Is it a laptop computer? Is it a pill? Is it a gaming handheld? No, it’s simply the brand new GPD Pocket 4, and it’s a little bit of all three — though with out a lot of an emphasis on “gaming.” Unlike the Steam Deck, GPD’s new mini-PC packs a number of the newest {hardware} and will blow away its rivals.
Obviously, the shape issue of this factor is fascinating, however the AMD Zen 5 chip below the hood is equally attention-grabbing. GPD’s Pocket 4 would be the first handheld to make use of certainly one of AMD’s best processors, the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 (12 cores/24 threads) and the Radeon 890M iGPU. This ought to give it a leg up in efficiency over programs just like the ROG Ally X, particularly in relation to gaming.
Aside from efficiency positive aspects, although, the gadget comes outfitted with an 8.8-inch 2,560 by 1,600 touchscreen with a 144Hz refresh charge that may attain as much as 500 nits of brightness. Some of the opposite specs embody LPDDR5X RAM working at 7,500MT/s and as much as 4TB of SSD storage.
GPD additionally serves up loads of ports, together with one Type-C USB 4 port, one Type-C USB 3.2 port, and two Type-A USB ports (one 3.2 and one 2.0), in addition to one HDMI 2.1, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a microSD card reader. There’s additionally a 2.5Gbps Ethernet port for wired connections.
On its product page, GPD doesn’t place a lot emphasis on gaming, though it’s talked about right here and there in regard to system efficiency. The firm as an alternative leans into the spectacular versatility that this mini-PC serves up. The keyboard is certain to be good each for players and creatives, however there’s additionally a variety of flexibility — you should utilize the GPD Pocket 4 in laptop computer and pill modes, and the display screen can rotate as much as 180 levels. Honestly, it’s extra of a tiny 2-in-1 laptop than a gaming handheld.
As pointed out by Tom’s Hardware, there’s one caveat to think about, and it’s that the GPD Pocket 4 won’t profit from its highly effective Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor. The chip contained in the mini-PC is proscribed to twenty-eight watts; normally, the CPU can go as much as 54 watts.
Considering the small dimension of the gadget, it is sensible that the wattage can be restricted, however this additionally signifies that we will’t anticipate anyplace close to the utmost efficiency that the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 can put out at 54W. If not for this limitation, this might’ve been essentially the most highly effective gaming handheld; now, we’ll have to attend and see the way it compares to the Z1 Extreme.
It’s unclear when this gadget will hit the market or how a lot it’ll value. For now, it’s positively an attention-grabbing little gadget to think about, even when that’s all it finally ends up being.