intel's Panther Lake silicon, the company is claiming "exceptional battery life," though it hasn't actually made any specific battery life claims yet. The version with the Arc G3, meanwhile, features a 60 Wh battery.
Look for the Predator Atlas 8 to hit retail this October in North America, EMEA, and Australia. Pricing has not yet been announced.
