Lenovo Legion Go vs Lenovo Legion Go S: both handhelds compared

Just like gaming laptops, gaming handhelds like the Lenovo Legion Go and Legion Go S cover similar ground, but are different enough that one is probably the more ideal choice for you. And just like gaming laptops, some of that is a difference in specs and some of that is a difference in design.

Since the best handheld gaming devices are a bit newer, it can be a bit tougher differentiating what’s special with the Lenovo Legion Go S vs Lenovo Legion Go, so we’ll help by taking a deeper dive at what these two handhelds have to offer.

There is a lot of overlap – they both come with Windows 11 (the Go S will also be released with SteamOS loaded onto it in May), they both have short battery life, and they both have microSD slots to expand upon the onboard storage. They also both have 8.8-inch displays, though there are some notable differences between the two.

As I’ll mention a bit more below, one of the biggest differences between the two is that the Legion Go S loses the Go’s ability to remove the joystick and use it separately the way one would on a Nintendo Switch. The Go S is almost like the Nintendo Switch Lite with an all-in-one body more focused on portability. Though the only version of the Legion Go S available right now isn’t as affordable as the Legion Go, that will change when the less souped up versions are released.

I’ll discuss that and more to see where these two handhelds differ, so let’s dig in to see which might be a better fit for you.

Lenovo Legion Go vs Lenovo Legion Go S: Price

When it comes to price, it’s worth setting a baseline. And for that, I recommend a refresher on what the Steam Deck goes for. The most basic version, which comes with 64GB of eMMC storage and a seven-inch 1280 x 800 LCD display, goes for $399 / £349. The next version up goes for $529 / £459 with more storage at 256GB NVMe SSD and a bigger 7.4-inch 1280 x 800 HDR OLED display. The maxed out version ups the memory to 1TB for a price of $649 / £569.

In comparison, the Lenovo Legion Go is expensive. It starts at $699.99 / £700 / AU$1,299 for 512GB of storage. And if you want the version of 1TB of storage, the price of entry is $749.99. Of course, the resolution is much, much better at 2560 x 1600p with a bigger 8.8-inch display. Plus, there’s the ability to remove the joysticks to use like a Nintendo Switch, as I previously mentioned.

The model that we want to compare the Lenovo Legion Go to is the Lenovo Legion Go S, which is a bit more varied in options. The base model, loaded with SteamOS, shares the same AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme APU, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. It will launch in May and has an asking price of $499. The more expensive SteamOS version upgrades the processor to a newer generation Ryzen Z2 Go as well as the storage to 1TB for a price tag of $599.

If you prefer to have Windows 11 installed like the original Legion Go (maybe you use other storefronts besides Steam), then the price tag starts at $599 for a configuration sporting the Ryzen Z2 Go, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB storage. This version will also launch in May. The only version available at the time of writing is actually about as expensive as the Legion Go; it goes for $729 and comes with 32GB RAM instead of 16GB.

It should be noted that the Legion Go is available just in black, while the Legion Go S is available in black for the Windows 11 configurations and Glacier White for the SteamOS ones.

Lenovo Legion Go vs Lenovo Legion Go S: Design

The Lenovo Legion Go S is not only the newer model, but it’s the slightly more portable one. It weighs in at 1.63 lbs (740g) compared to the Legion Go’s weight of 1.88 lbs (854 g). And it’s slightly thinner with dimensions of 11.77 x 5.02 x 0.88 inches (299 x 127.55 x 22.6mm) compared to the Go’s 11.76 x 5.16 x 1.60 inches (298.83 x 131 x 40.7mm).

Tied with its slightly smaller size and lower price tag is the fact that the Legion Go S doesn’t have removable joysticks. Instead, the controls are built in the way they are on a Steam Deck. The button layout is mostly the same, though some minor buttons have been moved a bit lower.

The Lenovo Legion Go might be less portable, but the removable joysticks are an attractive feature that’s missed on the Go S. They can be removed and used as is, placed into a holder of sorts for a wireless controller, or can be used in an almost keyboard and mouse fashion where one of the joysticks is placed into a base to recreate the motions of a mouse (the other joystick is used normally). I would say this is the biggest difference between the two models and will determine which one is best for you. After all, the size difference isn’t really that big.

The next biggest difference is the display. While both the Go S and Go sport 8.8-inch displays, the newer Go S comes with a lower resolution and slower refresh rate. It has a (1920 x 1200p) LCD display with a 120Hz refresh rate. Worth noting is the fact that it has 500 nits of brightness, and 97% DCI-P3 color coverage.

The Go might be older but it has a better screen, which along with the removable joysticks is reflected in the price. The resolution is 2560 x 1600p with a 144Hz refresh rate, along with a similar 500 nits of brightness, and 97% DCI-P3 color gamut.

As far as ports go, they both come with a headphone/mic combo jack, microSD slot to expand storage capabilities, and two USB4 ports with DisplayPort 1.4 and power delivery capability.

Lastly, as far as connectivity goes, the Legion Go S is a bit faster with Bluetooth 5.3 vs the Legion Go’s 5.1 and Wi-Fi 6E to the Legion Go’s Wi-Fi 6 (if you’re curious about the difference, we have an article on the key distinctions, too).

Lenovo Legion Go vs Lenovo Legion Go S: Features

As far as the features go, the most notable has already been mentioned: the removable joysticks. It’s certainly a plus in the Legion Go’s favor. However, both units allow you to not only connect them to a monitor but use the Bluetooth connectivity to interface with them via a keyboard and mouse, acting as a mini-gaming rig when you’re not out and about.

But, what you’re able to play is going to be somewhat limited by the internal operating system. The Lenovo Legion Go only comes with Windows 11, while the Lenovo Legion Go S can also be purchased with SteamOS pre-loaded.

Windows 11 is the broader, but less perfectly implemented option. The setup is longer and the user interface isn’t as seamless as the SteamOS version. Menu hunting is much more challenging, for example. However, the Windows 11 versions allow you to access other storefronts like GOG and Epic Games without jumping through SteamOS hoops. You can even access XBox Gamepass and EA Play.

Lenovo Legion Go S vs Lenovo Legion Go: Performance

Before we discuss the actual performance, let’s take a quick look under the hood of these two models. The base version of the Legion Go S and the Legion Go share the same Ryzen Z1 Extreme APU (a CPU with an integrated GPU) with 8 cores / 16 threads and a base clock of 3.3GHz that can be overclocked to 5.1GHz. Its GPU has a core count of 12.

All but the base version of the Legion Go S come instead with a newer generation processor, the Ryzen Z2 Go. Its GPU has the same core count, but it’s a bit weaker on the CPU side with 4 cores and 8 threads with a base clock of 3GHz that can be overclocked to 4.3GHz. At least, a version of the Legion Go S comes with 32GB of RAM, while the Legion Go is limited to 16GB.

Beyond that, the differences in storage are about the same, with you being able to choose between 512GB and 1TB of storage. You can take advantage of the microSD slot if you want to expand the storage.

So, what does this mean in terms of actual running games? The Lenovo Legion Go, for instance, is quite capable. If you keep its limitations in mind, the fact that it can achieve almost 60 fps on low in Forza Horizon 5 is impressive. In our review, we noted that gameplay was generally smooth with just a little bit of stuttering and freezing with more demanding titles.

While we haven’t yet gotten a full review of the Lenovo Legion Go S yet, our hands-on review of it from CES was promising with solid results in Forza Horizon 5 on mid-to-high settings. It will be interesting how it does in our full review considering the fact that the Legion Go S generally comes with a newer generation but less powerful chip.

It will also be interesting to see how the SteamOS versions perform, in particular, as SteamOS is a bit better optimized for handheld consoles (and this would be the first officially licensed handheld with SteamOS).

As far as battery life goes, the Lenovo Legion Go S hasn’t yet been benchmarked but comes with a higher capacity battery (55.5Whr) and less demanding screen compared to the Legion Go’s 49.2Whr capacity. So, the Legion Go S should have a little bit of improvement on the Legion Go’s couple hours of gameplay, not to mention that the joysticks also need charging on the Legion Go.

Which Lenovo handheld is right for you?

Often, when comparing two products, it’s not obvious that one is categorically better, especially when you consider that everyone cares about different aspects of a product.

The Lenovo Legion Go S is newer and therefore comes with a newer generation APU, faster Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and a slightly bigger battery. It’s also more portable, partially because it eschews those removable joysticks.

The Lenovo Legion Go comes with a better screen and the Switch-esque removable joysticks, and that might be enough for some. Other than being a little older, it is clearly the more premium product.

At the end of the day, if you want something more portable and quite a bit cheaper, then the Lenovo Legion Go S is the better way to go. But if you want those removable joysticks and a better screen, the Lenovo Legion Go is a better bet.