Lenovo’s Legion Go S Will Let Gamers Choose Between Windows 11 and SteamOS

Lenovo was one of the first PC manufacturers alongside Asus to launch a Windows-based gaming handheld back in 2023. Today, the company is doing something slightly different with the Legion Go S, which will be available with either Windows 11 or Valve’s Steam OS.

The original Legion Go was notable for its 8.8-inch screen and detachable controllers similar to the Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons. The Legion Go S doesn’t have detachable controllers, and it’s also smaller than the Legion Go with an 8-inch 1920×1200 touchscreen with a 120Hz refresh rate. The new gaming handheld will be configurable with AMD Ryzen Z2 Go processor or AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor, up to 32GB of LPDDR5X memory, and up to 1TB of storage. Other key specs include a 3-cell 55.5Whr battery, Wi-Fi 6E support, 2 USB4 ports on the top, a microSD card reader, and a headphone hack.

Again, the main highlight of the Legion Go S is that Lenovo will make it available will SteamOS instead of Windows 11. This will be the first officially licensed gaming handheld powered by the same software powering Valve’s Steam Deck. “Featuring cloud saves that mean a seamless transition between PC gaming and handheld, Remote Play that streams games to the device from a PC, full Steam Store and Steam Library access, the Lenovo Legion Go S (8”, 1) Powered by SteamOS is a big step forward in freedom of choice for gamers who are looking for an OS that is optimized for handheld gaming,” Lenovo said today.

The Windows 11 version of the Legion Go S will be available starting January 2025, and it will start at $729.99 for the model with an AMD Z2 Go CPU, 32GB RAM, and 1TB Storage. Additional configurations should become available starting in May 2025 with an expected starting price of $599.99. The Legion Go S powered by SteamOS will be available starting May 2025 with an expected starting price of $499.99.

Lenovo also revealed today a new Lenovo Legion Go prototype with the same 8.8” display and detachable controllers as the original model. This prototype features a 144Hz OLED touch display with Variable Refresh Rate, a new AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme processor with RDNA 3.5 graphics, up to 32GB of 7500Mhz LPDDR5X memory, and up to 2TB of SSD storage, and a 74Whr battery. Lenovo said that it also refined the design with rounded TrueStrike controllers and a circular D-pad.

“The Lenovo LegionGo prototype showcases Lenovo’s vision for the future of handheld gaming, designed to deliver premium, immersive experiences in a compact and lightweight form factor for competitive gamers that need top-tier specs and no-compromise performance,” the company said today. While Lenovo is still working on final hardware refinements, the company expects to start shipping this new Legion Go handheld later this year.