Is it a Nintendo Switch competitor? A Steam Deck rival? Or both? Let’s go hands-on with the Windows-powered Lenovo Legion Go.
Handheld gaming devices are as popular as ever — all you have to do is choose your operating system. We’ve already seen an Android option in Razer’s Edge 5G, Windows handhelds like the ASUS ROG Ally, Valve’s Linux-based Steam Deck, and the classic Nintendo Switch. Now, Lenovo is throwing its hat in the proverbial ring with its own Windows-powered offering. The Legion Go pulls key features from its closest rivals, and we got a chance to go hands-on during IFA 2023. Here’s what we thought of the new gaming slate.High-powered hardware
On paper, the Lenovo Legion Go is equipped to run laps around its handheld rivals. It matches the ROG Ally with up to AMD’s Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor and 16GB of RAM but offers far more storage with up to 1TB onboard. The Ryzen Z1 Extreme beats the Steam Deck’s aging custom “Van Gogh” Zen 2 processor, too. Mix in that the Steam Deck starts with just 64GB of storage on the base model, and it falls even further behind. However, Lenovo’s advantages aren’t limited to what’s under the hood.
The shining star of the new gaming setup is the Legion Go’s 8.8-inch OLED touchscreen that dwarfs both the ROG Ally and the Steam Deck with their 7-inch panels. Lenovo’s display is the sharpest of the three, offering a QHD (2,560 x 1,600) resolution compared to ASUS’ FHD (1,920 x 1,080) quality and the Steam Deck’s relatively modest 1,280 x 800 panel. Finish it off with a crisp 144Hz refresh rate, and the Legion Go isn’t missing much at all.
That said, if there’s one drawback to Lenovo’s “more is better” approach, its Legion Go isn’t the lightest handheld. It weighs in at a whopping (and I do mean whopping) 850g with the controllers attached or nearly 650g with them removed. That’s about 30g more than the ROG Ally, even without the controllers, and almost 180g heavier than the Steam Deck with controllers attached. We only had a short time to play with the Legion Go, but you may need a hearty bowl of Wheaties each morning to make it your primary portable gaming device.
Thankfully, you don’t have to hold the Legion Go all day long if you don’t want to — there’s a kickstand. You can pop the bottom half of the rear panel out as an adjustable (and fairly solid) stand so you can let your desk or seat-back table do the heavy lifting. Of course, the kickstand works best with the controllers detached, so let’s address the Legion Go as a Nintendo Switch competitor.
