AMD just tipped the Z2 Extreme chip for next year’s Steam Deck competitors

The AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme is nan spot wrong nan Asus ROG Ally X, Asus ROG Ally, and Lenovo Legion Go — and successful early 2025, AMD will denote its successor, nan Z2 Extreme, for early PC gaming handhelds.

That’s nan connection from Digital Trends’ Jacob Roach, who heard AMD computing and graphics leader Jack Huynh opportunity it’s targeting a 2025 merchandise connected an IFA shape successful Berlin; I conscionable confirmed pinch AMD spokesperson Stacy MacDiarmid that nan institution plans to denote it successful early 2025, though AMD’s declining to opportunity immoderate much astir it today.

The only different things we’ve heard: AMD says it’s already moving pinch aggregate partners, truthful nan spot whitethorn already beryllium successful handheld makers’ hands. And it’s astir apt based connected AMD’s Strix Point; truthful opportunity Jez Corden’s sources over astatine Windows Central.

AMD’s Huynh besides reportedly mentioned he wants to play games for illustration Black Myth: Wukong for 3 hours connected a handheld alternatively of nan existent 45 minutes — but it’s not clear whether that was conscionable an anecdote aliases a hint astatine what a Strix-based Z2 Extreme tin do.

I’m not yet judge really optimistic to beryllium astir Strix rather yet; while AMD touted nan accrued capacity of Zen 5 successful its Strix Point laptop architecture briefings, it didn’t opportunity a connection astir accrued artillery life.

While a capacity betterment tin sometimes move into a artillery life betterment by changing a spot to that end, AMD’s original Z1 Extreme was mostly conscionable a tweaked type of nan Ryzen 7840U laptop chip, 1 that really needed tons of energy to thrive.

Handhelds for illustration nan ROG Ally and Legion Go tin turbo up to 40 aliases 50 watts of full strategy drain to play games that hardly tally connected nan Steam Deck, but that meant they afloat drained their batteries successful nether an hour. They couldn’t hit nan Steam Deck’s semi-custom spot astatine 15 watts aliases get anyplace adjacent arsenic overmuch artillery life successful little demanding titles.

Eventually, nan AMD ROG Ally X brute-forced its measurement to vastly amended artillery life by doubling nan size of nan battalion inside. But possibly AMD takes a different route, and makes nan Z2 Extreme a bespoke handheld chip? That’d beryllium exciting.