Lenovo Legion Go S Review

Handheld gaming PCs like the Lenovo Legion Go S have steadily gained popularity in recent years, largely thanks to the success of the Steam Deck. Following Valve's lead, major PC manufacturers are entering the market with their own handhelds. The Legion Go S aims for a closer resemblance to the Steam Deck than its predecessor, the original Legion Go.

Unlike its predecessor's detachable controllers and numerous buttons, the Legion Go S boasts a unibody design. More significantly, a SteamOS version is slated for release later this year, making it the first non-Valve handheld to ship with this OS. However, this review focuses on the Windows 11 model. Compared to similarly priced Windows 11 handhelds, the $729 Lenovo Legion Go S faces stiff competition.

Lenovo Legion Go S – Photos

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Lenovo Legion Go S – Design

The Lenovo Legion Go S bears a stronger resemblance to the Asus ROG Ally than its predecessor. Its unibody design replaces the original's complex detachable controllers, resulting in a more user-friendly experience. The rounded edges enhance comfort during extended gaming sessions, partially offsetting the device's considerable weight.

Weighing in at 1.61 pounds, the Legion Go S is slightly lighter than the original Legion Go (1.88 pounds) but heavier than the Asus ROG Ally X (1.49 pounds). This weight difference, while seemingly minor, becomes noticeable during prolonged use.

The added weight, however, contributes to a remarkably large display. The 8-inch, 1200p IPS display boasts 500 nits of brightness, delivering stunning visuals. Games like Dragon Age: The Veilguard and Horizon Forbidden West looked exceptional, showcasing vibrant colors and detailed textures. This display ranks among the best in handheld gaming PCs, rivaled only by the Steam Deck's OLED screen.

The Legion Go S’s design clearly draws inspiration from other handhelds, yet remains visually appealing. Available in Glacier White and Nebula Nocturne (white and purple), the latter colorway is exclusive to the SteamOS version launching later in 2025. Each joystick features a bright RGB lighting ring, customizable through an on-screen menu.

Despite fewer buttons, the button layout is more intuitive than the original Legion Go. The 'Start' and 'Select' buttons are now positioned more conventionally, although Lenovo's placement of its menu buttons above them can initially cause accidental activation. This is a minor learning curve, however. These Lenovo menu buttons prove quite useful, offering quick access to system settings and shortcuts.

The touchpad, while smaller than the original, still allows for mouse input. Its diminutive size and surrounding empty space seem inefficient, hindering Windows navigation compared to the original Legion Go, which benefited from a mouse wheel under the right trigger. This will be less of an issue with the SteamOS version, designed for controller navigation.

The left-side button accesses LegionSpace software, managing system updates and game libraries across various launchers. The rear features programmable paddle buttons with increased click resistance, preventing accidental presses. Adjustable triggers offer two settings: full and minimal travel.

The top houses two USB 4 ports (charging and peripherals), while the bottom features a centrally located MicroSD card slot, an unconventional placement, especially for docked use.

Purchasing Guide

The reviewed Lenovo Legion Go S (available February 14th, $729.99) includes a Z2 Go APU, 32GB LPDDR5 RAM, and a 1TB SSD. A more affordable configuration (16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, $599.99) launches in May.

Lenovo Legion Go S – Performance

The Lenovo Legion Go S is the first to utilize the AMD Z2 Go APU. While direct comparisons are limited, its specifications reveal it won't redefine performance benchmarks. The Z2 Go, a Zen 3 processor with 4 cores/8 threads and an RDNA 2 GPU with 12 cores, employs older technologies for a 2025 release. Consequently, it lags behind the Legion Go and Asus ROG Ally X.

The Legion Go S's 55Whr battery, while larger than the original Legion Go's, lasted only 4 hours and 29 minutes in PCMark10 testing, shorter than the original's 4 hours and 53 minutes. This is likely due to the less efficient Zen 3 architecture.

3DMark benchmarks highlight the performance gap. Time Spy scores were 2,179 (Go S), 2,775 (Legion Go), and 3,346 (ROG Ally X), indicating the Go S is up to 35% slower than the Ally X. Fire Strike results show a similar 14% deficit compared to the original Legion Go.

Gaming performance is slightly better. Hitman: World of Assassination ran slightly faster on the Go S (41 fps vs. 39 fps). Total War: Warhammer 3 achieved 22 fps at 1080p/Ultra, compared to 24 fps on the Legion Go. Cyberpunk 2077 (Ultra, Balanced FSR) managed 21 fps, while Medium settings with Performance FSR delivered a more playable 41 fps.

Horizon Forbidden West proved challenging, exhibiting significant stuttering even at low settings and 1080p. The Legion Go S is best suited for less demanding games. Persona 5, for example, ran smoothly with excellent visuals.

Wait, It’s More Expensive?

The Lenovo Legion Go S, utilizing the weaker AMD Z2 Go APU, smaller size, and simplified design, surprisingly costs more ($729) than the Legion Go ($699). This is explained by its 32GB LPDDR5 RAM and 1TB SSD—more memory than the Asus ROG Ally X. However, this excess RAM is less beneficial with the weaker GPU, and the slower 6,400MHz memory bandwidth further diminishes performance.

While increasing frame buffer allocation in the BIOS improves performance (e.g., 21 fps to 28 fps in Cyberpunk 2077), navigating the BIOS on a touchscreen with a controller is cumbersome. Factory configuration of an 8GB frame buffer would have been preferable.

Handheld gaming PCs inherently compromise power. While AAA games are playable, higher settings drastically reduce frame rates. Unless using the Legion Go S with an external monitor for tasks like Photoshop, 32GB RAM is excessive.

The initial configuration is overpriced. The May release with 16GB RAM at $599 offers significantly better value.