The Fairly Display screen on Lenovo’s Legion Go 2 Will Nearly Make You Neglect About Its Worth

Why change what works? Within the case of Lenovo’s Legion Go 2, the query morphs into “Why change what makes you distinct?” Lenovo’s upcoming sequel to its Legion Go handheld gaming PC is extra highly effective, has grips made for human arms, and sports activities a prettier display. Its blood is flowing with the identical DNA as Lenovo’s odd handheld, however now it comes with a price ticket designed to make your pockets weep.

Right here’s the kicker. At IFA 2025, Lenovo declared the Legion Go 2 will begin at $1,050 for a model we anticipate will home an AMD Ryzen Z2, not the extra highly effective Z2 Excessive. For comparability, the following most costly handheld from one of many massive laptop computer OEMs, the MSI Claw 8 AI+, at the moment calls for $1,000 after tariff-impacted value hikes. The Legion Go 2 handheld comes out someday in October, although Lenovo let me play a couple of rounds of Balatro to get a really feel for its format and delight in entrance of its bright OLED display. That is an natural light-emitting diode show with no separate backlight, that means it generates significantly better distinction and deep “inky” blacks in comparison with your common LCD. The display remains to be a large 8.8 inches with a 1,920 x 1,200 decision panel (the final Legion Go stood out at 1,600p), however now it helps variable refresh charge, or VRR, between 30Hz and 144Hz. This might assist the Legion Go 2 present your video games in the most effective gentle, whether or not they’re operating at a minimal of 30 fps or nicely over 100 fps.

The Legion Go 2 has beefy specs for its value

Specs-wise, the Legion Go 2 makes use of AMD’s newest high-end handheld-centric chip, the Ryzen Z2 Excessive, and sports activities as much as 32GB of high-speed RAM. Lenovo additionally upgraded the battery to 74Wh, twice as a lot as the primary Legion Go. It’s not as excessive because the Asus ROG Ally X, however hopefully it ought to assist longer battery life than the earlier machine, which might usually conk out after below two hours of gaming. The 2 USB 4 ports on the highest and backside each assist as much as 65W charging and video output as much as DisplayPort 2.0.

Lenovo’s Legion Go was the odd duckling of the 2023 nascent handheld PC market. Followers who appreciated the massive display life turned the machine right into a swan of their very own design. They crafted grips to make the hand held’s sharp sides really feel extra ergonomic. Some went so far as to switch Home windows 11 with both Bazzite—an working system developed in Linux made to resemble Valve’s gaming ecosystem—or Valve’s SteamOS itself. The brand new Legion Go 2 remains to be caught utilizing Home windows together with the Legion House app to manage the machine’s energy settings and quick-access video games. The machine ought to ultimately acquire entry to the handheld-specific model of Home windows 11, however that received’t be round till after Xbox helps launch the Asus ROG Xbox Ally.

The Legion Go 2 seems like an extension of its predecessor, reasonably than a makeover. The TrueStrike grips have been reworked to suit extra comfortably in adult-sized arms. They will nonetheless detach from the primary physique of the machine, à la the Switch 2. Not like Nintendo’s new handheld, which makes use of magnetic attachment factors, the Legion Go 2 nonetheless makes use of the identical pin-based connection that uncouples from the hand held by pulling up and away from the primary unit. The controllers are nonetheless suitable with equipment just like the Charging Connector first launched in 2024.

An ‘FPS Mode’ that’s nonetheless weirder than Swap 2’s mouse mode

The best-hand TrueStrike controller nonetheless consists of an “FPS Mode,” although it hasn’t modified a lot from the primary Legion Go. Not like the Switch 2’s mouse mode, you continue to must toggle a button beneath the right-hand controller to make use of the built-in mouse sensor. I didn’t get to check out this mode taking part in any sort of shooter in my transient time utilizing it. I discovered the pins nonetheless dug into my palm as I attempted to to wrap my digits round to hit the 2 facet buttons, which turn out to be your mouse clicks. There’s a small cowl to stay over the connection mount and make the machine really feel slightly higher in hand, however your mileage will differ.

Similar to the first-gen Legion Go and the more moderen $600 Legion Go S with SteamOS, the brand new Legion Go 2 has Corridor impact joysticks that ought to keep away from stick drift points. What’s stranger nonetheless is how every part nonetheless feels the identical, from the comparatively skinny joysticks to the flat face buttons. There’s part of me that hoped for extra adjustments, particularly contemplating the value bump nicely above the Legion Go’s $750. Past the display, total efficiency will inform us if it’s well worth the improve and the additional $300.