Lenovo Legion Go 2 Review: The Utility Pc Gaming Handheld

When nan first large activity of handheld PCs deed nan marketplace two to three years ago, they were designed arsenic much travel-friendly and convenient alternatives to accepted gaming rigs. That meant reduced capacity successful speech for accrued portability. However, location will ever beryllium enthusiasts who want more: accrued horsepower, amended artillery life and each sorts of other features. Out of each nan handhelds connected nan marketplace today, there's practically nary instrumentality pinch much devices and typical instrumentality than nan Lenovo Legion Go 2. However, conscionable for illustration a luxury SUV, this bucket of components commands a hefty premium and has capabilities that you mightiness not usage each day. But if you are nan type of personification who's looking for a flagship portable PC pinch each nan bells and whistles, nan Legion Go 2 is simply a existent inferior gaming handheld.

Design

The Legion Go 2 looks for illustration a Switch 2 that's fattened up earlier hibernating for nan winter. It has nan aforesaid basal creation pinch detachable controllers connected either broadside and a surface successful nan middle; it's conscionable measurement bigger and bulkier. The Legion Go 2 weighs 2 pounds and measures 11.6 inches wide (with its controllers attached) compared to 1.6 pounds and 11.4 inches for nan ROG Xbox Ally X (and that's including its big, pronounced grips). Both devices make nan Switch 2 look downright petite pinch its  1.2 pounds and 10.7-inch-wide frame.

Unfortunately, without nan magnets that Nintendo uses connected nan Joy-Con, disconnecting nan gamepads connected nan Legion Go 2 isn't astir arsenic soft aliases easy, but it's still comparatively manageable. On nan flipside, Lenovo uses Hall Effect sensors for its joysticks, which makes them ace responsive, moreover though they're lighter to push around. I admit that, dissimilar galore of its rivals, Lenovo kept nan kickstand from its predecessor, arsenic it's ace useful if you want to prop nan Legion Go 2 up and usage it for illustration a mini desktop.

Elsewhere, location is simply a acquainted layout for nan Legion Go 2’s D-pad, look buttons and enarthrosis triggers/bumpers, on pinch 2 pairs of paddles astir back. Critically, Lenovo retained nan built-in touchpad connected nan correct controller, which is ace useful for those times erstwhile you request to rodent astir successful nan Windows 11 desktop. And for illustration its predecessor, you tin detach nan correct gamepad, flick nan hidden move connected nan bottommost into FPS mode and past harvester it pinch Lenovo's included guidelines to create a vertical rodent of sorts.

Ostensibly, this setup is meant for group who want other precision successful shooters and location is moreover an other group of rodent buttons and an embedded scroll instrumentality connected nan controller for that reason. The 1 hiccup for maine is that nan puck isn't that overmuch smaller than a emblematic recreation mouse. If I really want eventual power successful FPS games, I'm going to usage 1 of those alternatively of Lenovo's much awkward alternative.

As for connectivity, nan Legion Go 2 features 2 USB-C ports (one connected apical and 1 connected bottom) which support information (up to 40 Gbps), powerfulness transportation and show output. There's besides a microSD paper slot for expandable retention and a 3.5mm audio jack.

I person 2 mini nitpicks pinch nan Legion Go 2's creation (aside from its size). First, nan headphone larboard is connected nan bottom, which isn't perfect arsenic I consciousness for illustration nan apical USB-C connector is easier to usage erstwhile gaming while plugged into nan wall. Secondly, Lenovo's fingerprint scholar (which is built into nan powerfulness button) is alternatively finicky. I didn't person issues unlocking nan device, but nan sensor is truthful delicate that often erstwhile I pressed nan powerfulness fastener to put nan Legion Go 2 into slumber mode, nan surface turned disconnected earlier turning itself connected again. This resulted successful aggregate occasions wherever I thought I put nan handheld to slumber wrong nan included lawsuit (kudos to Lenovo for that freebie) only to travel backmost to a instrumentality that was very overmuch awake and felt for illustration it was connected nan verge of cooking itself wrong its padded enclosure.

Display

If money and size are not an issue, Lenovo's monolithic OLED show is nan biggest logic to take nan Legion Go 2 complete rivals for illustration nan ROG Xbox Ally X. At 8.8 inches, it's importantly larger than nan 7-inch sheet connected nan ASUS aliases nan 7.9-inch surface connected a Switch 2. Not only are its colors ace rich | and saturated, it has a somewhat higher 144Hz refresh complaint and a taller 16:10 solution (1,920 x 1,200). And astatine 500 nits, it's conscionable arsenic agleam arsenic nan surface connected nan ROG Xbox Ally X. The downside is that if you want to crippled astatine nan Legion Go 2's autochthonal res, it does return a small spot of other capacity to execute stable, playable framerates.

Performance and software

The $1,100 guidelines exemplary of nan Legion Go 2 comes pinch an AMD Ryzen Z2 spot pinch 16GB of representation and 1TB of storage. However, if you want moreover amended performance, you'll request to upgrade to nan $1,350 type that comes pinch a Z2 Extreme spot and 32GB of RAM, which is nan configuration I tested for this review. Frankly, that is simply a batch of money to driblet connected a gaming handheld of immoderate kind, though nan Legion Go 2 does dress up for it pinch class-leading performance. Well, almost.

While nan maxed SKUs of some nan Legion Go 2 and ROG Xbox Ally x are based connected nan aforesaid Z2 Extreme chip, Microsoft was capable to tweak immoderate of Windows 11's tasks and services that tally successful nan inheritance connected Lenovo’s' rival. And while location isn't a immense spread betwixt nan two, that optimization does make a difference.

Generally, nan ROG Xbox Ally produced framerates that were astir 7 percent higher than what I sewage from nan Legion Go 2 astatine nan aforesaid graphics settings and resolution. In Cyberpunk 2077  astatine 35 watts connected medium, 1080p solution and FSR group to performance, nan Legion Go 2 deed 57.5 fps compared to 62.1 fps for nan ROG Xbox Ally X. Meanwhile successful Returnal at 17 watts connected medium, nan Lenovo reached 39 fps versus 42 for ASUS. Depending connected nan crippled and nan nonstop solution you're using, that could mean nan quality betwixt thing being a bully acquisition aliases not. For example, successful Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 astatine 1080p connected medium, nan ROG Xbox Ally X hovered correct astir 30 fps. Granted, that isn't ideal, but it's not bad for a handheld moving a comparatively caller title. But connected nan Legion Go 2 astatine its autochthonal res, its mean framerate was person to 25 fps, which forced maine to driblet down to debased settings to get a smoother experience.

Like a batch of Windows-based handhelds, it's important to retrieve that you get much velocity erstwhile connected to a powerfulness outlet. For example, nan Legion Go 2's Performance mode tops retired astatine 20 watts erstwhile not plugged in, but increases to 32 watts erstwhile it is. And if you want to spell each out, you're champion disconnected utilizing nan Custom setting, which gives you a sustained TDP of 35 watts and nan expertise to boost to 45 watts for up to 10 seconds.

As for nan software, Lenovo's Legion Space app has travel a agelong measurement and it's turned into a coagulated one-stop shop for launching games, adjusting settings and tweaking performance. As ever pinch Windows-based handhelds, there's still a spot of awkwardness during setup erstwhile you're installing titles and having to move betwixt various menus. Thankfully, Lenovo's built-in touchpad helps soft that retired rather a bit. I'd besides reason that because of that trackpad and nan handheld's adaptable design, nan Legion Go 2 is nan astir well-equipped portable for anyone who wants to usage it for illustration a mini PC. You tin prop nan show up pinch its kickstand, link a show via USB-C and brace a wireless keyboard and rodent (or usage nan correct controller successful FPS mode) and abruptly you've sewage a small desktop for getting immoderate existent activity done. (Who are we kidding, this is still going to beryllium utilized for gaming, conscionable connected a bigger show pinch amended controls.)

Battery Life

Thanks to a 74WHr compartment and a much businesslike chip, nan Legion Go 2 has gotten a bully bump artillery life complete its predecessor. However, owed to its large display, its longevity isn't rather arsenic bully compared to nan ROG Xbox Ally X. I tested this by playing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 astatine 1080p connected mean graphics and max brightness. The Legion Go 2 did well, lasting almost 3 hours, though that was 30 minutes awkward of what I sewage from nan ROG Xbox Ally X. While you tin crippled for a decent magnitude of clip untethered, for immoderate longer trips aliases clip distant from an outlet, you'll decidedly want to support nan included 65-watt powerfulness adapter adjacent astatine hand.

Wrap-up

The Lenovo Legion Go 2 is ample and successful complaint — some successful value and size. The guidelines exemplary starts astatine $1,100, which is already $100 much than a afloat kitted-out ROG Xbox Ally X pinch a Ryzen Z2 Extreme chip. Meanwhile, to get nan aforesaid silicon connected Lenovo's handheld, you person to ammunition retired $1,350, and moreover then, its capacity still lags conscionable a tad down Microsoft and ASUS' collab. But what nan Legion Go 2 lacks successful value, it makes up for successful versatility.

Its 8.8-inch OLED show is simply a immense upgrade successful position of some surface abstraction and image quality, while features for illustration its touchpad, detachable controllers and kickstand make this point consciousness much for illustration a portable hybrid PC than a single-purpose gaming machine. Just for illustration an SUV that mightiness spell off-road erstwhile aliases doubly a year, you mightiness not usage nan Legion Go 2's afloat capabilities each nan time, but erstwhile you do and everything comes together, you recognize each that inferior isn't conscionable for show. While nan ROG Xbox Ally X is nan amended value, I admit really Lenovo's handheld was made to grip a assortment of conflict conditions.