Fingers-on: Lenovo’s Steam Deck rival has Switch controllers and a gaming mouse

We’ve viewed Asus and Logitech take a swing, now Lenovo desires a turn at bat to contend with the Steam Deck. The Lenovo Legion Inch is one other portable, AMD-powered, Dwelling windows-working game machine, but with some top class facets and some tricks up its sleeve. As well to removable left- and honest-hand controllers, a la the Nintendo Switch, the form also shifts into a form of gaming mouse setup. Lenovo will be promoting an add-on assign of VR-fashion glasses that give the system an immersive wearable expose.

On the coronary heart of the Legion Inch is “as much as” an AMD Ryzen Z1 Low APU, the linked chip powering the Asus ROG Ally. It’s packed with 16GB of DDR5 memory and 256GB of M.2 Gen 4 storage (upgradable to 1TB). That’s powering a pretty extensive 8.8-slide 2560×1600 IPS display camouflage with 144Hz refresh price and 500 nits of brightness — a extensive upgrade over both the Steam Deck’s 7-slide 800p, 60Hz panel and the Ally’s 1080p 120Hz panel at the linked size.

Update: It’s essential to to well presumably presumably glimpse our initial fingers-on impressions of the Lenovo Legion Inch within the video below.

Nonetheless the pure numbers aren’t the Legion Inch’s appropriate enchantment. These snap-off controllers didn’t attain to play…successfully, they did attain to play, they’re for taking half in video games…um, they’re a extensive deal. As well to the fashioned triggers and shoulder buttons, the left facet facets two additional rear programmable buttons (on the total hit with the center and ring finger). The honest facet has a touchpad, four additional buttons default toddle to an everyday mouse structure, plus a mouse wheel. Lenovo says this “FPS mode” is for shooters, with an optical sensor on the bottom enabled when the controllers are removed and the system’s rear kickstand is prolonged. A little bit of spherical stand you have to well presumably presumably slot the honest controller into turns it into a form of modified vertical mouse.

Lenovo

Diversified hardware goodies consist of a 49.2 watt-hour battery with “Large Quickly Cost” that could well pump it as much as 70 percent in half of an hour, plus a battery bypass mode that powers the unit straight from an outlet to sustain the battery’s longevity and steer clear of unnecessary heat. At max power the machine can bustle at 25 watts of TGP. Double USB-C ports allow for charging and plugging in accessories at the linked time, with DisplayPort 1.4 coping with exterior video obligations (which desires to be in a blueprint to output 4K TVs at high refresh rates, no command).

Legion

That’s quite loads of extras when in comparison with the fashioned Steam Deck form. Nonetheless perchance the largest and flashiest add-on is the equipped-one at a time Legion Glasses. This “wearable visual display unit” headset plugs in by the utilization of USB-C to thunder a 1080p OLED video signal to each inspect at 60Hz. While not as spectacular or as technologically stepped forward as a corpulent VR headset, it must serene provide the same stages of immersion to something admire TCL’s Nextwear or RayNeo XR, minus the augmented fact. And attributable to the USB-C video fashioned, it’ll work with varied devices too, in conjunction with laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

Legion

The Legion Inch is coming in October, initiating at $699 for the spoiled configuration, the linked mark because the ROG Ally but successfully above the $400 ground of the Steam Deck. Pricing for upgrades (due to 256GB is barely ample to bustle Baldur’s Gate III) wasn’t shared, but you desires to be in a blueprint to produce your hold SSD if you have to well presumably admire an cheap storage enhance. It’ll attain with a free 30-day Xbox Game Inch code. The Legion Glasses will be a hefty $329 on top of it — many of the value of a Meta Quest 2 headset, for context — but all over again, they’ll work with varied gadgets that could well output video by the utilization of USB-C.

Author: Michael Crider, Group Author