For the last few years, PC gamers on the go have had a choice: Buy a gaming laptop, or pick up one of the many Steam Deck–inspired handhelds that are a fraction of the size but a lot less versatile. Acer's latest concept device, Project DualPlay Mini, is an attempt to upend that dichotomy by sticking a keyboard in a handheld.
The DualPlay Mini is first and foremost a Windows gaming handheld, cut from the same cloth as Acer's existing Predator Atlas 8 (which is being joined this week by a new 7-inch model). In its default configuration, the handheld's screen is flanked by analog sticks, a D-pad, and Xbox-style ABXY face buttons, plus two triggers on each shoulder. But the DualPlay Mini's “flip-and-swivel design†allows you to flip the device open and swivel the screen round to instead line it up with a compact, backlit mini keyboard.
With a dinky little 8-inch screen, I'm not sure the DualPlay Mini would ever become anyone's primary work device, unless they intended to make heavy use of its ability to connect to an external screen. But it might be just enough to make it a useful backup option while traveling, letting you bring one device instead of two. The option to play keyboard-friendly PC games on a device the size of a Steam Deck is an obvious appeal too.
Since the DualPlay Mini is strictly a concept, with no plans for a retail release, Acer hasn't gone into much detail on the specs inside it so far. It's powered by an Intel chip and uses a similar dual-fan cooling design to the Predator Atlas 8 — with one metal fan and one plastic — though the blades on the metal element are thinner than before. A pair of USB-C ports sit on the back, with Thunderbolt support on one.
It's unclear if Acer will ever release a real product with anything like the DualPlay Mini's design, but I'll be seeing all of Acer's new IFA hardware this week, and I'm hoping for a chance to get my hands on the DualPlay Mini to see if the concept has legs.
