More from Steam Deck, ROG Ally, and more: all the news about the handheld PC gaming revolution
Ever wanted to have dinner with The Verge’s staff, shooting the shit about gadgets? Here’s the next best thing: we filmed a roundtable chat over our actual team dinner at CES in Las Vegas; this clip is just a taste.
If you’d rather have more photos and not-quite-details about this prototype, find ‘em here.
The SteamOS and/or Windows-toting Lenovo Legion Go S was the best handheld of CES 2025, but it wasn’t the only Lenovo portable I took for a spin! The third time was the charm for this detachable-controller and kickstand Legion Go 2 prototype, which I found working at the third venue I encountered it.
The Intel Lunar Lake handheld, on sale now, looks and feels SO much better than the original, and I hear it performs far better, too.
Lenovo sent Dave2D an entire pre-production unit of the soon-to-be Steam-ified Legion Go S, complete with its Lenovo-exclusive AMD Z2 Go chip, so he’s got the best look yet. You can see its full-length SSD slot here (with spacer for smaller drives) for easy upgrades.
He also ran early benchmarks that suggest it’ll surely have more performance than the Steam Deck. We both agree it won’t be a battery life champ.
Physically, and on paper, I would pick this one over the original Legion Go in a heartbeat. It feels so much better — and it’s the first third-party handheld with SteamOS, which vastly improves that feel.
Sorry I couldn’t provide any performance or battery impressions, though: this unit has an old Z1 Extreme chip inside, no intensive games on display, not even a Portal 2 savegame.
The Legion Go S is the immediate successor to the Legion Go handheld, minus the detachable gamepads / mouse / kickstand and plus a SteamOS option. But a Legion Go 2 is coming sometime in 2025, Lenovo has announced.
Specs include Ryzen Z2 Extreme, an 8.8-inch 144Hz OLED screen with VRR (!), and a big 74Wh battery. This one didn’t turn on, but the grips are definitely comfier!
Valve just squashed its second Steam Deck-adjacent rumor in one day. “We’re not currently working with GPD on official SteamOS support,” Valve designer Lawrence Yang tells The Verge.
GPD said it planned to offer SteamOS on its Win 4 handheld, “with system adaptation provided by Valve.” Ayaneo once claimed to have SteamOS too. We’re expecting Lenovo to announce the first third-party SteamOS handheld this week.
[GamingOnLinux]
It’s co-developed with Tencent, it’s called the Sunday Dragon, and it’s absolutely huge with an 11-inch autostereoscopic screen (like the Nintendo 3DS but massive). I nearly dropped it trying to remove its detachable controllers.
The 3D popped to life just fine for me, and while the heft gave me pause, the grips are sculpted nicely. Lunar Lake inside.
It’s probably going to cost a buttload of money, but I’m seriously intrigued: could this modular design let some of us get symmetrical sticks, others offset Xbox-style sticks, and still others enjoy touchpads or extra buttons instead?
Still, looks like you’ll have to “pick two” at a time — while the Steam Deck offers dual touchpads, dual sticks and D-pad simultaneously.
Those Decks didn’t last long! Valve told us it’ll make more of the nicely discounted refurb units available, though, and that they’ll generally go in and out of stock.
I may have hinted to my family that I wanted an OLED upgrade as my one Christmas present this year... wonder if they saw it in time?
Could the MSI Claw 8 AI Plus salvage Intel and MSI’s gaming handheld reputation? Well, MSI now claims its handheld averages 7 percent faster than its chief rival at far less power, or 20 percent faster at the same 17 watts.
I’m still working on my GPD Win Max 2 review, and there’s now a more powerful model on sale. It’s pricier at $1,500 — but the 8840U version I’m using is now discounted to $1,000, so that’s great!
This is the best tiny Windows machine I’ve used, though I find I want a mouse. It’s also an OK handheld.
Steam Box? Gaming Chromebook? Take your best guess — but it sure looks like Johnny Deng, a Valve electrical engineer, is testing to ensure a powerful new “AMD Lilac” can properly control your TV (or vice versa) over HDMI.
It’s fascinating to think about. Why would Valve use ChromeOS instead of SteamOS? Valve did tell us it’d “love to work with third-parties” on living room extensions...
