Customer Ratings & Reviews

Never owned a handheld before so I did a lot of research before buying one. My analysis led me to this device and my gosh do I love it. Am not a fan of small screens so the 7inch on the Ally devices was just not it for me. The Chinese handhelds are too expensive and the legion go devices are a tad bit heavy for long sessions. The deck albeit amazing is unfortunately a little behind in power. So this device just feels like the sweet spot for everything. Screen not too big and not too small. Really good performance. (I know the z2E devices are out but it’s not an extreme jump in performance) Plus it has steamOS so you get the best out of good performance and a good handheld OS to match. If you’ve never used steamOS you might feel like people are exaggerating when they say it’s good. And that’s how I felt till I used it. Gosh it’s amazing. Battery life is honestly acceptable and with the fans, it’s not as loud as I was led to believe. The speakers are the only bad thing about this device lol but to be fair all the other devices don’t really have amazing speakers. Nothing wowed me when I was trying the devices out. Sadly no OLED but the screen is amazing 120hz plus VRR so yeah! P.s Hall effect thumb sticks. And if you’re not sure what that means. Essentially it means stick drift is something you won’t have to worry about. And on a device that has thumb sticks attached to it. That’s a major reason for concern. Unlike a traditional console you can always just buy another controller when stick drift develops. Rather than having to buy a whole other 900$ device lol.

The Legion Go S is an impressive evolution in the handheld gaming space, delivering a premium feel the moment you pick it up. Its compact design fits naturally in the hands, with ergonomics that make long play sessions surprisingly comfortable. The bright, smooth high-refresh display brings games to life, and performance is a clear step up from previous models—titles run beautifully with fewer compromises, making the experience feel closer to a true portable PC than ever before. What really stands out is how well-balanced the device is: strong performance, great build quality, and a sleek form factor that’s easy to carry around. And while the price point sits on the higher side, it matches the level of refinement and the significant upgrade under the hood, making the Legion Go S a worthwhile investment for gamers who want both power and portability in one polished device.

As my granddaughter finally claimed my SteamDeck as her own, lol, I thought about buying another or this device. Sale price + Certificates + Newer chipset helped with my decision. The only 3 caveats to me (not so much for others) is the fan noise, battery life and touch pads. 1- I use my device 60/40 docked/ handheld so battery matters when traveling. I do have a great INIU power bank that mitigates the less than optimal battery duration. 2- Fan noise - waiting for a Decky plug-in to assist (several are "almost there"). 3- Touch pads. That was a tough one as I used them on my OLED, but they are an afterthought on this device. Again, my opinion. Your use case may be different. Otherwise a SOLID DEVICE that plays several AAA Titles ("Out-Of-The-Box") that the SD can't touch without Frame Gen, FS4 and the like. Recommended esp as it is back ON SALE at Best Buy.

I purchased this and the Xbox ROG Ally X within a few weeks of each other and while this seems competitive to the newer device there are some issues that really make this a poor value when compared to the new unit that is only $100 more. For the record, this is not a bad handheld, it is just a bad value for the money. _______________________________________________________________________ Performance The performance of the two devices is fairly similar in many ways and that honestly made this comparison more difficult as the Z1 Extreme pretty much only uses Performance cores and that means there is no slowdown as long as Ample power is provided, even if the means efficiency is compromised. _______________________________________________________________________ Ergonomics The screen size is also something that is nice to look at and have on the go, but the ergonomics aren't as good as the Xbox Ally X and this makes for a real issue when trying to handhold it as the curvature of the Legion Go S is too smooth and has a constant feeling like it is slipping in your hand. I find the ergonomics of the controllers on the Xbox Ally X to be rivaled only by the Steam Deck itself (My friend has one of these and the comfort is similar). _______________________________________________________________________ Battery As for the battery, Lenovo going with a smaller 55 Watt Hour battery, when combined with a less efficient APU, was a poor choice in my opinion. This effectively delivers half the gaming time at the performance equivalent of the Xbox Ally X. This remains the largest reason why I have any reservations when it comes to recommending this handheld. ______________________________________________________________________ Ports There is however, one more area where the Legion Go S just loses me completely. The USB 4 support is only 1st Generation and that means getting better performance from this thing out of an external GPU is severely limited and is only half as capable as the Xbox Ally X USB4 2nd Generation port. I want this device to be docked on my desk as a Desktop replacement and the Legion Go S failed hard in this area, because of this one port. _______________________________________________________________________ Operating System Another point of contention is the operating system. While Steam OS is currently more performant, lacks features like kernel level anti-cheat which limits Online gaming and Gaming largely relies on a translation layer to make the game even run. This means that adding features to any new Direct X and using them in games, would severely delay or even block the use of any such games on Steam and DX 12 is long overdue for an update. With Windows you're waiting for performance improvements, but you're getting much better compatibility and reliability with regard to games being stable. Still, either system will eventually be able to run both operating systems. _______________________________________________________________________ AI Xbox Ally X has it and the Legion Go S does not. You might not care about this, but it does affect efficiency and could eventually be used to enable FSR4 for lossless upscaling of games. _______________________________________________________________________ Controller Technology Legion Go S - Uses HE Triggers and Control Sticks. Xbox Ally X - Potentiometer Based Control Sticks for improved durability and reduced drift. Impulse triggers to incorporate feedback like rumble functions. 8 Way D-Pad for better compatibility with retro games. On paper the Legion Go S appears to have the advantage for reliability, but the controls themselves appear to have smoothing technology turned on, as there is a noticeable latency when using the two devices side by side. This was not something I was expecting when making my decision on which to keep. _______________________________________________________________________ Overall The handheld is decent and at $600 to $700 it would definitely be worth pausing on the Xbox Ally X, but the current price range of $829 to $899 makes this a much harder sell when compared to the Xbox Ally X. The biggest issues for me are the Battery Life, Controller Latency, and USB 4 implementation. If Lenovo turns off the controller smoothing, it might cause other issues, and somebody could potentially come up with a larger battery mod, but you're never going to be able to fix the USB 4 issue and that means eGPUs are out with this device. So, if you do not currently have a device and this is your first device, I would look elsewhere if you can afford better.

Coming from the Stan deck oled is a huge improvement in literally every aspect. From the screen to ergonomics with the only real downside being is you were a taco pad user since this much eliminates them. Very happy with this and with the z2 extreme cups being close to only 15%faster at max wattage in most scenarios I’m happy with the lower prices with this go s as it plays all the games I want with great performance. And as a side note I would also recommend the dbrand killswitch case since it doesn’t come with any sort of case in the box. 10 out of 10 would definitely recommend to someone that’s on the fence between this and the new Z2 extreme chips that handheld that are coming out soon to the market for much more in price.

I bought this Legion Go S steam-os during the 4th of July sale, and it's absolutely awesome. It plays all the AAA games that I've tried without any issues whatsoever. I bought over 55 games during the Steam Summer Sale for a fraction of the price that they cost everywhere else. I've been playing Red Dead Redemption 2, Cyberpunk 2077, High On Life, Dead Cells, Dead Space, Mad Max, Ace Combat 7, Need For Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered, Need For Speed Heat, Forza Horizon 5, Assassins Creed Black Flag, Assassins Creed Shadows, Stellar Blade, and a bunch more games with excellent graphics and awesome frame rates my only complaint is the battery life isn't the greatest on performance mode, but put it in balanced mode & you will get over 2 hours with games like Ace Combat 7 with excellent frame rates. I really love this handheld & I haven't touched my PS5 since getting it.

Very first handheld pc that I owned, first I was undecided between this legion go s z1 extreme or the steam deck oled some people say steam is still the best but can't run new and more demanding games so I have decided on buying this one also upgraded the ssd from 1tb to 4tb bought same time here at best buy samsung 990 pro both works perfectly and no complains, never been very happy with my purchase

This Lenovo legion go S with Z1 extreme chip, 32G RAM, 1TB storage and steamOS is perfect for me. Plus that 8” VRR 120hz IPS screen and hall effect sticks and buttons is so beautiful. Coming from steamdeck this felt like a huge upgrade and I got it on a sale price that is half of Legion go 2. I’m getting higher FPS and performance boost overall l.Super happy with this purchase and I’m clearing a lot of back clog games.

Best handheld gaming experience ever! It can run most of the games I want to play (except anti-cheat). The Legion go Z1 with Steam OS is great! The quick resume alone is worth it. The performance and price were just right for me. Legion go + Steam OS = one happy customer. I would definitely recommend this product.

The Legion Go S on sale is the best deal anyone could find on the market as of right now, beating even the steam deck in terms of value. The 32GB of ram paired with Steam OS and the Z1 extreme make it a force to be reckoned with. This handheld can pretty much handle any game you throw at it (excluding anti-cheat games). The 32GB of ram allows you to push higher textures on games that wouldn’t be possible on other handhelds, and pair that with Steam OS which manages its ram very efficiently, you could potentially have a much clearer and better viewing experience compared to other Z1 extreme handhelds. The chip on this device has been proven to be an extremely successful powerhouse too, as it can run many AAA titles fairly well. The screen is good on this device, being an 8 inch IPS panel with VRR it is honestly the best choice for a device like this. Just keep in mind the battery on this device isn’t the best, as it’s only 55.5Wh, meaning you’ll reasonably only get around 2 hours of battery life, maybe 2.5 hours if you optimize it right. Overall though, this device is easily recommendable for the ease of use, screen, chip, ram, and ergonomics.

ChatGPT said: The Legion Go S earns a solid 4 out of 5 stars for its impressive hardware and refined user experience. The build quality is outstanding, with a premium feel, sturdy materials, and excellent ergonomics that make it stand out among handheld gaming PCs. Running SteamOS, it delivers a clean, console-like interface with great performance and compatibility for most games, giving it a strong plug-and-play appeal. However, the one drawback is that installing Windows requires firmware changes before drivers can be applied, making the process unnecessarily complicated for users who want dual-boot flexibility. Despite this, the Legion Go S remains a well-engineered and versatile gaming handheld.

I =really love this device. The legion go s with the z2 go cpu and 16gb ram running windows 11 is bogged down so much. Once I found out that the legion go s had a z1 extreme 32gb ram model I was all in. Then I got to see that running steam os instead of windows and it is a match made in heavenly performance lol. Steam os has a desktop mode, it's kde Linux and archDE if I'm correct. And you can basically use any steam deck mods and install them as if the legion go s was an original steam deck. The only thing I haven't been able to get set up was the waydroid mod to have it run a version of android. I'm betting someone will get it working soon. Get the go s with the z1 extreme 32gb ram 1Tb ssd on steamOS. You will thank me for this recommendation. These pictures are my legion go s with the dbrand Killswitch full kit. Protect your investment!

Very nice and more powerful than my gaming laptop even tho i have a nice desktop now, but I enjoy laying in bed after work and play the same game that I usually play on my desktop IN BED, UNDER THE AC. My wife loves it because I can stay next to her while im gaming lol Under steamOS everything is smooth, and I can also play on desktop platform, Im running battlenet on mine and plays with no issue. Very good

When I heard about this one coming out I wondered if it would be worth it but of course that graphics processing power and 32GB of RAM what’s NOT to love?! It has been PERFECT since the start and I have no complaints. It surpasses everything I could have imagined. RDR2 plays smoothly compared to the SD as well as numerous AAA games. I basically neglected my PC and keep playing here instead. Of course since it is Linux I can’t play some games like COD or Battlefield your typical multiplayer games but I honestly miss the campaign on those games for nostalgic. Nonetheless this device has truly been a PERFECT experience and I will have it for years to come.

I had a Steam Deck OLED for a while before I picked up the Go S on a great sale (plus open box). I haven’t found myself picking it up much over the Deck. Sure, it could potentially have greater performance but that’s only when you keep it plugged in or run it at such a power that the battery only lasts about 1.5-2hrs. Limiting power under 20w really hinders performance. For example, running games like Hades 2 just SIPS power on the Deck OLED, providing up to like 6hrs of battery life, at 90fps. But the Go S has to run at almost twice the TDP and gets up to 3.5hrs of battery life. Reducing the TDP of the Go S so that the total power draw matches the Deck, for equal battery life, tanks the fps to 45. Even at 800p. Streaming with Moonlight is the same deal…Go S requires more power leading to less battery life. And when limiting TDP to help, input latency increases a TON. Comfort for me, the Deck wins. The Go S controller is too bulbous at the bottom, too tall, and then paired with the more “inward” positioned top buttons makes it much more uncomfortable. Vibration quality - the Deck wins. The Go S vibration can sometimes sound and feel like your first Android phone’s vibration. There’s no nuance to it to provide a greater sensation of immersion. Certain actions in some games don’t even produce any vibrations on the Go S that are present on the Deck. The vibrations on the Go S are loud. Buzzy. Speakers - I don’t know. About the same. Maybe slightly less bass on the Go S. Screen - there’s no comparing an OLED to this IPS. Play a game like Hades 2 or Deadzone Rogue and you can CLEARLY see the difference. The Go S does not get close. To be expected. Where the Go S does win is the VRR. Even on the Go S, the VRR is needed and a welcome addition. Because both handhelds do have moments where they will drop frames. You don’t notice it as bad on the Go S thanks to VRR keeping it relatively smooth (not “60fps” smooth but better than when the Deck drops frames). Picture 1 (blue benchmark screen) - Immortals Fenyx Rising at 1200p Go S vs 800p Deck OLED (medium preset) - Go S is at 33w TDP (absolute max power….loud fan action) Picture 2 same settings and config as above. Showing a large overview of an open world game. Picture 3 (Hades 2 at the cooking pot) - both locked to 60fps = 7.7w total power on Deck OLED; 15.6w total power on Go S (balanced mode) Picture 4 - Hades 2 again, this time showing when TDP is lowered on the Go S to try to match Deck total power draw, fps tanks to 45. Picture 5 - Stray at 800p on both devices. Go S running full tilt (39.7w total draw) gets 51fps vs Deck’s 36. Picture 6 - Stray at 800p with Go S in balanced mode gets the same fps as the Deck.

Superb! I bought this in lieu of the new Legion Go 2 and I don’t regret it whatsoever. 10/10 would recommend. My only relatively caveat is that if you want the MOST 100% POWER PREFORMANCE out of it is that you need it plugged into the wall or battery pack.

I’ve been putting in a lot of hours with the Lenovo Legion Go S running SteamOS, and here’s the bottom line: it’s a beast of a handheld, but it’s not perfect. I mainly played Days Gone, Warframe, World of Tanks, Asphalt Legends, and even some time-killer games like Tap Ninja. For lighter games like Asphalt and Tap Ninja, the Legion Go S barely breaks a sweat — smooth, fast, and easy on the battery. Warframe and World of Tanks both ran great, with solid frame rates and no real issues. Days Gone, being more demanding, needed some tweaking to hit a stable frame rate, but once dialed in it was very playable and looked impressive on the 8-inch 120Hz screen. The build feels solid in the hands, the screen is sharp and responsive, and the controls are comfortable enough for long sessions. SteamOS keeps things simple — most of my library worked right out of the box without the bloat you get on Windows handhelds. Now the trade-offs: the battery life is short if you’re playing anything heavy (1–2 hours max unless you lower settings), and the fan can get loud when pushing performance. The trackpad is basically useless, so don’t count on it. And yes, it’s on the heavier side — after a while you feel it. Overall, if you want a handheld that can handle AAA games like Days Gone but also crush free-to-play titles like Warframe or World of Tanks, the Legion Go S delivers. Just know you’ll need to keep a charger handy. For me, it’s worth it — I’ve sunk plenty of hours into it already, and it’s earned its spot as my go-to gaming device.

I’ve been really enjoying the Lenovo Legion Go S so far. The performance is great and games run smooth without any major lag or stuttering. The battery life is better than I expected for a handheld, and I can play for a good amount of time without constantly worrying about charging. It’s also very comfortable to hold. the design feels ergonomic and my hands don’t get tired even during longer gaming sessions. Overall, it’s a solid handheld and definitely worth it if you want good performance, decent battery life, and comfort.

Most games that I play seem to run well. I primarily play single player campaigns like metal gear solid, dying light, palworld, skyrim, mass effect, baldurs gate3, days gone (slight lag on that one), and Jedi survivor. Set to performance mode. You WILL want to be near a wall outlet after about an hour and they do not, as of this moment, have 3rd party after market swappable batteries. Nor do i see any plans on the horizon for such developments. Additionally, with the SteamOS version of this console specifically at least, almost every game has required internet to function in some way. Like it has to connect to the game manufacturers servers. Frustrating if you thought you could just take this on the go while you get your oil changed or something. For the cost of this device, but being tethered to the wall, and to wifi, I would just get a gaming laptop.

Happy with my purchase. I owned a ton of handhelds this year including the legion go 2, my favorite by far was the legion go s z1 extreme with steamos though. It plays all of my games, steamos gets me right into gaming quickly. Quick resume is a must for me these days where I often pick it up to play here and there. Screen is 8” so plenty of real estate for games and small text. I highly recommend this device!