Lenovo has officially thrown its hat in the ring for the handheld gaming PC market with the announcement of the Legion Go. Lenovo says the Legion Go is a handheld that will let you “untether your PC gaming,” and it seems to mean that quite literally in a few ways.
First, this is a handheld. So like other handheld gaming PCs such as the Steam Deck, you can play your PC games wherever you want. But this could also directly refer to one of the Legion Go’s unique features. A first-person shooter mode that you can engage. See the Legion Go comes with Joy-Con style controllers that you can detach from the display unit. You can then pop out a kickstand on the back and set the handheld up to play in desktop mode. This is where the first-person shooter mode comes in. You can place the right controller into a stand/base that comes with the handheld and magnetically attaches to the right controller.
Lenovo says this is to give gamers more precision when play games in the first-person shooter genre. The stand of course is not required to use this mode. But it seems like it would help. As the bottom of the right controller has an optical eye sensor embedded into it to help with more precise aiming “akin to a mouse.” Both controllers feature Hall Effect joysticks which means no worrying about stick drift, and you also get the standard d-pad, ABXY buttons, and multiple triggers and re-mappable buttons for a more customized play style.
The Lenovo Legion Go handheld will launch in October with a $699 starting price
Like its competitors, Lenovo is offering multiple configs for the Legion Go. The device is expected to launch in October if this year with a starting price of $699. And by all accounts that’s pretty comparable to the ROG Ally. However, that’s the price for the base model. Which comes with 256GB of internal storage on the SSD.
You’ll also be able to choose from a 512GB model and a 1TB model. Lenovo doesn’t list the price for these in its press release. But it wouldn’t be surprising if each bump up in storage was an extra $100. Putting those other models at $799 and $899 respectively. You’ll be able to buy the Legion Go at Best Buy, Micro Center, and Lenovo’s own website in addition to other select retailers.
For remaining key specs, you’re looking at 16GB of LPDDR5X 7500MHz RAM across all three models. The IPS display is also 8.8-inches and has a crisp QHD+ (2,560 x 1,600) resolution with refresh rate options for 144Hz and 60Hz. For the processor and GPU you can get up to an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme CPU with RDNA graphics. Though the Z1 Extreme is likely not on the base model. It’s running Windows 11 Home, naturally, and comes in one color – Shadow Black. Additionally, it has two USB-C ports, allowing you to dock the Legion Go and charge the device while also connecting peripherals. Such as a wireless controller dongle.
There’s also a 3.5mm audio jack, and a microSD card reader with support for up to 2TB cards for expanded storage.
Legion Glasses let you play games on the big screen anywhere
Alongside the Legion Go, Lenovo is also announcing the Legion Glasses. A partner accessory that lets you play games on a virtual big screen. These don’t come with the Legion Go though and are an optional accessory. Here’s how they work.
You plug them directly into your Legion Go, and they’ll project the Legion Go’s display in front of you. The glasses use micro-OLED display technology and each eye features 1080p resolution and a 60Hz refresh rate. So while you’re getting a much larger display to use for gaming, the refresh rate won’t be as smooth and the resolution is lower. Lenovo says the glasses also support Android, macOS, and other Windows devices. These will also launch in October of this year and retail for $329.
2023-09-01 15:06:31