Theleaks were right . Lenovo is making the first hand-held play PC licensed to apply SteamOS , finally unwrap the operating system out of Valve ’s ownSteam Deck . The Legion Go S power by SteamOS — that ’s the prescribed name that I ’ll be ignoring from this point forward for obvious reason — is a handheld carry an 8 - inch display , the update Legion Go S shell , and a black color . It set out at just $ 500 .
We may put handhelds like theAsus ROG Ally and Steam Deckup against each other , but the real power of Valve ’s handheld is that it ’s affordable . For as good as machine like the originalLenovo Legion Goare , they ’re hundred of dollars more expensive than what you’re able to pick up the Steam Deck for . The Legion Go S with SteamOS is changing that story .
Lenovo says the handheld is slated to plunge in May , and it ’ll hail with one of two chip options . you could either configure it with the Ryzen Z1 Extreme that we ’ve run into in several handhelds or with the newfangled Ryzen Z2 Go processor . The Ryzen Z2 Go is in reality the weaker of the two options , however . It ’s a quadriceps - core group cow chip establish on AMD ’s Zen 3 architecture , while the Z1 Extreme come with eight cores ground on the newer Zen 4 architecture . Thankfully , the Z2 Go comes with the same RDNA 3 nontextual matter architecture as the Z1 Extreme , and with the same 12 compute units .
As I wrote about a few weeks ago , Lenovo and AMD are view as an eventhere atCES 2025 — later today at the clock time of publishing , in fact — so hopefully I ’ll get my helping hand on the twist in short club . perhaps I ’ll even have a fortune to see how the Z2 Go perform . That ’s certainly a big question founder the fast-growing pricing on this Legion Go .
Lenovo say me that the Ryzen Z2 Go is design exclusively for the Legion Go S , likely to get the price down . Fret not if you desire more mogul , though . Lenovo narrate me that the Legion Go S — across both SteamOS and Windows edition — will get an update in May with the Ryzen Z2 Extreme processor .
Although I have n’t used the SteamOS version , Ihaveused the Legion Go S that ’s pack Windows and using a white scale . Lenovo made a lot of changes to its handheld , dump the detachable , Switch - style controllers for a more traditional handheld . As a result , it ’s importantly more comfortable in the hands , with a little overall organic structure that ’s nonetheless pack an 8 - in projection screen .
Due to some thickset traction on the sides , the Legion Go S is more well-heeled in the hands than theMSI Claw , though slightly less well-off than the Steam Deck . Still , Lenovo packs in a few extras , including a tiny touchpad below the right joystick for controlling the black eye onscreen , as well as adjustable trigger that give you a tactual , rapid trigger mode .
The touchpad is small than the top of a finger , and I thought it would n’t work properly , but I was wrong . The large trackpad on the original Legion Go or Steam Deck still provides more exact control , but the trackpad on the Legion Go S is serviceable . you may quickly swipe across it to reach either end of the filmdom , but there ’s still enough restraint when you leave your digit on the trackpad for precise inputs . yield how much better the Legion Go S feels in the hands , I ’m happy with compromising on the trackpad .
The screen is also raw , at least compared to the original Legion Go . Lenovo downsize to a 1080p display at 120Hz , which is much more meet for a handheld . It still looks very acute at 8 inches , and the glossy covering on the display mean colors still pop . They are n’t quite as fertile as the colors on theSteam Deck OLED , but they ’re close .
Elsewhere , the Legion Go S carry a circle forward from the original Legion Go . You get dual USB 4 ports so you may have an external GPU connected while charging the gadget , and there ’s a micro SD visiting card expansion slot so you may easily expand your storage . The internal SSD is also upgradable , just like the original Legion Go .
This Windows - based version is arriving first , shipping this calendar month with the Ryzen Z1 Extreme chip shot , and Lenovo say it ’s not replacing the original Legion Go — at least not yet . As mentioned , the SteamOS version is do in May , launching alongside a novel version of the Windows - based model , with both pack up to a Ryzen Z2 Extreme . Pricing commence at $ 500 for the SteamOS variation and $ 730 for the Windows version , though Lenovo has n’t revealed all of the configurations and their pricing details yet .
