Lenovo Legion Go handheld pre-orders go live starting at US$699.99

Lenovo unveiled the Legion Go early last month after much speculation. The handheld gaming PC is expected to start shipping by early November, but pre-orders are now live from both Best Buy and Lenovo.

The Legion Go has an 8.8-inch 2560x1600 display with a 144 Hz refresh rate. The handheld sports an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme, 16 GB of RAM, and either a 512 GB or 1 TB PCIe 4.0 SSD (42 mm). It has two USB4 ports (USB Type C), a 3.5 mm headphone jack, a microSD card slot, WiFi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.2. Powering everything is a 49.2 Wh battery. 

The hallmark feature of the handheld is its control scheme. Similar to the Nintendo Switch, the Legion Go has two detachable controllers with Hall effect joysticks, the typical D-Pad/ABXY button layout, and gyroscopic support. Unlike the Switch (and most other handheld gaming PCs), the Legion Go's controllers have three customizable buttons each. The right controller also has a touchpad and can be converted into a vertical mouse.

The Legion Go is now up for pre-order from Best Buy and Lenovo for $699.99 for the 512 GB model. Opting for the 1 TB SSD bumps the price to $749.99. Other than the storage capacity, the two models are identical. 

The Lenovo Legion Go is a direct competitor to the Asus ROG Ally, which sports the same AMD Z1 Extreme CPU and integrated Radeon 780M GPU. That device received a score of 88% in our review and scored high points for its powerful CPU and solid display. It also matches the Legion Go in price, although there is a version of the ROG Ally with a standard AMD Z1 CPU for $100 less than the Z1 Extreme version.

The Legion Go should be able to closely match the ROG Ally in gaming, meaning that it should be able to handle most modern titles at 1080p/Low settings, possibly hitting 1080p/Medium for less demanding 3D titles. 

You can pre-order the Lenovo Legion Go at Best Buy or at Lenovo's website.