Behold the Lenovo Legion Go S, the SteamOS handheld PC that isn’t a Steam Deck

There’s a new Lenovo Legion Go on the way, and while it’s ditching the signature detachable controllers, it’s still got something unusual to stick on its CV. The Lenovo Legion Go S is a smaller, cheaper take on Lenovo’s portable gaming PC, and it’s on track to become the first officially licensed SteamOS handheld outside of Valve’s own Steam Deck range.

First off: finally. Windows 11 is the obvious choice for non-Valve manufacturers to base their dinky rigs around, but it’s proven time and time again that its lack of natural affinity for small screens and thumbstick controls isn’t entirely made up for by its native games compatibility. SteamOS might not be supported everywhere but UX-wise, it is a far better match for handhelds, while still offering Desktop Mode for more Windows-like flexibility. Its spread across third-party machines can only be a good thing.

Anyway, the Legion Go S! It’s simplified and shrunk down considerably from the original Legion Go, adopting a more traditionaol fixed chassis, dropping the weight from 854g to 730g, and downsizing the display to an 8in, 1200p, 120Hz IPS panel. Fine by me – the Legion Go’s 1600p, nearly 9in screen was nice to look at but often too much for its own processor to handle. Speaking of, the Legion Go S will be powered by your choice of either the same Ryzen Z1 Extreme that the Legion Go had, or AMD’s brand-new Ryzen Z2 Go. No word on how the latter will perform, though it’s probably not as quick as the Z1 Extreme, as that one will send the Legion Go S’s price up to $729 whereas the Ryzen 2 Go version will be just $599.

Speaking of choice, there’ll also be a Windows 11 edition of the Legion Go S, perfect for those who rolled their eyes disapprovingly through that second paragraph. That will go on sale this January, several months ahead of the SteamOS version’s May release.

Either way, the Legion Go S will come with Hall Effect joysticks, a teensy lil’ trackpad on the right (which looks more like a navigation aid than the Deck’s big, gaming-ready haptic pads), and a 55Whr battery, which is 5WHr up on the original Legion Go. Between that and the lower-specced display, hopefully that will translate into lengthier battery life, another weakness of the bigger brother.

Hardware is rarely improved by removing its more unique and interesting features, but in the Legion Go S’s case, I do reckon it could get away with trading away those Switch-style controllers. SteamOS will just naturally make it a more comfortable handheld to use, and in offering 1TB of storage for $599, it even manages to undercut the $649 Steam Deck OLED on its usual price advantage. It’ll still need to make a case for itself on performance and battery life, but it’s definitely an interesting prospect. Hope I don’t break it.