GPD, the Shenzhen-based hardware manufacturer that makes powerful portable computers and handheld gaming devices, has recently announced that they will be refreshing their existing Win Mini with AMD’s latest Zen 5-based “Strix Point” APU, the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370. This is exciting news for folks who’ve been patiently waiting for more manufacturers to release gaming devices fitted with AMD’s latest hardware, seeing as this new APU brings decent performance and efficiency boosts as compared to AMD’s previous “Hawk Point” chips that can be found on big-hitters like the Asus Rog Ally X.

The previous Win Mini (2024) was already formidable competition in the handheld gaming space. It came fitted with the aforementioned “Hawk Point” 8840U chip, 32GB of LPDDR5x RAM, a terabyte of PCIe storage, and a full HD 7-inch native landscape 120Hz VRR LCD; all packaged within GPD’s distinct clamshell design that boasts a full qwerty keyboard and trackpad. It’s looking like the 2025 model will be nothing more than a chip upgrade, however, as all these specs will seemingly be carried over from the previous model. It also doesn’t look like the 2025 model will be drastically changing things up design-wise, either. 

The 2024 model had already ironed out many of the kinks from the 2023 model, like switching to a VRR native landscape display and tweaking its cooling system. Speaking of which, GPD does advertise that this new 2025 Win Mini will upgrade its cooling system again with a thickened heat pipe that will supposedly give “50% Increased Thermal Conductivity” and “35% Improved Heat Dissipation.” Considering how thermal issues continue to be a nagging pest for Win Mini users, this is a welcomed addition. The only aspect that I do wish got a more significant upgrade is the battery capacity. Previous Win Minis came fitted with a meagre 44-watt-hour battery, which in real-life use cases meant you’d need to run to an outlet within a couple of hours. This 2025 model, though is advertised to have “~50% longer battery life,” still doesn’t increase the actual battery capacity.

Though the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 isn’t the game-changer many of us were hoping for, the integrated 890m graphics chip is still a considerable jump in terms of performance. This video, for instance, showcases the new OneXFly F1 Pro that also comes fitted with the same chip performing modestly against demanding triple-A titles; playing Indiana Jones and the Great Circle at 1080p medium settings while staying north of 30 frames per second. Considering that the game comes with ray tracing baked in without an option to disable it, I’d say this is quite the feat. 

The GPD Win Mini (2025) is slated to be released in January, making it the first PC gaming handheld release for a year that’s likely to be chock-full of steep competition.