I love gaming handhelds. As an early adopter, dropping $5 to be one of the first to preorder the Steam Deck in its initial launch, I knew this form factor would take the world by storm — and it’s set for some major highs come 2025.
One such handheld has my attention most, and it's the successor to the 2023 Lenovo Legion Go. All but a mere prototype at this stage, shown very briefly at CES 2025, the new and improved hardware aims to attract a wider customer base with elegant design changes and slightly beefier internals.
But those very internals are what have me concerned. Of course, things could change upon the official debut of the Lenovo Legion Go 2, but with a 3.3Ghz AMD Ryzen Z2 Processor under the hood, clocked at the same speed as its predecessor’s Z1 Extreme, I’m worried the full suite of upgrades might not be worth the investment.
It will come largely down to Lenovo’s pricing strategy. And with major competitors out of Asus, MSI, and even Nintendo giving the Legion Go 2 a run for its money — not to mention the still-swirling rumors of both Microsoft and PlayStation getting in on the gaming handheld action — Lenovo has a lot to contend with.
A Switch OLED with the power of a PC
What sets the Lenovo Legion Go apart from its myriad of competitors is its Nintendo Switch-like removable controllers. Despite it not being quite so novel anymore (hello Switch 2), Lenovo’s removable “joy-cons” differentiate themselves from Nintendo’s thanks to the inclusion of a rounded disc that connects to one of the controllers, turning it into a mouse that allows you to play FPS games on-the-go with ease.
It’s also one of the few handhelds that can play games in multiple varied resolutions and in either 60Hz or 144Hz, which proved a major boon for my trusty Steam Deck. Top that off with Windows 11 and you’ve got one serious piece of hardware that you can take with you literally anywhere, allowing you to play almost anything your heart desires, provided it’s played with practical graphical settings, of course, and minor BIOS tweaks where necessary depending on the game. (Looking at you Alan Wake 2.)
From initial first looks at CES, the prototype next-gen Legion Go seems to amplify this experience in a number of ways. An improved kickstand on top of a new OLED screen makes for some weighty improvements on an already relatively well-rounded handheld device. Plus, 32GB of RAM, up from 16GB, in line with a purported 50% battery increase make me so very hungry for this new machine.
But that’s just the thing, though. As an owner of the original Lenovo Legion Go, I’m left to ponder if these "performance" upgrades are worth investing into a whole new platform — at least for the everyday consumer. It will really come down to the pricing of this thing as, in my mind, what’s going to stop gamers from simply buying the original Z1 Extreme model after its MSRP gets slashed?
And to make matters worse, Nintendo’s Switch 2 will be the big talk of the town this year. That’s going to make selling the Legion Go 2 to a wider audience far more difficult for Lenovo, even with all of the device's myriad improvements.
The Legion Go 2’s pricey catch
There’s no doubt the Legion Go 2 will have immense competition, none more so than against the Switch 2. And that’s not the only one, as this year is proving to be the year of the best gaming handheld with tons of new hardware upgrades that might put a damper on Lenovo's refreshed platform.
I’m concerned most about Lenovo’s potential pricing for the Legion Go 2. As mentioned, its Z2 Extreme chipset offers incremental improvements in the form of RDNA 4 graphics in tandem with AMD's Zen 5 architecture. On paper, the new chipset could push out anywhere from 10%-15% better gaming performance over its predecessor, which isn't all that enticing.
For what it's worth, our computing editor Jason England was impressed following his initial testing of the AMD Z2 chipset family. Plus, the Legion Go 2 does net you double the RAM and an improved battery, up from a mere 49.2Wh to a much-improved 74Wh battery. I’ll need to test its longevity out for myself, but don't expect to leave the portable charger at home even with this upgrade.
Handhelds don’t often hold up well with ample battery life, and I can imagine running an OLED screen with VRR at 144hz won’t come with great capacity. But, so far, at the forefront of Lenovo's Legion Go successor isn't performance at all but efficiency. That's what makes the Go 2 such an interesting and appealing new entry in the space as it's not quite touting superior performance over the next handheld.
Of the major upgrades Lenovo is putting an emphasis on, three of them largely pertain to the new handheld's improved efficiency, including its OLED panel, larger battery, and new chip that offers better low TDP (Thermal Design Power). All of these equate to a system that could very well solve handheld gaming's worst nightmares: low battery.
But it will largely come down to price. That’s why it’s not all too surprising to me that Lenovo’s Legion Go S is the big ticket winner here. It seems the best middle ground, especially in a market plagued with the release of newer and newer handheld devices to the point where it’s getting hard to keep up with them all.
Speculation hinges on the Lenovo Legion Go 2 coming in at around $900-$1,000 (or more), and I’m just not confident the wider populace will be willing to pay that hefty premium simply for better efficiency — especially in the face of major competition. Still, I’m excited to see how far these improvements go and put them to the test against its predecessor.
More from Tom's Guide
- Lenovo Legion Go S hands-on review: This could be the Steam Deck killer I’ve always wanted
- It’s time for a Steam Deck 2 — AMD Ryzen Z2 is truly the next generation gaming handheld chip
- Acer Nitro Blaze 11 hands-on review: Large and (sort of) in charge
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