It might have been one of many worst saved secrets and techniques in gaming {hardware}, however Lenovo’s new Legion Go S remains to be actual thrilling. That’s not solely as a result of this plucky handheld gaming PC packs one in all AMD’s new Z2 Series processors but in addition as a result of it is accessible with SteamOS put in.
The Legion Go S and Legion Go S – Powered by SteamOS (that is the title) are two variations of the identical 8-inch handheld gaming PC. Both have been introduced over at Lenovo’s occasion at CES 2025.
They’re each accessible with one in all AMD’s Z2 Series Go processors, which had been introduced yesterday. There’s additionally a Z1 Extreme possibility, and each have a barely bigger 55.5 Wh battery than the unique Legion Go.
SteamOS is Valve’s personal Linux-based working system for handheld gaming PCs, which has to date solely formally resided on the Steam Deck. It has been port-able to different gadgets, however nobody has formally taken on the OS for their very own machine. Until now, in any case.
I obtained an opportunity to have a fast play with the Lenovo Legion Go S on the occasion, and yep, that is a handheld alright. It’s barely harking back to the unique Asus ROG Ally (albeit a bit extra curved and refined) however one factor that jumped out was the efficiency. I had a fast run by the opening levels of Forza Horizon 5, a sport I bear in mind being slightly stutter-prone and frame-y on varied different handheld gaming PCs I’ve tried it on.
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Not so right here. Of course, many updates have handed since I final performed it, so maybe the odd stutter and body drop has been patched out, nevertheless it was a remarkably easy expertise—and will communicate properly of the potential efficiency of the Z2 APU within the Glacier White mannequin I used to be testing.
Overall it is a solid-feeling machine, though pesky journos earlier than me had damaged a set off of one of many demo items. I would not take that to imply a lot although, as we tech journalists are identified for being heavy-handed—and we’re seemingly being proven prototypes that are not fairly as much as the total launch spec.
I made positive to check out the triggers on a few different fashions, they usually felt simply peachy to me. The chassis is maybe slightly plastic-y, however all of the necessary buttons and controls felt properly responsive below my hammering thumbs.
The show’s a superb’un, too, being an eight inch WQXGA 1200p LCD with a 120 Hz refresh price. It regarded properly vibrant, even when surrounded with the glowing neon lights of the show space, so hopefully that interprets to beautiful color replica below regular lighting.
So then, a correctly attention-grabbing addition to the hand held market from Lenovo. I’ll be curious to see if my perceived efficiency impressions match as much as the benchmarks, however that is positively a handheld to regulate when the SteamOS model launches for $500 in May of this yr.
