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The Lenovo Legion Go handheld gaming PC has been around for about a year at this point, and it’s proven to be a relatively popular handheld gaming PC due to a high-quality display, speedy hardware, and a versatile design that includes a pair of detachable controllers.
Now it looks like Lenovo is planning to expand its handheld lineup with a cheaper model called the Lenovo Legion Go S. Previous leaks had indicated that it’ll have a less powerful processor and integrated controllers that cannot be removed. Now a series of new leaks suggest that Lenovo has at least two models in the works: one that will ship with Windows and another that runs SteamOS.
Evan Blass has leaked a few promotional pictures of the upcoming handheld, which will apparently be available in white or black. And if you look closely at the black version, you can see a Steam logo next to the top button on the left side.
SteamOS is a Linux-based operating system that’s designed for gaming. It includes Valve’s Proton software that allows you to run many Windows games on Linux and recent versions of the operating system include a user interface that’s designed to be navigated on handheld devices with small screens and game controllers.
So far the only handheld to ship with SteamOS is Valve’s Steam Deck, but Valve has been saying for years that it plans to make the operating system available for third-party devices, and this month the company updated its branding guidelines to include a “Power by SteamOS” logo for third-party devices, suggesting that we could see SteamOS handhelds from other companies soon.
Many handheld gaming enthusiasts attribute much of the Steam Deck’s success to SteamOS, which is an operating system that’s built specifically for handhelds, offering a better user experience than Windows on handhelds. So while it would be tempting to think that companies like Lenovo would be attracted to the platform because a Linux-based operating system might help keep costs lower than Windows, it could also lead to a better mobile experience.
That said, it looks like Lenovo may be hedging its bets by making Windows and SteamOS versions of the handheld. Leaked images had indicated that there would be a Steam button on models with a black body, but no such button on white models. And now VideoCardz reports that the white model will indeed ship with Windows.
Both models are expected to feature an AMD Ryzen Z2 Go processor. AMD hasn’t officially introduced this chip yet, but it’s expected to be similar to an AMD Ryzen 6000U “Rembrandt” chip, combining eight Zen 3 (or Zen 3+) CPU cores with 12-core RDNA 2 graphics… although in this case the processor is said to have “AMD Radeon 800M” graphics, suggesting that AMD may be updating its integrated graphics naming conventions.
While these chips are based on older technologies than the Zen 4/Zen 5 and RDNA 3/3.5 architecture used in newer chips like AMD’s Hawk Point and Strix Point processors, they’re still not bad options for handheld gaming: the Steam Deck is still one of the most popular handheld gaming PCs available, and it’s using custom AMD chips code-named “Aerith” and “Sepiroth,” which feature Zen 2 CPU cores and RDNA 2 graphics.
According to VideoCardz, the Legion Go S 8ARP1 (Windows) edition will have an 8 inch, 1920 x 1200 pixel, 120 Hz display with up to 500 nits brightness, 16GB and 32GB LPDDR5x memory options, 512GB and 1TB M.2 2242 PCIe Gen 4 x4 storage options, a 55.5 Wh battery, and support for WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.
It’s likely , but not confirmed, that the SteamOS version will have similar specifications.
via The Verge and VideoCardz
This article was first published December 13, 2024 and most recently updated December 25, 2024.