Rumor | Lenovo designs an Android handheld console, then decides against selling it

Lenovo is the OEM behind one of the most prominent premium Android gaming smartphones, known as either the Legion Phone or Legion Phone Duel series, depending on your market. The blog TechNave now claims that it might be in line for a more complete console-like sibling - or might have been, rather, as the word is that the company has shelved the project. Given the allegedly official specs and renders that have emerged in conjunction with this device, many enthusiasts may be left with just 1 question: why?

The alleged Lenovo Legion Play is slated to have been designed to sport a "7-inch 16:9 FHD bezel-less display" , surrounded by sizeable grips accommodating joysticks and buttons to either side. The device also apparently exhibits shoulder buttons and a rear panel with well-executed racing stripes and branding.

The device as described arguably hits further positive mobile-gaming notes, a fairly clean Android UI, a large 7,000mAh battery, dual speakers, haptics and the promise of open-source development included. It also seems to support cloud gaming platforms such as NVIDIA GeForce NOW, and even has the top-mounted USB type C port and 3.5mm jack thing going for it.

Despite all these clearly long-thought-out features, reportedly found in the source code of Lenovo's Japanese and German markets, it somehow never made it to a planned MWC 2021 launch. That show has, of course, long concluded in the absence of this device, and there may be several reasons for this.

It may simply be that the company has chosen to put its weight behind gaming phones instead as it believes that is where fan focus lies right now; however, devices such as the Nintendo Switch OLED, not to mention the hotly-anticipated Steam Deck, might beg to differ.

On that note, TechNave claims that the OEM's putative developmental mania does not end there: it has also apparently at least looked into a water-cooled version of its latest mobile gaming flagship.

Possibly dubbed the Legion Phone Duel H20 Edition, it is portrayed as a variant of the existing flagship with a plastic block to enclose liquid-based thermal management module in place of the ususal physical fan. Should this one make it to market, it is projected to come with 18GB of RAM and 1TB of internal storage.

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