Lenovo says it spent more than two years designing the Legion Go, its first Windows gaming handheld. The company unveiled it on September 1, 2023.
The machine runs Windows 11 and uses an AMD Ryzen Z1 chip, up to the Z1 Extreme version, with RDNA graphics. Its 8.8-inch QHD+ screen has a 16:10 shape, reaches 500 nits and refreshes at up to 144Hz. It is a touch screen. Buyers can pick up to 16GB of RAM and up to a 1TB SSD, and a micro-SD slot takes cards of up to 2TB.
The controllers come off. Slide them away, flip out the kickstand on the back, and the right-hand controller drops into a base that turns it into something close to a mouse for first-person shooters. Lenovo calls this FPS mode. The sticks use hall effect sensors, which the company says rules out drift. There is also a trackpad, a D-pad and a mouse wheel.
Battery and cooling
A 49.2Wh battery powers the unit. Lenovo says a half-hour on its fast charger brings it to 70%. A power bypass mode lets the handheld run from the wall without charging the battery, which the company says limits wear and heat. Cooling comes from a 79-blade fan, and Lenovo puts noise at under 25dB in Quiet Mode. In Custom Mode the chip can draw a full 25W.
Two USB-C ports handle charging and video out over DisplayPort 1.4. Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 are on board.
Software and accessories
Games are managed through Legion Space, a launcher built for the device. It pulls the user’s game platforms and stores into one place, lists locally installed titles and lets players change resolution, refresh rate and brightness on the fly. Each unit ships with three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
Two accessories launched alongside it. The Legion Glasses use micro-OLED panels, with FHD resolution per eye at 60Hz, to act as a private virtual monitor. The Legion E510 earbuds offer 7.1 surround sound.
“We began designing the Lenovo Legion Go over two years ago in order to empower gamers around the world to game their way,” said Jun Ouyang, Lenovo’s vice president and general manager of the Consumer Business Segment in the Intelligent Devices Group.
Price and release
Lenovo listed the Legion Go at a starting price of 799 euros including VAT, with availability expected from November 2023. The Glasses were due in October from 499 euros, and the earbuds from 49.99 euros. The handheld went on sale in October 2023 at a US starting price of $599.99.
It weighs 854 grams with the controllers attached and 650 grams without them. Gizmodo called it innovative and powerful, but said Windows 11 and the device’s size put it at a disadvantage.
Sources
- Gaming on the Go: Lenovo Unveils a New Legion Gaming Handheld Device and Accessories that Untether PC Gaming – Lenovo StoryHub
- Lenovo Legion Go – Wikipedia
- Lenovo Legion Go
