We're big fans of the Lenovo Legion Go. With a great screen, a detachable Switch-like controller, and an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme APU, you can play great portable games on the go.
As for this last part, it's pretty, how should I say, big, and consequently not the most portable portable gaming device. However, there are whispers in dark corridors that Lenovo may be preparing a smaller "Lite" version of this substantial device, and some cryptic copy on Lenovo's own website may have revealed the game.
The current Lenovo Legion Go has an 8.8-inch screen, but its product page had a statement (now removed) that it "comes with a 7-inch or 8-inch display" (via Videocardz). Not only that, it also mentioned the inclusion of an HDMI port (not present in the current version) and a cooling system with dual fans.
Yes, you guessed it, the current Legion Go has only one. Only one fan that spins. So what is going on?
Well, the first thing that raises eyebrows here is the reference to both 7" and 8" displays. The fact that the current Legion Go display is 8.8 inches makes the reference to an 8-inch unit particularly enigmatic, but it certainly suggests two models, one smaller than the other.
Similarly, the reference to dual fans is odd. A smaller device would almost certainly require a different cooling system, but cramming two fans into a smaller chassis strikes one as an unusual approach to a more compact design.
So are we looking at a possible next Lenovo Legion Go 2 as well as a reference to the Legion Go Lite?
Still, a smaller Legion Go makes sense in every sense: the 8.8-inch display is a great thing to see on the current model, but we found its 2560 x 1600 resolution to be essentially overkill for the frame the APU can push We found that dropping it to 1200p made for a much more pleasant experience, albeit with some tradeoffs in image quality.
Scaling down the screen made that problem much less of an issue, while at the same time mitigating our main criticism. In fact, we rate the Legion Go as our top pick for a large-screen handheld in our Best Handheld Gaming PC Guide, with the caveat that the Legion Go is a device best used at home rather than out on daily trips.
A small, lightweight handheld would be a very sensible move to address such concerns. As for the hardware inside, we can only speculate at this point. Perhaps an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme, or perhaps a regular Z1. Perhaps even a Strix Point of some sort. Another wildcard (and potentially very high performance) option could be Lunar Lake. That is, of course, if it is released in time.
All I know is this: from the first time I saw the Legion Go, I've wanted one, and I think a smaller, cleaner version with that trick controller is a very desirable device indeed. Time will tell if this is just a misguided copy or a strong hint to the coming Lenovo handhelds.
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