Lenovo Legion Go handheld PC leak reveals October release window and QHD screen for $799

[Daniel Sims]

Rumor mill: Lenovo's full spec sheet for their new handheld gaming PC, including release date and price, has finally emerged after a month of leaks. Under the hood, it looks similar to the Asus ROG Ally and the latest GPD Win. However, Lenovo offers a more ambitious visual experience with more pixels and optional AR glasses.

A source has given Windows Report a PR sheet containing all the critical details of Lenovo's upcoming Legion Go handheld gaming PC. If the materials are genuine, then the company will unveil it this Friday at the start of the IFA 2023 trade show in Berlin and ship the device in October for $799.

Predictably, the Legion Go features AMD's Ryzen Z1 Extreme – the same chip powering the Asus ROG Ally and the 2023 model of the GPD Win 4. With a 3.3 GHz base clock, a 5.1 GHz boost clock, eight cores, and 12 RDNA 3 CUs, the APU is a variant of the Ryzen 7 7840U with wattage and voltage specifically tweaked for gaming.

One of Legion Go's most significant advantages over Asus and GPD is its 8.8" 2560 x 1600 pixel QHD IPS screen with VRR and a maximum refresh rate of 144Hz. That's quite a leap over the leading competing system, the ROG Ally, with its 1080p screen and 120Hz VRR. Still, some might question the value of higher resolutions on tiny 8-inch screens. Plus, Giving the same processor a higher burden of pixels can cause lower frame rates and battery life, especially when Lenovo's two-cell 49.2 WHr battery is only marginally better than the other handhelds.

pic.twitter.com/T7rgsbgaFO

– Evan Blass (@evleaks) August 28, 2023

Since these devices are PCs, users don't have to play every title at 1600p or 1080p, which reveals an advantage in Lenovo's choice of resolution. Setting a game to 720p or 800p enables an even 2x integer scale (the former leaving black bars on the top and bottom of the screen), which should look good enough on a portable display while improving performance and conserving power.

Another notable difference with the Legion Go is its 7,500 Mhz LPDDR5X RAM, which should be markedly faster than the LPDDR5 memory in the GPD Win 4, ROG Ally, and Steam Deck. Internal storage space goes up to 1TB – roomier than the highest capacities offered by Valve and Asus but far short of GPD's 4TB maximum.

Lenovo also revealed a $499 pair of Micro OLED AR glasses that simulate a virtual 1080p 60Hz screen and receive a signal from any USB-C device. The Legion Go features two USB-C USB ports with USB 4.0, DisplayPort 1.4, and Power Delivery 3.0.

The features lie under Lenovo's most striking choice – its previously leaked Nintendo Switch-like form factor with a detachable split controller. The separated screen or AR glasses could likely become a decent portable panel for streaming 1080p media, with the controller as a remote.

Like the other portable devices competing with Valve, the Lenovo Legion Go comes with Windows 11, and the company will include three free months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. However, modders recently released a customizable cloned version of the Steam Deck's Linux-based OS that can run on other PCs, including handhelds.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/99943-lenovo-legion-go-handheld-pc-leak-reveals-october.html

 

[Dimitriid]

Another smaller brand that already did almost this exact device is the onexplayer: It's basically the same size (8.7") with detachable controllers in a Nintendo Switch style, also has the same ports configuration. Only that its current version is 6800u instead since it's been out for several months (Well before the 7840u/Ryzen Extreme was available) but it seems to be a well liked device: Not too much use out of detaching the controllers honestly since it doesn't has the battery life to effectively become a tablet replacement but it's still a neat trick to have it dock more elegantly without the controllers I kinda like it.

So if Lenovo manages to avoid some of the issues Asus had with the Ally's defective sd card reader I might consider it since it bumps screen size and as I said, it can be a lower battery replacement for a tablet which is not terribly useful but also not terrible to have as a bonus.

EDIT: Apparently they do have a 7840u variant available or coming rather soon so pretty much almost exactly as these one.

 

[sorten]

You have to really want to play video games in your college classes in order to pay $800 for a handheld device. You could buy a PS5 and a large 4K television for the same price.

 

[godrilla]

I predicted this space will be commodity a few years back. While $800 is still quite far from it, at least the competition is growing rapidly, we went from 720p 60hz to now qhd @ 144hz just in few years. Whoever can balance battery life with screen real-estate will likely have a winning formula. Imo an 1080p 60 hz oled screen would be better for battery life, improved image quality and better response times than a traditional led like found in the switch oled ( released 10/ 2021).

 

[waclark]

You have to really want to play video games in your college classes in order to pay $800 for a handheld device. You could buy a PS5 and a large 4K television for the same price.

Kind of hard to haul a PS5, not to mention a 4K screen, well, anywhere. Plus, while the PS5 is a fine console, it doesn't necessarily play all PC titles.

 

[dangh]

Good to see a competition, but I'm fine with steam deck and this think do not look ergonomic. Maybe this will actually make Nintendo actually care about customers and user experience...

 

[OortCloud]

That QHD display feels unnecessary on a device that size.
It will murder performance and kill the battery. Most titles will have to be run at lower resolutions or with scaling, largely negating the benefits of that QHD.

 

[godrilla]

Kind of hard to haul a PS5, not to mention a 4K screen, well, anywhere. Plus, while the PS5 is a fine console, it doesn't necessarily play all PC titles.

Another choice gamers have is for $100 more you can get qhd 165hz gaming laptops currently

Check this out on @Newegg:ASUS TUF Dash 15 (2022) Gaming Laptop, 15.6" 165Hz QHD IPS-Type Display, Intel Core i7-12650H, GeForce RTX 3050, 16GB DDR5, 512GB PCIe SSD, Thunderbolt 4, Wi-Fi 6, Windows 11 Home, Off Black, FX517ZC-IS73 https://www.newegg.com/off-black-as...m_mmc=snc-social-_-sr-_-34-236-474-_-08282023
https://www.newegg.com/off-black-as...m_mmc=snc-social-_-sr-_-34-236-474-_-08282023
https://www.microcenter.com/product/668401/dell-g16-7620-160-gaming-laptop-computer-obsidian-black
It seems they are all hovering around this $899 mark. Although you can get a full HD fast refresh rate gaming laptop for less

 

[waclark]

Another choice gamers have is for $100 more you can get qhd 165hz gaming laptops currently

Check this out on @Newegg:ASUS TUF Dash 15 (2022) Gaming Laptop, 15.6" 165Hz QHD IPS-Type Display, Intel Core i7-12650H, GeForce RTX 3050, 16GB DDR5, 512GB PCIe SSD, Thunderbolt 4, Wi-Fi 6, Windows 11 Home, Off Black, FX517ZC-IS73 https://www.newegg.com/off-black-as...m_mmc=snc-social-_-sr-_-34-236-474-_-08282023
https://www.newegg.com/off-black-as...m_mmc=snc-social-_-sr-_-34-236-474-_-08282023
https://www.microcenter.com/product/668401/dell-g16-7620-160-gaming-laptop-computer-obsidian-black
It seems they are all hovering around this $899 mark. Although you can get a full HD fast refresh rate gaming laptop for less

There was a good video on comparing the Ally to a $700 gaming laptop. I don't think the video makes a strong case for the Ally, but if you value portability the Ally isn't a bad choice and overall performance is good compared to the laptop.

I have an Ally, and I consider it a luxury purchase. If you can only afford one device, I would say spend the money and get a laptop. By the time you get an Ally, and a keyboard/mouse, additional storage, plus a dock and a 100W+ charger, you're going to be pushing close to or over $900. Throw in an external monitor and you're over $1000. Of course, a really decent gaming laptop is going to cost you $1500-2000 but I would argue that you'll be able to use that laptop longer than the Ally (unless you buy an XG mobile eGPU but then you lose true portability).