2024 is truly shaping up towards becoming the year where many of the major brands are introducing their take on the gaming handheld, in one form or another. You’ve already seen the ASUS’ Ally X, MSI’s Claw 8 AI+ with Lunar Lake although this was just kept behind an acrylic panel, and of course, the Zotac ZONE that began leaking last week. Today, I’m taking a look at the XPG Nia, a console that honestly came out from far left field and genuinely had me asking the question “Why?” for a brief moment.
Now, I should make clear that I wasn’t allowed to touch the console, on account that it was still a prototype and delicate. As such, I just got the handler there to hold the Nia for me while I took pictures.
If there is one word I can use to describe the Nia, it’s this: slapdash. The entire handheld looks like it came fresh out of a 3D printer, and the choice of purple and white appears to pay homage to the Nintendo Cube. On the subject of 3D printing, the XPG rep did mention to me that when the console becomes available, the brand would release the 3D templates to fan who want to 3D print their own designs for the console.
At the front of the Nia, XPG has very clearly adopted the Xbox controller layout, although it’s also easy for me to just say that the button layout seems to mimic that of the ASUS ROG Ally X. What makes the handheld stand out from the crowd, though, is the display that pops up at an angle with a little push from the bottom.
Again, it’s another homage of sorts, this time to the PSPGO, but unlike that console, the display on the Nia pushes out at an angle. I see what they’re going for here in terms of gaming comfort but again, this was still a prototype and we’ll have to see if XPG will go ahead with this design. Oh, and I can confirm that it is also a touch display.
The back of the Nia, houses four back buttons, two on each side, hexagonal vents cut out on the sides, along with a kickstand that XPG has fashioned in the middle. Again, because it’s a prototype, the kickstand on handheld was flimsy and didn’t have any tension in the hinge, essentially making a very floppy piece of plastic. XPG is obviously aware of this and the rep did say that the finished product would have an improved version of that accessory.
Ports on the Nia was also limited. By my count, all the I/Os were located at the top – the 3.5mm jack, the USB-C port that XPG didn’t specify if it was 3.2 or USB4, and the power button. And nope, there was no microSD card slot. At this point, I asked XPG if it even planned on having said slot present, but never really got a straight answer about it.
As for the internal specs of the Nia, the only thing XPG would reveal to me is that the gaming handheld would be using an AMD Hawk Point APU, which is a Ryzen 8000 Series mobile processor. Which SKU exactly is still unknown, along with its memory and storage capacity.
At this point, the only other question would be whether or not Adata and XPG intends to bring the Nia into Malaysia. In my professional opinion, it’s going to be a tough market, especially since the brand would be going up against stiff competition, the Ally X and Lenovo Legion Go being prime examples, with the former console expected to be the popular option, especially since the Steam Deck isn’t officially available in the country.
