CLEARANCE: "This is an Xbox." My favorite PC gaming handheld is still on sale despite Cyber Monday's end — and Microsoft says it's actually an Xbox.

Lenovo Legion Go
(Image credit: Windows Central | Jez Corden)

It might not be the handheld I recommend to most people, but my personal favorite PC gaming handheld is currently down over $200 from its typical asking price.

The Lenovo Legion Go is currently a whopping 31% OFF at Amazon right now, taking the RRP from $699 all the way down to $494.99 for Cyber Monday (while stocks last).

Why is this my personal favorite over its ASUS ROG Ally competitor? It comes down to versatility above all. This can effectively be a laptop replacement, thanks to its bigger screen, kickstand, trackpad, and other cool features. It also comes with 3 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to sweeten the deal, too, full of hundreds of Xbox Play Anywhere titles that work across PC and Xbox Series X|S consoles on a single purchase with cloud saves too. It really is like a portable Xbox.

Check out our LIVE hub for all the best PC gaming handheld Cyber Monday deals

Recent updates

Dec. 2, 2024 @ 4:46 p.m. GMT — I just noticed that you can get the Lenovo Legion Go even cheaper at Amazon if you don't mind an open box deal. With Amazon Renewed, the firm's official program for refurbishing products, it's down to $449.99 (refurbished) for Cyber Monday.

Dec. 3, 2024 @ 4:00 p.m. GMT —
Cyber Monday has ended, but the deal is still live. It could be that Lenovo is running a clearance on their stock ahead of the launch of the Lenovo Legion Go S which we leaked yesterday, and other future models. The Legion Go S is expected to be cheaper at RRP, but less powerful than the Legion Go.

Lenovo Legion Go (Ryzen Z1 Extreme, 512GB)Was: $699.99NEW: $494.99 at Amazon Refurbished: $449.99 at Amazon
Let's Go 💚

Lenovo Legion Go (Ryzen Z1 Extreme, 512GB)
Was:
$699.99
NEW:
$494.99 at Amazon
Refurbished:
$449.99 at Amazon

"Fantastic versatility meets premium power with the Lenovo Legion Go. The Z1 Extreme shines on the 1200p 8.8-inch display, giving you the screen real estate to enjoy games that aren't necessarily optimized for smaller screens. The trade off is some added bulk over competitors, but it still beats the ASUS ROG Ally and Steam Deck for me. The versatility afforded by its kickstand, detachable sticks, track pad, and dual USB-C ports adds the kind of "laptop replacement" gaming handheld I really need for travel, both for work and play." — Jez Corden

Windows Central review ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

✅Perfect for: PC gamers who want to take their games on the go, whether it's from Steam, Epic, GOG, Battle.net, PC Game Pass, and beyond, who want a bigger display and a kickstand built in for added versatility.

❌Avoid if: You have particularly small hands; this is a beefy, beefy boy.

👉 See at: Amazon.com

Return period: 30 days (Most items). Price match? No. Free shipping: $35 minimum. Membership: Amazon Prime w/ free shipping, exclusive deals, music, video, ebook, & audiobook access, & more.

💰Price check: $499.99 at BestBuy.com

🤩Alternative deal: Lenovo Legion Go w/ 1TB SSD for $749.99 $549.99 at Best Buy

❄️The coolest holiday deals🎄

Is the Lenovo Legion Go worth it at $485 for Cyber Monday? Absolutely yes.

Death Stranding running on Lenovo Legion GoWindows Central Best Award

The Lenovo Legion Go has become my preferred PC gaming handheld, after trying all of them, although I don't recommend it to everyone. Read on for why. (Image credit: Windows Central | Jez Corden)

The Lenovo Legion Go is actually not the PC gaming handheld I generally recommend to most people, despite the fact it's my favorite. Being fully transparent here, I've used every major PC gaming handheld except the Intel-based MSI Claw (although by all accounts, you should definitely avoid that one). I've regularly used the Steam Deck, ASUS ROG Ally, and Lenovo Legion Go, and the Lenovo Legion Go came out on top for me as a jack-of-all-trades, owing to its monstrous versatility.

Based on the Z1 Extreme platform, the Lenovo Legion Go has similar performance to the ASUS ROG Ally. However, the fact it doesn't support VRR (variable refresh rates) means that games can sometimes appear a little less smooth on the display than the ROG Ally. I end up preferring it anyway, though, because it has a significantly larger screen. Coming in at 8.8" to the ASUS ROG Ally's 7" makes a big difference for me, as someone who doesn't have the best eyesight in the universe, but also as someone who plays a lot of games that are effectively designed for monitors and TVs. When game devs make their games, the UI is scaled around the expectation that you're going to be on a larger screen. Some games present very poorly on these smaller screens as a result, with text and UI elements that can be hard to read. With the boosted screen real estate and resolution options on the Legion Go, I've found that it's a more pleasant experience on the eyes even if the frame rate presentation can suffer occasionally.

RELATED: Lenovo Legion Go vs. ASUS ROG Ally

I also love the fact that it has Nintendo Switch-like detachable joysticks and an embedded kickstand. This means I can actually use this device a little bit like a laptop for travel, using the kickstand and a Bluetooth keyboard to turn it into a mini Surface tablet. It's also useful for mounting, and it also has a small trackpad for scenarios where you absolutely can't use the touch screen for navigation. Windows isn't always the best at supporting touch inputs, after all.

However, it is also significantly heavier, and thicker than the ASUS ROG Ally. The ASUS ROG Ally really personifies the "portable" aspect of this platform, with its light weight and thin chassis. The Lenovo Legion Go is a lot beefier, to accommodate its extra tech and versatility. Indeed, for those with smaller hands, you may even find it incredibly uncomfortable over long sessions. I don't have particularly large hands, but I can still see how others would find it problematic over the competition.

RELATED DEAL: The best (cheap) accessory for the Lenovo Legion Go

Both the ASUS ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion Go are on sale right now, so you can ultimately choose what's best for you here.



If you want boosted battery life and don't mind a smaller screen, the ASUS ROG Ally X might be best for you, but it is significantly more expensive. ASUS released the ROG Ally X over the summer to address battery life concerns. Indeed, the Z1 Extreme handhelds typically boast around 1-2 hours of battery life depending on how hard you push them. The Ally X can get an extra 45-ish minutes in exchange for some added weight. The price also adds some extra RAM and 1 TB storage as standard.

The ASUS ROG Ally has price matched the Lenovo Legion Go at around $499 for Cyber Monday. Both have the same battery life and general gameplay performance, although the screen experience and weight are the main usability differences. If you want a larger display for bigger UI elements, the Lenovo Legion Go will be easier on your eyes generally. If you want something lighter and more ergonomic, the ASUS ROG Ally will be gentler on your hands and arms over longer periods most likely. However, both devices are fantastic in their own ways, you just have to ensure you're buying the right device for you. For me, the Lenovo Legion Go wins out for its versatility, extra USB-C port, larger screen, added trackpad, kickstand, and detachable sticks.

I think the Lenovo Legion Go really does exemplify the "This is an Xbox" experience a bit better than the ASUS ROG Ally owing to its versatility. The ASUS ROG Ally is the "best" handheld arguably, but it's only a handheld. The fact I can use the Lenovo Legion Go as a laptop replacement in essence makes it a much better option for me.

Should you wait for the Lenovo Legion Go "S" or Legion Go "2"?

Lenovo Legion Go S

Yesterday, we shared world-first official renders of the Lenovo Legion Go "S." (Image credit: Windows Central | Jez Corden)

Yesterday, we exclusively shared the first official images of the Lenovo Legion Go S, ahead of its reveal likely in January 2025 at CES in Las Vegas.

The Legion Go S is expected to be less powerful than the current Lenovo Legion Go, but perhaps more battery efficient. It's going to be part of the new AMD Z2 platform, alongside two other potential models that hit different price points. The current Z1 "Extreme" Lenovo Legion Go is a battery hog, but it's also monstrously powerful, beating devices like the Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch quite easily, and perhaps even some budget gaming laptop chips too. However, the Z2 is rumored to have a focus on efficiency to boost battery life above all else.

The chip expected to be baked into the Legion Go S is expected to be less powerful, but there's also two other models rumored to be going live with the Go S, including a more powerful Lenovo Legion Go 2. The price cuts on the current Lenovo Legion Go could be as part of a clearance sale to make way for new models, which look similar to the ASUS ROG Ally so far. I don't expect the Lenovo Legion Go S to be significantly cheaper than this deal either, but I do expect the Lenovo Legion Go 2 to be incredibly expensive, especially if its using the new-gen architecture as is the current rumor.

Should you wait and see for the Zen2 range? There's perhaps some merit there, especially given the recency of this leak. However, I also don't expect the experience to be wildly different than the current Lenovo Legion Go, save for perhaps a smaller, lighter weight design, in exchange for ditching some of the versatility and baking in a lower RRP. The Lenovo Legion Go 2 is almost certainly going to launch later in the year, and will almost certainly be vastly more expensive, upwards of $699 potentially, or maybe even more. If you bought the Lenovo Legion Go today, you could keep the packaging and device in good condition, it should be good enough to re-sell to put towards a new Lenovo Legion Go 2 or ASUS ROG Ally 2 in the future. But it does look like we'll have new devices across the board either way in 2025.

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Jez Corden
Executive Editor

Jez Corden is the Executive Editor at Windows Central, focusing primarily on all things Xbox and gaming. Jez is known for breaking exclusive news and analysis as relates to the Microsoft ecosystem while being powered by tea. Follow on Twitter (X) and Threads, and listen to his XB2 Podcast, all about, you guessed it, Xbox!

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  • Ser_Enmei
    Says he's tried all the major handhelds but then only names three he's used, hasn't tried any of the more powerful models from AyaNeo, OneXPlayer etc. Really pathetic and waste of time article.
    Reply
  • Jez Corden
    Ser_Enmei said:
    Says he's tried all the major handhelds but then only names three he's used, hasn't tried any of the more powerful models from AyaNeo, OneXPlayer etc. Really pathetic and waste of time article.
    i admit i havent tried the onexplayer but I have used the higher end ayaneo. why you talking out your arse kiddo? its not mentioned for a reason.
    Reply