Summary
Hardware manufacturerLenovois reportedly working on a follow-up to the Lenovo Legion GO, its portable gaming handheld. Like the current Legion GO, the follow-up will place high-endPCgaming hardware in a portable package.
Lenovo first released the Legion GO in October 2023. Portable gaming PC handhelds are a growing field for hardware makers, ever since the success of platforms like theValve Steam Deck and its range of verified games. Unlike the Steam Deck, though, most competitors run on the Windows operating system, increasing the range of compatibility with the majority of PC games.
Lenovo Working on a Legion GO Successor
Word about a new version of theLenovo Legion GO and its unique designcame courtesy of Innovate 2024, a trade event held in Thailand.In comments to VideoCardz.com, Lenovo Gaming Category Manager for APAC Clifford Chong confirmed that the company is working on “the next generation” of its Legion GO. Chong said that Lenovo would share more when the time is right.
Chong didn’t get into specifics about what kind of specifications or hardware the new Lenovo Legion GO would pack, or even if it would still be called a Legion GO. The current Legion GO shares the name of Lenovo’s Legion laptop line, but the company could be looking to define its next handheld with a unique name. But Chong did say that Lenovo sees potential in the PC gaming handheld product category, and that Lenovo is still working on the “next wave” of features destined for the handheld. Lenovo’s presence at Innovate 2024 was also focused on its line ofLenovo Chromebooks and laptops, so discussion of its plans for gaming handhelds might not have been on the cards for the day.
The competition is heating up to meet the needs of PC gamers who desire portability on top of power. At the same time, gaming handhelds afford developers a more console-like uniformity in specifications when working out performance and graphical quality targets. But with current gaming handhelds beginning to struggle with the latest PC games, manufacturers are looking to a new wave of features and hardware to raise the bar for customers. Even competitors likeASUS might release a successor to its ROG Ally in 2024.
PC gaming handhelds were once the province of players who wanted to play “low-spec” titles and run emulators, but newer handhelds are highly capable of playing modern triple-A releases handily. While they don’t quite match a proper desktop PC’s power, their form factor and portability has opened up new horizons for PC gaming.
Lenovo Legion Go
Lenovo Legion GO takes a page out of the Nintendo Switch’s playbook with its ability to separate the left and right controllers from the 8.8" 2500x1600 screen. The PC gaming handheld boasts one of the most powerful specs seen in a handheld device, but that comes at the price of battery life. Ultimately, any Windows-based handheld has its advantages and risks. However, Lenovo has done well to give its device enough reasons to intrigue handheld-leaning gamers.
