Leaked Lenovo Legion Go 2 Will Make You Mad at Xbox and Nintendo

Should you’re on the fence about whether or not to grab up a $450 Nintendo Switch 2, or in case you’re nonetheless hemming and hawing about that upcoming Xbox handheld made by Asus, there’s yet another gadget that appears set to make your pockets scream bloody homicide. We haven’t seen conceal nor hair of Lenovo’s Legion Go 2 for about six months now, however leaks recommend it might be the sequel handheld you had been truly on the lookout for, due to a significant display improve that neither Nintendo nor Xbox is providing for its current-gen handhelds.

The story goes again to a number of posts on Reddit, the place some customers claimed there have been a slew of leaked Legion Go 2 fashions obtainable by China-centric prototype and aftermarket reseller Xianyu. Whereas Gizmodo couldn’t verify there have been Legion Go 2 items altering palms, Videocardz claims to have seen fashions up on the market on these Chinese language websites. Both manner, some customers have already pushed out movies allegedly displaying the ins and outs of Lenovo’s upcoming sequel handheld. One, posted by YouTuber in yo, exhibits off a prototype with its 8.8-inch OLED show.

It’s nonetheless working common previous Home windows, identical to the original Legion Go S launched earlier this 12 months. Lenovo later unleashed its same handheld with SteamOS, which provided a significant enhance in efficiency. The prototype proven in that video is harking back to early prototypes we noticed final 12 months. Regardless of this being an early mannequin, the 1200p OLED show at 144Hz and VRR—AKA variable refresh fee—continues to be the true star of the present. We don’t thoughts the Swap 2’s 7.9-inch show despite ghosting issues that go away some video games—particularly fast-paced sidescrollers—trying blurry. Nor did we have now many complaints in regards to the Asus ROG Ally X’s smaller display, save for its comparatively low brightness. Let’s face it, OLED nonetheless wins day by day. The Steam Deck OLED has a 720p show, and but we nonetheless favor it to most handhelds we’ve used which are nonetheless beholden to IPS LCD.

Lenovo is probably going ready for Microsoft to launch its model of Home windows constructed particularly for handhelds. It primarily makes use of the Xbox app because the front-end person interface for accessing all of your video games on Xbox in addition to third-party launchers like Steam and Epic Video games Retailer. Like SteamOS, it’ll additionally dual-boot with a daily model of Home windows for customers to entry all their common apps. Microsoft hasn’t provided a launch date for that Home windows model, but it surely might arrive later this 12 months and would have backward help for all earlier Home windows-based handhelds.

I first went hands-on with the Legion Go 2 at CES again in January. The gadget was nonetheless only a prototype, however AMD had the machine working with its upcoming Ryzen Z2 Excessive chip, which is meant to be the subsequent huge factor for handheld efficiency. I didn’t have any time to check its general efficiency or to get a really feel for its improved ergonomics with its removable controllers. The movies of leaked Legion Go 2 fashions showcase how one can nonetheless detach both sides of the gadget to go controllers akimbo. The precise-side management stick can nonetheless act as a mouse cursor for enjoying FPS or RTS video games, although we’d have to check whether or not it’s as easy and correct as Nintendo’s Swap 2 mouse controls proved to be.

The YouTuber did embody an inside specs sheet for the gadget. This model of the Legion Go 2 apparently didn’t home a Z2 Excessive chipset however a daily Z2. The upper-end AMD APU—or accelerated processing unit with graphics capabilities—isn’t utilizing AMD’s newest chip microarchitecture, Zen 5. It’s nonetheless a Zen 4 chip, which can probably be closest in efficiency to the earlier gen’s Ryzen Z1 Excessive. This means there’ll probably be a lower-cost model of the Legion Go 2 to accompany a pricier mannequin. This model additionally included 32GB of LPPDR5 7,500MHz RAM, which might put it within the greater echelons of gaming handhelds the place reminiscence is worried.

Lenovo hasn’t given any indication on how a lot the Legion Go 2 would price. Let’s put any dewy-eyed hope to relaxation—it’s not going to be low-cost. The ROG Xbox Ally was already tipped to cost a pretty penny. If the Xbox Ally X with Z2 Excessive calls for $1,000 or extra, it virtually ensures the Legion Go 2 might be almost as expensive with its bigger and better-looking show. Look what occurred to the MSI Claw 8 AI+, which went from $900 to $1,000, probably resulting from Trump tariffs. Getting the perfect show on probably the most highly effective handheld will inevitably demand extra out of your pockets.