AMD Ryzen Z2 A: CPU for the upcoming budget Steam Deck

Fans of the Steam Deck handheld gaming consoles should take note of new information. It has been confirmed that the recently announced processor AMD Ryzen Z2 A, designed for portable gaming devices, is the same chip that was previously known under the codename "Aerith Plus." The latter was mentioned in leaks as the processor designation for the next generation of Steam Deck. Since the Ryzen Z2 A is the most budget model in the new AMD Ryzen Z2 chip line, indicating a high probability of release a more affordable version of Steam Deck in future.

The Ryzen Z2 A, like the current Steam Deck processor, uses the Zen 2 (CPU) and RDNA 2 (GPU). It features 4 cores and 8 threads, operates in a thermal design power (TDP) range of 6 to 20 W, and is capable of reaching a boost frequency of up to 3.8 GHz.

While the Ryzen Z2 A is positioned as an entry-level chip, its inclusion in the lineup hints at AMD's strategy to target different price points in the portable console market. Confirmation of the identity with "Aerith Plus" was obtained thanks to the match of the Ryzen Z2 A product code (100-000001835) with entries in NBD shipping manifests. Some modern portable consoles, such as the Xbox Rog Ally, already use this processor. The Ryzen Z2 lineup also includes a more powerful Ryzen AI Z2 chip Extreme, designed for high-performance devices and equipped with a neural processing unit (NPU) for artificial intelligence tasks.