Club Benefits
Well, it was only a matter of time. Lenovo has pulled back the curtains at CES 2026 on its next handheld gaming PC, and it's the Lenovo Legion Go 2 with a very much welcome upgrade: SteamOS.
It's a tale we've heard before. An all-new gaming handheld arrives on the scene with specs that outshine the Steam Deck, only for it to be hindered by the power-consuming and performance-draining Windows 11. Microsoft's operating system is just ill-suited to handhelds. The Xboxified Windows 11 (the Xbox Full Screen Experience) does alleviate the issue, but only somewhat.
Same-same, but different
When the SteamOS-powered Lenovo Legion Go 2 arrives, it will come with the exact same specs that we've seen on the model that's now available. That means an extremely powerful AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme chip, up to 32GB of DDR5X RAM, a 74Wh battery and a dazzling 8.8-inch (1920 x1200) OLED 144Hz touchscreen.
Combined, all of these specs make the best parts of Lenovo's latest handheld. The only real problem holding it back was (you guessed it) Windows 11, and it affects the performance in gaming and battery life of these portable consoles to the point that it shaves off precious frames and a significant amount of time for keeping it turned on.
Don't get us wrong, the Legion Go 2 still impresses with its gaming chops (and beautiful OLED display), but knowing it could be better with a lightweight OS that's specifically built for gaming makes its current state a tad lackluster — especially at its full $1,349 price point.
So what kind of performance jump can we look forward to with SteamOS? Well, if it's anything like the Legion Go S models, it will be quite the improvement. Just check out the differences we benchmarked below.
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Legion Go S (SteamOS) | Legion Go S (Windows 11) |
Assassin's Creed Mirage | 32 | 21 |
Dirt 5 | 32 | 20 |
Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 39 | 16 |
Of course, we'll need to do some hands-on testing in our labs with the upcoming Legion Go 2 with SteamOS to see if gaming performance is massively improved, but the signs are clear. Even the short time I played The Witcher 3 and Black Myth: Wukong on the all-new SteamOS edition made it clear that Valve's operating system offers plenty of benefits.
It's almost like playing on a Steam Deck 2, what with the Legion Go 2's visually delicious OLED display and ergonomically pleasant detachable controllers. Essentially, it unlocks what the latest Legion Go could actually offer.
So, expected better performance and longer battery life just with a change of OS; no hardware changes needed. That fixes two of our biggest gripes with the current Lenovo Legion Go 2, but that price is still eye-wateringly high.
Still worth the price?
The Lenovo Legion Go 2 is just about the most expensive handheld gaming PC on the market, even compared to the other options like the ROG Xbox Ally X or MSI Claw A8 (all boasting the mighty AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme chip). But with SteamOS, the price is a little more justified.
Anyone after the pinnacle in portable handheld gaming will find the Lenovo Legion Go 2 is already a treat, thanks to its impressive specs, OLED display, adjustable ergonomics and more. But with SteamOS fixing the issues it has? That just makes this premium machine all the more worth it if you've been saving up for a top-quality gaming experience.
It remains to be seen just how well this upcoming Lenovo Legion Go 2 with SteamOS will fare, especially now that Xbox FSE makes Windows 11 a hugely more tolerable OS on handhelds. But as history details, SteamOS reigns supreme on handhelds, and on one of the strongest portable systems around, that's a good combination to look forward to.
Wondering what's next for on-the-go gaming? Check out what we expect for gaming handhelds in 2026.
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