We’ve seen Asus and Logitech take a swing, now Lenovo desires a flip at bat to tackle the Steam Deck. The Lenovo Legion Go is one other transportable, AMD-powered, Windows-running sport machine, however with some premium elements and some methods up its sleeve. In addition to detachable left- and right-hand controllers, a la the Nintendo Switch, the design additionally shifts right into a type of gaming mouse setup. Lenovo will likely be promoting an add-on set of VR-style glasses that give the gadget an immersive wearable show.

At the center of the Legion Go is “up to” an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme APU, the identical chip powering the Asus ROG Ally. It’s filled with 16GB of DDR5 reminiscence and 256GB of M.2 Gen 4 storage (upgradable to 1TB). That’s powering a comparatively big 8.8-inch 2560×1600 IPS display screen with 144Hz refresh price and 500 nits of brightness — a giant improve over each the Steam Deck’s 7-inch 800p, 60Hz panel and the Ally’s 1080p 120Hz panel on the similar dimension.

Update: You can see our preliminary hands-on impressions of the Lenovo Legion Go within the video under.

But the pure numbers aren’t the Legion Go’s true attraction. Those snap-off controllers didn’t come to play…properly, they did come to play, they’re for enjoying video games…um, they’re a giant deal. In addition to the usual triggers and shoulder buttons, the left aspect options two additional rear programmable buttons (sometimes hit with the center and ring finger). The proper aspect has a touchpad, 4 additional buttons default sure to a typical mouse structure, plus a mouse wheel. Lenovo says this “FPS mode” is for shooters, with an optical sensor on the underside enabled when the controllers are eliminated and the gadget’s rear kickstand is prolonged. A little bit spherical stand you may slot the appropriate controller into turns it right into a type of modified vertical mouse.

Lenovo

Other {hardware} goodies embody a 49.2 watt-hour battery with “Super Rapid Charge” that may pump it as much as 70 p.c in half an hour, plus a battery bypass mode that powers the unit instantly from an outlet to protect the battery’s longevity and keep away from pointless warmth. At max energy the system can run at 25 watts of TGP. Double USB-C ports enable for charging and plugging in equipment on the similar time, with DisplayPort 1.4 dealing with exterior video duties (which ought to be capable to output 4K TVs at excessive refresh charges, no drawback).

Legion

That’s a variety of extras in comparison with the unique Steam Deck design. But maybe the largest and flashiest add-on is the sold-separately Legion Glasses. This “wearable monitor” headset plugs in through USB-C to ship a 1080p OLED video sign to every eye at 60Hz. While not as spectacular or as technologically superior as a full VR headset, it ought to provide related ranges of immersion to one thing like TCL’s Nextwear or RayNeo XR, minus the augmented actuality. And due to the USB-C video customary, it’ll work with different gadgets too, together with laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

Legion

The Legion Go is coming in October, beginning at $699 for the bottom configuration, the identical value because the ROG Ally however properly above the $400 ground of the Steam Deck. Pricing for upgrades (as a result of 256GB is barely sufficient to run Baldur’s Gate III) wasn’t shared, however it’s best to be capable to present your personal SSD if you need an affordable storage enhance. It’ll include a free 30-day Xbox Game Pass code. The Legion Glasses will likely be a hefty $329 on prime of it — most of the price of a Meta Quest 2 headset, for context — however once more, they’ll work with different devices that may output video through USB-C.