Lenovo Legion Go gaming handheld officially unveiled at IFA 2023
Lenovo unveiled its gaming handheld, the Legion Go, at the IFA 2023 tech show in Berlin. The leaks were right, the device does have detachable controllers that are similar to the Nintendo Switch Joy-Con.
The console is powered by an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor with AMD RDNA Graphics. It runs on Windows 11 Home. The company has included a software feature called Legion Space, which allows users to access their games quickly. It also lists other game platforms / stores, and allows you to purchase games from the Legion Game Store (via Xbox Game Pass). The portable gaming device has 16 GB of LPDDR 5X RAM, an NVMe M.2 SSD, and comes in 3 storage options: 256 GB / 512 GB / 1 TB. It also features a micro SD card slot that supports up to 2 TB of expandable storage.
The Lenovo Legion Go sports an 8.8-inches QHD+ display that supports a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels, though you could turn it down to 800p if required. The IPS panel is termed as a 16:10 16:10 Lenovo PureSight display. It supports 10-point multitouch for scrolling, tapping, swiping. The screen has a 144Hz Refresh Rate (can be set to 60Hz), supports 97% DCI-P3 Color Gamut, 500 nits brightness, and 83% AAR.
The device makes use of Lenovo Legion's Coldfront thermal technology with a liquid crystal polymer 79-blade fan. It has a noise level less than 25dB in Quiet Mode. The gaming handheld packs a 2-cell 49.2WHr battery that supports Super Rapid Charge (fast charging). Lenovo says that the 65W power adapter included in the box can charge the battery up to 70% in just 30 minutes.
The gaming handheld has a trackpad, a D-pad, 10-mappable shoulder buttons, triggers and grip buttons. The company has included RGB lighting around the joysticks, and the power button. The controllers on the Lenovo Legion Go, which are called Legion Truestrike controllers, can be detached, and have a variety of buttons including a mouse wheel.
The device has a built-in kickstand which you can use to prop the handheld on a table. The announcement from the company mentions that the right controller has an optical eye (optical mouse sensor), which allows you to use it like a regular mouse in first-person shooter games. The controller has a magnet to attach to the included controller base. Lenovo says that since the controllers are hall effect joysticks, they would not have joystick drift and have minimal dead zones.
The Legion Go supports 2 x 2 Wi-Fi 6E 802.11 ax and Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity. The portable gaming PC has two USB Type-C ports for charging the battery, or to connect accessories, including those that support DisplayPort 1.4. The device is quite heavy at 854g (1.88lbs), though detaching the controllers should make it more manageable at 640g (1.41lbs).
I would argue that the Legion Go is more of a competitor to the ASUS ROG Ally, than being a Steam Deck rival.
Lenovo Legion Go specs
- Display: 8.8-inches QHD+ 2560 x 1600 pixels IPS, 16:10 aspect ratio, 10-point Touch, 144Hz Refresh Rate, 97% DCI-P3 Color Gamut, 500 nits brightness, 83% AAR
- Operating System: Windows 11 Home
- Processor: AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme
- GPU: AMD RDNA Graphics
- Memory: 16 GB LPDDR5X RAM @ 7500Mhz
- Storage: 256 GB / 512 GB / 1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 2242
- Battery: 2-cell 49.2WHr Super Rapid Charge (Controller - 900mAh), 65W AC adapter, USB Type-C
- Audio: 2 x 2W Speakers, Dual-array near-field microphone
- Ports: 3.5 mm headphone jack, 2 x USB Type-C port (USB 4.0, DisplayPort 1.4, Power Delivery 3.0), microSD card reader
- Controller: Legion L/R, ABXY buttons, D-pad, L & R hall effect joysticks, L & R bumpers, L & R analog triggers, Legion L & R buttons, View button, Menu button, Trackpad, 6 x assignable grip buttons, Mouse wheel, Mouse sensor, 2 x Controllers release buttons, HD haptics Gyro, 6-Axis IMU
- Trackpad: Multi-finger touchpad
- Connectivity: 2 x 2 Wi-Fi 6E 802.11 ax, Bluetooth 5.2
- Dimensions: 299mm x 131mm x 41mm [ without controller 210mm x 131mm x 20mm]
- Weight: 854g (1.88lbs) [without controller 640g (1.41lbs) ]
- Color: Shadow Black
- Misc: Legion Space, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (free 3-month plan)
Lenovo Legion Go price
The Lenovo Legion Go price starts at €799 / $699. The gaming handheld will be available from November 2023, though a page on the company's US website says that the Lenovo Legion Go is coming soon.
