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.

Steam OS on this beautiful device packed with this much power is just AMAZING, i bought this for the screen size, although its not OLED, but the IPS display panel on this device is color vibrant and the Ergonomic is just surpurb, super comfortable to hold. I would absolutely recommend this to everyone. The only thing i am not a big fan is the color of the device, but its nothing a decal Dbrand skin can not fix. Highly recommend this for a BIG steam deck upgrade.

After a few weeks of owning the legion go s, I can say that it was definitely worth the price I paid during the black friday sale. Performance in games is honestly even better than what I expected and the screen is the perfect size for me, can see everything pretty clearly. Don’t know if I would’ve paid full price for it though, so I’d recommend waiting for a sale to make it a bit more reasonable.

Best handheld for the money. Good ergonomics and awesome screen. Only wish the battery were larger.

Solid performance and very comfortable to use. The screen looks great and games run smoothly for a handheld. I like using it on the couch or in bed instead of sitting at my desk, which makes longer sessions more enjoyable. Battery life is decent and controls feel responsive. Overall, a great option if you want flexible, portable gaming at home.

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.

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!

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.

This handheld is a beast and with steam os to boot. I am very satisfied with my purchase. The battery life kinda stinks but nothing a good power bank cant resolve. Would highly recommend it over the windows version.

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'm a big gammer PC and console. This is an amazing addition to my travel entertainment. This handheld is powerful and super high resolution!! A must have.

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.

Bought it for 570 with tax, open box excellent, and it has been great. The only want from me is like extra 30mins of battery life as I play in performance mode or balanced most of the time.

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.

Thought it’d gather dust after a few weeks like my other consoles but I haven’t been able to stop playing it. Modern games run decently and everything else runs great. Only downside is battery life about 2hours.

The Legion Go S is powerful and convenient. I love it! The z1 extreme is a surprisingly powerful APU. It can run AAA games like Hogwarts Legacy at 1200p at a solid 40fps with a mix of high and medium settings with the help of FSR upscaling, and frame gen makes it even better! I was worried about the screen not being OLED, but it's beautiful! Also, it's a wonderful size for immersion especially with its 16x10 aspect ratio. Hall effect joysticks are definitely appreciated. The ability to switch L2 and R2 between full travel analog triggers for racing games and hair triggers for shooters is a plus. The thing I love most about it is that it is so convenient! With the ability to suspend games at any point (including mid-cut scene!), I can finally play games. Heating something up in the microwave? Waiting to be called at the doctor's office? Have some down time between tasks for work or need a quick break from studying? Whatever the case may be, unsuspend and play, unlike playing on your PC (where it's just inconvenient and a waste of electricity to keep your game running in the background). I can't recommend this handheld enough! My one minor complaint is that I wish the ergonomic grips were at a bit of a wider angle like console controllers. (See photo)