AMD's next-gen Ryzen Z2 Extreme APU spotted: 8-core CPU, beefed-up RDNA 3.5 GPU

AMD is cooking its new Ryzen Z2 Extreme APU ready for next-gen 2025 gaming handhelds, powered by the Zen 5 CPU architecture and RDNA 3.5 GPU architecture, just like its recently launched Strix Point APUs.

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AMD's new Ryzen Z2 Extreme APU will succeed the current-gen Zen 4-based Ryzen Z1 Extreme and Ryzen Z1 (non-Extreme) which we see in the ASUS ROG Ally gaming handheld. But the new Ryzen Z2 Extreme should power the next-gen gaming handhelds of 2025, which we should see debut at CES 2025 (like, a new ROG Ally successor).

The new Z2 Extreme APU has been confirmed in a recent NBD shipping manifest, with the chip revealed as the Z2X28W" with a "100-000001684" ID. Z2X is the codename for the Z2 Extreme wth a 28W TDP for the APU, with this confirming the rumors of the new Z2 Extreme APU working within the 9W to 30W range of TDP, except that it looks like the max TDP will be 28W.

• Read more: AMD Ryzen Z2 Exteme for handhelds coming in 2025: Zen 5 + RDNA 3.5 for new gaming handhelds

We should expect some major upgrades from the successors to most gaming handhelds in 2025, powered by AMD's upcoming Ryzen Z1 Extreme. AMD's Jack Huynh recently talked about wanting to play Black Myth: Wukong for 3 hours on a handheld, not just the 45 minutes we get from current-gen handhelds.

So, we should expect not just more performance out of new gaming handhelds, but some wicked improvements in battery life which is what we want to hear about next-gen gaming handhelds.

• Ryzen Z2 Extreme: 12 cores, 24 threads (4 x Zen 5 + 8 x Zen 5c) + 16 CU RDNA 3.5 GPU (?)
• Ryzen Z1 Extreme: 8 cores, 16 threads (Zen 4) + 12 CU RDNA 3 GPU
• Ryzen Z1: 2 cores + 4 threads (2 x Zen 4 + 4 x Zen 4c) + 4 CU RDNA 3 GPU

AMD has just launched its new Zen 5 architecture into two families of CPUs so far: Ryzen AI 300 series "Strix Point" APUs for mobile, and the Ryzen 9000 series "Granite Ridge" CPUs for the desktop. We should expect AMD's new Ryzen Z2 Extreme to feature up to 8 cores and 16 threads of Zen 5 CPU power, and the heavily-beefed-up RDNA 3.5-based GPU, just like Strix Point does.

Intel is getting into the mobile fight with its new Core Ultra 200V series "Lunar Lake" processors, which are making it into gaming handhelds, so AMD will need to fight back with some Zen 5 + RDNA 3.5-powered Ryzen Z2 Extreme goodness in early 2025, and we can't wait.