Support us on Patreon
PayPalThe Project Lead of Manjaro Linux, Philip Müller, has given a status update with more info on their partnership with ZOTAC on the new prototype ZOTAC GAMING ZONE handheld.
Earlier this month ZOTAC gave a very brief announcement of the new prototype ZONE that will come with an AMD CPU, which they've now been showing off during COMPUTEX.
From what we've learned it will have an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor with Radeon 890M graphics. Either 24GB or 32GB RAM with a 1TB SSD (M2 2280 NVMe). This includes a 7" AMOLED 1080p multi-touch display with HDR, Hall Effect joysticks and triggers, a 48.5Wh battery, a built-in kick-stand and shipping with Manjaro Linux instead of Windows.
What I missed, is that Müller from Manjaro made an official forum post going over the partnership, like how they met with ZOTAC at Computex 2024 and Gamescom Cologne 2024 to discuss it. Things got going in January 2025 with more discussions and the Manjaro team have been working since March 2025 to get the needed Linux kernel drivers in place. They're currently working on porting the ZOTAC One Launcher to Linux.
Image Credit: Tom's Guide
At the current stage they have most of the hardware working on Linux but they're still working on adding "missing functions to Zotac One Overlay" and porting the ZOTAC One Launcher to Linux.
Sounds like Manjaro are going the SteamOS route with their Linux version designed for handhelds, with a focus on Flatpaks for additional software along with KDE Plasma for the desktop mode along with it being an immutable OS.
As for when to expect it, they're currently aiming for a global Q3 2025 launch. Müller said they're working closely with AMD and ZOTAC, with plans to speak to Valve "in a later state of the project", presumably to ensure correct licensing to have Steam installed and configured out of the box.
ZOTAC themselves are still yet to put up any proper details of it on their website. ZOTAC also haven't replied to my press request about it.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
You can also find comments for this article on social media: 
Stella 7 hours ago
The hardware looks really good tbh, especially with those symmetrical sticks and trackpads. The white shell is eye-pleasing. Only thing I really don't like is the D-Pad though, it looks awful to use
If i bought one of these, I'd likely erase the default OS and put Bazzite on it though. Not a big fan of Manjaro
Pyrate 6 hours ago
grigi 6 hours ago
But yeah, much of Manjaro's bad reputation comes from failing to do some essential basics like keeping their keys updated, repeatedly. So I suspect Bazzite will still be a superior experience.
Re the "Steam Deck 2" thing, the hardware is overpowered in CPU, and underpowered in memory bandwidth. In theory it would be nearly 3x the performance in GPU but memory bandwidth will need a significant increase, and the CPU is too wide so won't operate as efficiently in a handheld platform.
e.g. If this had a 192-bit memory bus and was limited to only 8x efficiency cores it would probably give a superior gaming experience in handheld form factor.
TightRope 3 hours ago
How to install, update and see what graphics driver you have on Linux and SteamOS
How to set, change and reset your SteamOS / Steam Deck desktop sudo password
See more from me