Latest news with #gaminghandheld
Android Authority
6 days ago
- Android Authority
Lenovo Legion Go S with Steam OS fixes so much, but can it beat a Steam Deck?
Lenovo Legion Go S - Powered By Steam OS The Lenovo Legion Go S with Steam OS is light years ahead of its Windows-powered counterpart. Not only does Steam OS fix a lot of Windows' problems, but it also drops the price by $130. This makes the Legion Go S with Steam OS a viable competitor to the Steam Deck. It's well worth a look if you prioritize a large display, variable refresh rates, and offset sticks. When I reviewed the Lenovo Legion Go S — the one powered by Windows 11 — I did something I rarely ever do: I told readers not to buy it. No matter how I approached the product, I couldn't recommend it to anyone due to the ubiquitous availability of better, cheaper gaming handhelds. In that review, I mentioned that I was excited to try the second version of the product, the one powered by the Linux-based Steam OS — the same operating system that powers Valve's Steam Deck. Well, Lenovo was kind enough to send me a test unit of the Lenovo Legion Go S with Steam OS, and I'm excited to tell you all about it. Given that this product's hardware is exactly the same as the Windows variant (other than the change in button names and case color), I won't spend time re-explaining everything. If you need to catch up on what this product offers from a hardware perspective, read my Legion Go S review first. My colleague Hadlee Simons' hands-on with the Steam OS version at CES 2025 is also worth a read (anything he writes is). With that in mind, I will split this review into two sections: the first covering what Steam OS fixes, and the second explaining what Steam OS couldn't change. What Steam OS fixes for the Legion Go S C. Scott Brown / Android Authority The most significant and positive thing Steam OS does for the Legion Go S is simplify the experience. When you power up the Steam OS version of the Legion Go S, you're not greeted with any familiar Windows tropes. You don't need to log in with your Microsoft account or tell it your preferred keyboard layout. You never see a desktop interface. You do need to go through an initial setup procedure, obviously, but you can navigate through every step with the controller and a smartphone for scanning QR codes — something that can't be done with Windows. From the time you first boot up the Legion Go S with Steam OS, you immediately understand how this is better than Windows. Essentially, Steam OS is an operating system built for this particular form factor, whereas Windows is decidedly not (or at least until we know if the Xbox experience on the ROG Xbox Ally finally fixes things). That alone makes the experience using the Legion Go S with Steam OS much, much better than its Windows counterpart. Even when a wrench is thrown into the works, Steam OS handles it with grace. For example, if you want to play Red Dead Redemption on the Legion Go S, you must use Rockstar Games' stupid (and useless!) launcher. This launcher lacks controller support, which Valve cannot change. So, what Steam OS does in response is warn you that the Rockstar Games launcher lacks controller support and instructs you to use the touch screen instead. It's not perfect, but it's a simple, elegant way of informing the user how best to navigate through this process, since their intuitive reaction — to use the sticks and buttons — will prove ineffective. Steam OS is also better at the seemingly minor actions one takes when using a large-screen gaming handheld. When you want to stop playing, you just tap the power button. The screen goes dark, and you can put the machine down. You can leave it like that, unplugged, for hours (or even days), and then pick it up, tap the power button, and continue right where you left off. The Windows model doesn't do this nearly as smoothly, and Windows' idle state drains way too much battery for that to be a good idea anyway. For the record, I did this overnight with the Steam OS model, and the battery level only dropped by 3%. At that rate, I could have left it alone for over a week and not needed to be concerned at all. It's astonishing how much better Steam OS is in an idle state when compared to Windows. One interesting thing Steam OS does is nerf the teeny, tiny trackpad on the Legion Go S. In my review for the Windows model, I lamented how small and useless the trackpad is on this machine (it's still there on the Steam OS version — the small square under the right stick). In all my time with the Steam OS version, though, I never once got the trackpad to work. Even when I was setting up the Rockstar Games launcher, which is built around keyboard and mouse input, the trackpad didn't function. I feel like Valve was as perplexed with this 'feature' as the rest of the world, and just decided to nerf it rather than instruct users to touch it. In fact, Steam OS didn't let me use the trackpad even when I played games that support mouse input. I realize this is a weird way to approach the issue of the trackpad being so horrible, but honestly, I didn't mind. After a few hours, I simply forgot it existed. Steam OS also makes it easier to tweak your settings to milk the most out of your games. In most cases, though, you don't need to do this. This is because Valve has pre-configured Steam OS to change in-game settings to work best with gaming handhelds automatically. For example, all in-game settings are maxed out when I fire up my latest save in Horizon Forbidden West on my custom gaming rig with an RTX 4090 inside. When I played Forbidden West on the Legion Go S, though, Steam OS automatically switched to the 'Low' graphics quality preset and tweaked the display settings appropriately. It just worked. Steam OS does a lot of the legwork for you when it comes to making sure your games play well. If you want to get more granular with your settings, Steam OS supports that and makes it incredibly easy. You can tweak performance settings on a universal or per-game basis by hitting the Quick Access Button (signified by three dots and located at the upper right, above the Menu/Start button). This includes enabling a variable refresh rate (something no version of the Steam Deck offers), limiting the thermal design power (TDP), changing scaling levels, and much more. You can also show performance stats while you play, and Steam OS lets you choose how much of this information you see. C. Scott Brown / Android Authority Granted, the Windows version of the Legion Go S offered some of these features through Lenovo's own apps and widgets. However, in Windows, they weren't as easily accessible and not nearly as granular. Also, you don't need to use these on the Steam OS version. Like I said, the operating system does a great job of pre-configuring the system for each game you launch. But if you want to get nitty gritty to bring out the best performance you can get (or do the opposite to preserve as much battery life as possible), you can easily do that. Speaking of battery life, this is also nominally better with Steam OS. I don't have any numbers to share, but with this model, I didn't reach for the charger nearly as much as I did with the Windows version. This makes a ton of sense when you remember that all the useless things Windows does in the background, Steam OS doesn't do. I don't want there to be any misconceptions here, though: if you're playing a graphically demanding AAA game, battery life on the Steam OS version is going to be very similar to the Windows version — maybe 90-120 minutes of gameplay at a full charge. But when the device is just idling or you're doing things like tweaking settings, buying games, or reading game news, battery life is tangibly better. One of the things Steam OS does better than Windows is to cost nothing. Thanks, open-source licensing! The most significant thing Steam OS fixes, though, is the price. Without Windows on board, the Steam OS version of the Legion Go S drops by a whopping $130 to $599. This alone makes it much more of an appealing product when compared to the Windows model, which inexplicably starts at $729. For the sake of comparison, the Steam Deck OLED with 512GB of storage costs $549. While this is all great news, Steam OS is just software. It can't change the hardware aspects of the Legion Go S. Steam OS also comes with its own drawbacks. This brings me to the next section of this review. What Steam OS can't fix C. Scott Brown / Android Authority While Steam OS is fast, smooth, elegant, and feature-rich, it is, at its core, not as good as Windows for wide game support. This is because many games available through Steam rely on Windows features to function properly. Since Steam OS is based on Linux and uses Proton as a compatibility layer, this leaves a swathe of very popular games unplayable natively on the Legion Go S, including Fortnite, many EA Sports games, Reign of Kings, and more. To be clear, that doesn't mean low framerates or glitchy interfaces — that means the games literally will not launch. Ultimately, this is the ace in the hole that the Windows version of the Legion Go S has. You'll need to sacrifice game support with Steam OS. Heavy hitters like Fortnite won't work without Windows. Granted, there are ways around this limitation via Linux applications such as Heroic Game Launcher, which plays nicely with third-party game stores like Epic Games Stores, GOG Galaxy, and more. Game streaming is another good option, either from a cloud service like Xbox Game Pass or from your own Windows computer with something like Moonlight. Still, almost everything on Steam that isn't a VR-only title will launch on a Windows handheld without any tinkering or workarounds. This is something Steam OS cannot claim, as Windows restrictions, Proton incompatibilities, and occasionally anti-cheat software do mean not everything will run well or at all. If there's a particular game you want to play, I'd recommend you check ProtonDB to see what the status is. Steam OS also has no effect on the hardware limitations of the Legion Go S. I've already talked about how Valve nerfed the teeny trackpad, but it can't change all the other problems Lenovo introduced with this design. The whole device is still too heavy, for example. The button placement is still questionable, especially the Steam and Quick Access buttons being directly above Start and Select (I hit the wrong buttons many times during my testing). The microSD card slot is still on the bottom of the device, which could be problematic for people who like to dock their handhelds. The two USB-C ports are still right next to each other, making it tricky to plug in two things at the same time. These are all deficiencies I pointed out in my review of the Windows model, and they're still problems on the Steam OS version. Granted, no single one of these compromises is a deal-breaker. When you put all of them together, though, it does feel like the device is still not much better than a Steam Deck, which is $50 cheaper than Lenovo's offering. This, ultimately, is the biggest hurdle facing this product. Lenovo Legion Go S with Steam OS review verdict: A personal choice C. Scott Brown / Android Authority The Lenovo Legion Go S with Steam OS ($499.99 at Manufacturer site) is the first third-party product to run the operating system. That being the case means the only logical competitor to the Legion Go S is Valve's own Steam Deck, specifically the 512GB OLED model ($549 at Manufacturer site). So what exactly are you getting from Lenovo that you're not getting from Valve? The Legion Go S has the same operating system as a Steam Deck at a very similar price. It all comes down to individual preferences after that. The most significant thing is the display. The Legion Go S has an 8-inch 1,920 x 1,200 LCD panel, which dwarfs the Steam Deck's 7.4-inch 1,280 x 800 OLED. Yes, OLED is superior to LCD, but resolution and size make a big difference, too. Likewise, the Legion Go S has a faster refresh rate at 120Hz (the Steam Deck taps out at 90Hz). Additionally, the Lenovo handheld supports variable refresh rates, which the Steam Deck does not. In other words, just because the Steam Deck has OLED and the Legion Go S doesn't, shouldn't be the deciding factor on which is better. Lenovo's display is terrific, regardless of the panel type. Another thing the Legion Go S has over the Steam Deck is processing power. On paper, the AMD Ryzen Z2 Go in the Legion Go S isn't too much better than the Steam Deck's AMD Zen 2. However, the Z2 Go is capable of hitting much higher power draw than the Zen 2 — 28W vs 15W, respectively. This means that you can, theoretically, milk more frames from the Legion Go S than you can from the Steam Deck at the expense of battery life (and sweaty palms). You'll need to be comfortable tweaking settings, both in-game and on the handheld itself, but if you care enough to do so, the Legion Go S should be superior regarding performance. Also, keep in mind that a second version of the Legion Go S with Steam OS is on the way, and it will have the Ryzen Z1 Extreme under the hood — a CPU that will absolutely destroy the Z2 Go and the Zen 2. However, that model will cost $899 (!!!), so buyer beware. If you prefer a larger display, VRR support, offset sticks, and the potential for eking out more frames, maybe the Legion Go S is what you're looking for. Outside of these two major differences, there are minor ones as well. The Legion Go S has offset sticks, for example, something that many players prefer. There's also an eight-way D-Pad on the Legion Go S, which could give you an edge in fighting games over the four-way D-Pad on the Steam Deck. Really, even with the $50 difference in price taken into account, choosing between the Legion Go S with Steam OS and the Steam Deck OLED is a matter of taste. You need to decide what hardware features you prefer and then go with the model that makes the most sense for you. The bottom line here, though, is that this is a far cry from the Lenovo Legion Go S with Windows. When you combined Windows' cumbersome, battery-draining design with the hardware deficiencies of the Legion Go S and its way-too-high price, you had a product I couldn't recommend to anyone. The Steam OS version, though, is a fine choice for anyone who really likes the Steam Deck but wishes that it catered a bit more to their own play style and priorities. Lenovo Legion Go S - Powered By Steam OS Native Steam OS integration • Large display • Great price MSRP: $599.99 The first true Steam Deck competitor. The Legion Go S with Steam OS is the first gaming handheld to feature the same operating system as the category-defining Steam Deck. See price at Manufacturer site Positives Native Steam OS integration Native Steam OS integration Large display Large display VRR support VRR support Great price Cons Too heavy Too heavy Nerfed trackpad Nerfed trackpad Can be game support issues Can be game support issues Questionable design
Android Authority
10-06-2025
- Android Authority
This powerful dual-screen handheld is part Nintendo DS, part gaming laptop
TL;DR The AYANEO Flip 1S DS is a new clamshell dual-screen Windows handheld. It has a 7-inch 144Hz OLED panel plus a 4.5-inch LCD, similar to a Nintendo DS. Pricing and availability haven't been announced, but it will be on the premium end. Hot off the heels of Retroid's dual-screen accessory for its gaming handhelds, AYANEO has just announced its own full-fledged dual-screen handheld. Called the AYANEO Flip 1S DS, it's the follow-up to last year's Flip 1 DS, with some significant upgrades and a lot more power than the competition. The AYANEO Flip 1S DS looks a lot like a Nintendo DS, with two screens in a Nintendo DS-like layout. The larger screen at the top is a massive 7-inch, 144Hz OLED display. The smaller screen at the bottom is a 4.5-inch IPS LCD panel with a 3:2 ratio, likely the same one found in the AYANEO Pocket ACE. Unlike the Pocket ACE or the Nintendo DS, the Flip 1S DS runs on Windows 11. It's powered by an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, which is typically found in premium laptops and ultrabooks. This will make it one of the most powerful gaming handhelds on the market. It will have LPDDR5X RAM and an M.2 2230 slot for storage, but AYANEO hasn't announced the specific configurations yet. Its predecessor came in 16+512GB, 32GB+1TB, and 64GB+2TB flavors, so expect something similar for the Flip 1S DS. However, storage can be expanded via a microSD card slot. Of course, gaming handhelds are as much about controls as they are performance, and AYANEO has some big upgrades there, too. This handheld will have medium-sized TMR electromagnetic joysticks, which are generally considered the successors to Hall Effect sticks. They have all the same benefits, but tend to cost more. There are also four face buttons, a D-pad, Linear Hall effect triggers, some shortcut buttons, and a small optical finger mouse. The combination of two screens and a powerful CPU gives the Flip 1S DS serious potential. The handheld has two full-function USB-C slots for fast charging, speedy data transfer, or peripherals. AYANEO hasn't announced charging speeds or battery size as of writing, but a device this powerful will likely drain the cell relatively quickly. We also don't know anything about pricing or availability, but considering the specs, it will be firmly on the premium end. For reference, the Flip 1 DS now starts at $1139, although early bird discounts brought the starting price down to $739 during the launch campaign. Still, the combination of two screens, Windows, and all this extra power gives the Flip 1S DS serious potential for power users. Stay tuned for more info in the coming weeks. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
The Verge
09-06-2025
- Business
- The Verge
Asus and Lenovo's handhelds get price hike as Valve pauses some Steam Deck sales
The first third-party SteamOS handheld, the Lenovo Legion Go S, was supposed to cost $499. The Asus ROG Ally X became the best Windows gaming handheld at a $799 sticker price. But ahead of the Nintendo Switch 2's launch on June 5th and Microsoft's Xbox Ally announcement on June 8th, Asus and Lenovo's handhelds suddenly cost $100 more than originally promised in the US. And, separately, Valve has temporarily stopped selling the $649 1TB model of its Steam Deck OLED in the US and Canada, citing unspecified supply chain constraints: Steam Deck OLED 1TB models are temporarily out-of-stock in the US and Canada as we adapt to recent supply chain constraints. We anticipate being back in stock by end of summer, and currently expect prices will remain the same. We'll update here as soon as we have more clarity on what the timeline ultimately looks like. Mind you, the $549 512GB Steam Deck OLED is the model I'd recommend anyhow. But combined with the fact that the Intel-powered MSI Claw AI 8 Plus also got a $100 price hike shortly after launch, it feels like Windows makers are no longer meaningfully competing with the the Steam Deck or Switch 2, and I'm beginning to wonder if Microsoft will be able to do so when the Xbox Ally launches later this year. It's not clear if Trump's trade war with China is responsible for any of these specific price changes, though it seems likely in the case of the Asus ROG Ally X. The $800 handheld now starts at $900 at Best Buy in the US, but still costs the equivalent of $800 at Best Buy Canada, and hasn't gone up in price in Mexico either. Asus would not tell us why the price has gone up, or even confirm the price increase to The Verge, after repeated emails. Lenovo, meanwhile, raised its prices on the entry-level Legion Go S with SteamOS twice before it put the handheld on sale May 25th. It told us about the first $50 price increase in March, and quietly raised the price another $50 before launch. As a result, the $599 Legion Go S now costs $50 more than its closest competitor, the $549 Steam Deck OLED, which makes Lenovo's handheld a more difficult pick than it otherwise could have been. While the SteamOS version is much improved over the Windows one, it's not a clear winner over the Steam Deck in performance, battery life, screen quality, or comfort in my tests. I plan to have a full review of the SteamOS version of the Legion Go S soon, now that I've tested both the Z2 Go and Z1 Extreme configs. I still would not recommend buying the Windows Z2 Go version, which has been discounted down to the same $599. In case you're wondering, MSI still has not sent The Verge an MSI Claw 8 AI Plus for review, after I warned readers not to buy its disappointing predecessor, and the company no longer answers my emails. If these prices all seem too high for you, there is one deal I keep seeing anecdotally: apparently, some retailers are offering YMMV closeout deals as low as $349 on the original Lenovo Legion Go with detachable controllers. I found it bulky and uncomfortable to hold, and a sequel is on the way, but it's more interesting at that price, and its Z1 Extreme chip makes it more powerful than any Z2 Go handheld.
Android Authority
28-05-2025
- Business
- Android Authority
Miss the PSP Go? This new sliding gaming handheld might fill the gap
TL;DR Anbernic teased the RG Slide, a new gaming handheld with a PSP Go-like sliding mechanism. Sony's patent for sliding controls is set to expire next month. No specs have been revealed yet, although it's most likely an Android device. The Sony PSP Go might not have been a big seller, but the sliding form-factor was hugely innovative at the time. It was later used in the iconic Xperia Play smartphone, which was Sony's last real attempt to make sliding devices work. The Xperia Play 2 was canceled before it went to market, but a new sliding device has emerged from a surprising source more than a decade later. In a video teaser posted today on YouTube (above), Anbernic showed off its latest handheld, the RG Slide. It looks very similar to Sony's sliding hardware of the past, but larger. Unfortunately, the video only shows the device from the back, although the thumbnail reveals a rounded design, again harkening back to the PSP Go. No specs were revealed in the video, but a small fan port can be seen on the back of the device. The need for active cooling indicates a more powerful chipset. Most of Anbernic's Linux-based devices, such as the popular GBA-like RG-34XX, do not feature active cooling, which leads us to believe the handheld will be an Android-based gaming handheld. Sony's patent on sliding controls is set to expire next month. Regardless, this is the first sliding handheld of its type in more than a decade, and for good reason. Sony has been sitting on the patent for sliding controls, but it's finally set to expire on June 28. This could be the first of a number of handhelds to use the form factor. The popularity of clamshell devices like the Retroid Pocket Flip 2 and Anbernic's RG-35XXSP proves there's a market for unique emulation handhelds. This is the third handheld Anbernic has announced this year after the powerful RG-557 and the upcoming RG-34XXSP. The company released 12 handhelds last year, so expect more announcements in the coming months. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
Gizmodo
08-05-2025
- Gizmodo
Backbone Pro Review: $170 Is Too Expensive for This Mobile Controller
In an effort to expand beyond smartphones, Backbone is now selling an everything controller. Just like the Backbone One, the new $170 Backbone Pro turns a phone into a quick and dirty gaming handheld, but with added Bluetooth connectivity, it also connects to a PC or smart TV. If you're the traveling kind, it promises to be the only quality (albeit expensive) controller you need to take with you. Or it would be a solid 2-in-1 gamepad if—unlike me—you apparently have enormous hands. There has to be something exemplary about a 'Pro' device, especially to justify the $170 price compared to the $100 you pay for the Backbone One. If you judge it merely by its on-paper feature set, there's not so much that stands out. The new mobile controller has a pair of back buttons on both the left and right grips. Not exciting enough? The Backbone Pro also houses a special pairing button for connecting to external devices—mainly PC, Mac, or TV—over Bluetooth. You can combine it with the Backbone+ app for button mapping and easy swapping between connected devices with the new 'FlowState' feature. Backbone Pro It feels good in hand, but there are missing features that make it less 'pro' than it could be. Pros Controls are clicky and responsive Controls are clicky and responsive Textured grips offer extra comfort Textured grips offer extra comfort Solid battery life with smart power passthrough Solid battery life with smart power passthrough Smart idea for connecting to multiple devices Cons Backbone still doesn't feel perfect for my hands Backbone still doesn't feel perfect for my hands No Hall effect joysticks No Hall effect joysticks Doesn't extend enough to support latest iPad mini Doesn't extend enough to support latest iPad mini Expensive That easy swapping is especially nice for gaming on multiple devices, but is it the controller you honestly want to use for both PC and mobile? Controllers live and die by how they feel in your hands. If you've ever held a Backbone One, you have a good idea of the general feel for the 'Pro' controller, even though there are subtle improvements. The high point of the Backbone One is the D-pad and face buttons, which aren't overly loud even though they have the sort of clicky feeling I enjoy most on low-profile controls. This pricier Backbone includes Hall effect triggers, but even if the new full-size thumbsticks are responsive, they are still the traditional ALPS-type sensor. These use potentiometers to calculate the orientation of the stick, and that can lead to wear and stick drift, whereas Hall effect sticks normally last longer. Hall effect sticks would be more welcome on a gamepad whose full-sized sticks could get knocked around in your backpack when traveling. The Backbone Pro's satin-textured grips have the feel I normally only get from premium devices, but is it $170 premium? If I had to judge, it wasn't quite on par with high-end 'Pro' level devices from the likes of SCUF, Razer, or even an Xbox Elite wireless controller. These devices normally cost closer to $200 or more, so the Backbone Pro needs to be pitch-perfect. Using the controller, I found my hands were big enough that I needed to adjust my grip ever-so-slightly if I wanted to access the face buttons or D-pad while maintaining quick access to the thumbsticks. It's not a problem when playing some mobile titles or emulating retro titles. When playing a more modern game such as The Elder Scrolls V: Oblivion remake through Xbox Game Pass, I had to adjust my grip more than I was used to. A larger device like a Gamesir G8+ fits my hands better, but its controls don't feel nearly as polished as the Backbone Pro. There are other trade-offs to consider. Unlike the Backbone One, there is no version of the Pro that supports Apple's Lightning connection. The Razer Kishi Ultra at $150 extends far enough to fit a tiny tablet, but the Backbone Pro doesn't even stretch to allow for the most recent iPad mini's 8.3-inch screen. That's where Bluetooth could come in handy, if only I could cover or remove the USB-C dongle to fit my non-standard device inside. Combined with a foldable phone like the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, the Backbone Pro became a kind of pseudo gaming handheld that was especially handy for playing games that fit its wonky 20:9 aspect ratio, specifically Diablo Immortal. Add on the ease of the Backbone+ app, and the Backbone Pro makes streaming games through Nvidia GeForce Now or Xbox Game Pass far more of a console-like experience. The app promotes its 'dual screen' experience when playing on PC or TV. However, it's only useful for checking the charge on both the controller and the phone. The battery life is perhaps the Backbone Pro's best feature. I could go for around three hours without seeing the device dipping into the 20% mark. The gamepad also includes smart passthrough charging that tops off both the phone and built-in battery at once. I can't knock the build quality on the Backbone Pro. It has controls I'd be happy to use on practically any other gaming device, though only if I didn't have any of my other preferred controls around. The Backbone Pro is the wireless controller I would slip into my backpack if that space already wasn't occupied with my Steam Deck. As for a mobile controller that would actually fit in my pocket, I'll just keep waiting for MCon to slip into my life.
