Acer claims it has no business relationship with a company that designed the same gaming handheld PC 8 months earlier.

Acer's new "AI-powered", handheld gaming PC Nitro Blaze 7 is not very original in terms of specs, we have pointed out before, but this may also apply to the design and build.

According to tech YouTuber ETA Prime, (via GamesRadar), Acer Nitro Blaze 7 looks suspiciously like the Terrans Force Handle 5, according to GamesRadar. The comparison is obvious at first glance. The buttons are in the exact same location, and the machine's curves appear to be identical. Acer's model is the only one that has an actual Nitro button on the bottom left. It also has more decals on the thumbsticks and D-Pad.

Terrans Force, as ETA Prime explains in the video, had plans to launch a Handle 7 with a Ryzen 7 chip 8840U. This is actually a bit different from the 8840HS chip found in the Acer Nitro Blaze 7 The U-series chip is more suitable for power-intensive devices, as it has a lower TDP of up to 5W.

Both handhelds have the same display size and offer the same refresh rates at 144 Hz. Both devices have a battery that is exactly 50.04Wh.

A representative from Acer told me that "We do not have a business relationship with the company mentioned." This is an Acer product that comes with Acer Game Space for a seamless gaming environment."

We don't have any inside information on a company, but both companies may have bought the same design from a third-party, allowing them to avoid the R&D cost of building their own. We don't know how the two companies came up with similar designs.

In recent years, innovation in the gaming space has slowed, especially in terms of specs. Many of the best gaming handheld PCs have very similar specs, and do similar things.

What makes one product stand out is the way it is constructed, how it looks or how much it costs. This is partly because handheld gaming PCs can be a convenient piece of tech. Relying on experimental builds may compromise the user experience. There aren't that many handheld-friendly processors to choose from. AMD is currently working on the Ryzen Z2 chips. It's no surprise that Acer's new device will emulate the majority of handheld gaming devices currently available.

Early testing suggests that the HX370 chip found in the Radeon 890M may be a good handheld game chip as well.

Terrans Force Handle 5 is priced at close to $1,000. We haven't yet received the Acer Nitro Blaze 7 price. It would need to be at least half that price to get my attention.