Lenovo Legion Go hands-on: A more Switch-like handheld gaming PC

engadget.com:

For fans of handheld gaming PCs, 2023 just keeps getting better. Following the release of ASUS’ ROG Ally earlier this year, Lenovo is entering the category with the Legion Go. And, after getting the chance to go hands-on with it, I think some of Lenovo’s twists may end up making a big difference.

Before we get in too deep, it’s important to mention that the units I tried are very much pre-production samples. You can see evidence of this on components like the shoulder buttons, where one side of the device features metallic paint (which is what you’ll get on retail devices) while the other side is plain black plastic. Lenovo also says that alongside a stock install of Windows 11, it’s planning to equip the Legion Go with a custom app launcher similar to ASUS’ Amoury Crate. But, that wasn’t present on the demo units I used. The Legion’s Go’s body also felt a bit rough in places, so if you spot labels or parts of its shell that don’t look quite right, Lenovo is likely looking to polish those up before its official launch sometime in October.

OK, now that we got that out the way, let’s talk about some of the Legion Go’s highlight features, the most notable of which is its screen. It’s an 8.8-inch 2,560 x 1,600 IPS panel with a 144Hz refresh rate and listed at 500 nits of brightness. So not only is the Legion Go’s panel as fast as what you get from the ROG Ally, it’s also the biggest screen on pretty much any device in this category. On top of that, colors absolutely pop, which makes the device even more appealing than many of its rivals.

The obvious downside to this is that between that big display and a somewhat boxy body, the Legion Go is rather bulky. Measuring 11.8 x 5.15 x 1.61 inches, the Legion Go is much closer in size