Computex 2026 – First Look at the New Acer Predator Atlas 8 Gaming Handheld
Amid the slew of new laptops and other unique offerings spread across Acer’s booth at Computex 2026 was arguably their most interesting offering or gamers – the Predator Atlas 8 gaming handheld.
To my chagrin, the dfisplay stand which had a set of Acer’s latest gaming handhelds attracted a steady queue of visitors at almost all hours of the day when I dropped by the Acer booth and it was only on the last day of the show that I managed to get a hands-on with the Predator Atlas 8.
To be fair, Acer isn’t the first to throw their hat into the gaming handheld arena but the Predator Atlas 8 looks to be a well-considered first attempt at a gaming handheld.
What is the Predator Atlas 8?
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For the uninitiated, the Predator Atlas 8 is Acer’s latest gaming handheld that features an 8-inch WUXGA 120Hz touchscreen with a tall 16:10 aspect ratio and 500 nits peak brightness. The display is also protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus with DXC for improved scratch protection and glare reduction.
Powering the Predator Atlas 8 is either an Intel Arc G3 Extreme processor with Intel Arc B390 graphics or a slightly more affordable Intel Arc G3 processor with Intel Arc B370 integrated graphics.
This is paired with up to 24GB LPDDR5X RAM and up to a 1TB SSD. Connectivity and IO are comprehensive with a pair of Thunderbolt 4 ports, a microSD card reader and a 3.5mm audio jack along with fast Intel Killer WIFI 7 and Bluetooth 5.4. Keeping the handheld juiced is an 80Wh battery.
The controls offer the full ensemble including the customary D-pad, a pair of full-sized analogue sticks, a quartet of buttons up top, left and right shoulder triggers as well as macro buttons.
Handling ergonomics and first impressions
As first impressions go, the Predator Atlas 8 looks and feels hefty with refined ergonomics, featuring rounded corners and the placement of the analog sticks and buttons allowed for comfortable access without having to readjust my grip during gaming sessions.
Due to a limited amount of time, I ran the default game on test – Forza Horizon 6 to get an idea what the Intel Arc G3 Extreme and its Intel Arc B390 graphics were capable of. In the brief demo session, Forza Horizon 6 appeared to run smoothly at High settings with ray tracing enabled and I did not notice any obvious stuttering. The chassis also remained comfortable to hold during the roughly ten minutes I spent with the device.
While the Predator Atlas 8 does have a pair of 2W speakers, it was a bit hard to hear over the cacophony and background noise around the booth area. Hopefully once we get our hands on an actual Predator Atlas 8 review sample we can test how its speaker actually fares.
The controls along with the touchscreen felt smooth, fast and responsive with the shoulder triggers and analog buttons within easy reach. Much like other competing handhelds, Acer has included their PredatorSense app over Windows 11 that helps to manage system settings and games in an easy fashion.
Predator Atlas 8 availability
It’s still early days but the Predator Atlas 8 looks like an extremely promising handheld from our short time with it on the Acer showroom floor at Computex 2026.
However, there’s no news on pricing and when or if it will enter Malaysia in the near future. We’ll keep you posted on updates the moment we get them!.