The fourth quarter of 2025 promises to be busy for the portable PC market. The ROG Ally and Legion Go 2 will be joined by a new competitor — the Zotac Zone Pro.
ZOTAC has introduced the Zone Pro portable PC. The device debuted at Gamescom 2025 and became the company's first handheld to ship with Manjaro Linux by default. Prototypes were previously shown at CES and Computex, but now the console has received its final name and specifications.
The model is based on the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor — a 12-core chip with Zen 5c architecture and a built-in neural processor (NPU). The graphics are represented by an integrated Radeon 890M with 16 RDNA 3.5 blocks. The configuration includes 32 GB of LPDDR5X-7500 RAM and a 1 TB solid-state drive. Other memory options have not been announced.
The Zone Pro features a 7-inch AMOLED display with Full HD resolution, a 120 Hz refresh rate, and a brightness of up to 800 nits. Interfaces include two USB4 ports, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.2. The device also has a front-facing camera, a 3.5 mm audio jack, two trackpads, macro keys, and a six-axis gyroscope. The sticks are built on the Hall effect. The battery has a capacity of 48.5 Wh, which is significantly less than its competitors and may affect the device's popularity.
However, the focus on Manjaro Linux is due to cooperation with Manjaro GmbH and the higher energy efficiency of the system compared to Windows. Devices will ship with this OS by default. A version with Windows 11 was also demonstrated at the exhibition stands, but it is not yet known whether a configuration with a pre-installed system from Microsoft will go on sale.
According to PC Games Hardware, the new model provides a 15–20% performance increase compared to the previous ZOTAC Zone on Ryzen 7 8840U. At the same time, the dimensions and weight remained approximately the same — 310 × 135 × 40 mm and 692 grams.
The ZOTAC Zone Pro is expected to be released in October 2025. The cost has not yet been disclosed, but the company will likely focus on competitors — including the ROG Ally from ASUS, the Legion Go 2 from Lenovo, and the Claw 8 AI+ from MSI. All three, except MSI, are targeting releases in the fourth quarter, which promises a busy battle for audience attention.
