The Lenovo Legion Go S was supposed to shake up the handheld gaming PC market. It aimed to challenge Valve’s Steam Deck with an affordable, portable, and powerful alternative. Hopes were high when Lenovo announced a partnership with AMD for a new Z2 Go chip and plans for a future SteamOS version priced at $499. But after weeks of testing, it’s clear that the Legion Go S falls short of its ambitious promises.
Design and Build Quality: A Step Forward
Despite its performance struggles, the Legion Go S makes an excellent first impression with its thoughtful design improvements. The grips are some of the best-sculpted in any handheld, providing a comfortable hold despite the device’s 1.61-pound weight. The buttons feel precise, and the concave-topped Hall effect joysticks are smooth and resistant to drift.
However, the touchpad is a weak point — it’s so small that moving the cursor becomes a chore. On the bright side, the device boasts front-facing speakers with improved audio clarity and a larger, quieter fan that handles cooling well. Charging is impressively fast, with both top-mounted USB 4 ports drawing up to 100 watts of power, allowing users to push the chip to its limits.
Performance and Battery Life: Falling Behind the Competition
The Legion Go S’s Achilles’ heel is its AMD Z2 Go chip. In head-to-head tests against the Steam Deck OLED, it struggled to keep up even when pushed to a 40-watt TDP while plugged in. For example, Cyberpunk 2077 averaged 52fps on the Steam Deck at 15 watts, while the Legion Go S could only manage 49fps at 40 watts.
Battery life is another disappointment. In Lenovo’s default 25W performance mode, total system power consumption reached around 36 watts, draining the 55Wh battery in about 90 minutes. Lowering the TDP extends playtime, but not enough to rival the Steam Deck’s efficiency. Even casual games like Balatro can drain the battery faster on the Go S compared to Valve’s handheld.
Display and Gaming Experience: Bright Spots and Trade-Offs
The Legion Go S’s 1920 x 1200 IPS screen is a highlight. It looks vibrant and crisp, even at lower resolutions, and features VRR with a dynamic refresh rate from 48Hz to 120Hz. This makes lower frame rates feel smoother and gives the Go S an edge over its predecessor’s higher-resolution but less flexible display.
For less demanding games, the device can be surprisingly efficient. Setting the TDP to 8 watts, lowering brightness, and locking the refresh rate can stretch battery life to around seven hours in lightweight titles. But again, the Steam Deck still comes out ahead, delivering longer play sessions without the need for as many adjustments.
Final Verdict: Not Ready for Prime Time
The Windows version of the Lenovo Legion Go S, priced at $730, is tough to recommend. Performance lags behind the competition, battery life is underwhelming, and Windows 11 brings unnecessary friction to the handheld experience. Sleep mode is unreliable, and waking up to a hot, drained device with spinning fans is frustrating.
Even if SteamOS breathes some life into the Go S, it’s unlikely to catch up to the Steam Deck’s balanced performance and efficiency. If you’re eager for a Windows handheld, the $800 Asus ROG Ally X is a much better buy. And if you’re waiting for a $499 Legion Go S with SteamOS? You might be better off spending $530 on a Steam Deck OLED instead.