This week marks an exciting development for gamers, with Lenovo’s Legion Go handheld gaming PC receiving a hefty $100 price cut on Amazon. This move pits it more aggressively against competitors like the Valve Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally. Now available for $499, the Legion Go is a much more affordable option compared to the high-end Asus ROG Ally X, which has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $799. It’s also $50 less than the Steam Deck OLED, listed at $549.
Both the Legion Go and the Asus ROG Ally pack the powerful AMD Z1 Extreme chipset, offering superior performance over the Steam Deck and the new Steam Deck OLED with its identical internal specs. This makes the Legion Go an enticing choice, especially with its stunning 8.8-inch IPS display. In our comprehensive review of the Lenovo Legion Go—it’s worth noting the device has seen some improvements since then—we lauded its dual USB-C ports, impressive display, robust kickstand, and detachable controllers.
For those looking to step up from the basic Steam Deck, the Legion Go represents a strong alternative to the Steam Deck OLED, particularly if you’re willing to swap OLED’s screen quality for a larger IPS panel. Given its much lower price compared to the ROG Ally X—the only Z1 Extreme device that significantly boosts performance—any slight disadvantage in performance (noticeable primarily in scenarios with 1% lows) becomes negligible.
While the Asus ROG Ally Z1 Extreme sits at a $649 price point, it doesn’t deliver the same performance level as the Ally X. With the option to either enjoy a larger display on the Legion Go or a better-quality screen on the Deck OLED for $549, the original ROG Ally is starting to look less appealing.
In the grand scheme, the Lenovo Legion Go appears to be a solid purchase for the future. Even if a more basic or similar cost-effective model, perhaps a Legion Go Lite, debuts in the upcoming months, it shouldn’t impact your decision if you’re already exploring options in this price bracket. Looking ahead, a more advanced Lenovo Legion Go 2 seems slated for a 2025 release, though details on its potential prowess remain under wraps. Could the price reduction be hinting at upcoming models like the Legion Go 2 or Legion Go Lite? Only time will tell.
