Lenovo Legion Go 2 first hands-on: I’ve never seen such a good screen on any other handheld

Unfortunately, my early concern came true: this handheld won’t be cheap.

I’m currently at IFA 2025 and, of course, I’m on the hunt for the latest handheld consoles. Luckily for me, I have the opportunity to get my first impressions of the Lenovo Legion Go 2 very early on – one of my most anticipated handhelds of 2025. 

The device I used for this article is still a pre-production model with unfinished software, which is why I can’t yet share with you the gaming experience we can expect later this month when it’s released. 

Instead, here are my first impressions of the handheld itself and the most important new features compared to its predecessor. 

First things first: this is one of the best screens I’ve ever seen on a handheld device – if not the best.

The screen is the highlight

Its predecessor, the Lenovo Legion Go 1, is already one of my favorite handheld devices, and one of the main reasons for this was its excellent screen.& nbsp;

With the second handheld, the manufacturer has gone one better and installed an even better screen – even if it has to make concessions in one respect. But for good reason.
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8.8-inch OLED: Like its predecessor, the Lenovo Legion Go 2 features a screen measuring almost 9 inches. This time, Lenovo has opted for an OLED panel with vibrant colors and excellent contrast instead of an IPS LCD. 

• In my opinion, the screen size is perfect. I find 8.8 inches handy enough for mobile gaming, but large enough to enjoy even PC games with small fonts.
• The IPS LCD on the first Legion Go was already very nice, and frankly, I didn’t miss the advantages of an OLED screen. In a direct comparison, however, you can still see a significant difference – especially in the black levels and contrast. 

VRR: The Lenovo Legion Go 2 supports a variable refresh rate of 30 to 144 Hz. This ensures smooth display and prevents screen tearing. Its predecessor did not have this feature.

Lower resolution: This is where we find the downgrade mentioned above. The first Lenovo Legion Go had a screen with a very high resolution of 2,560 × 1,600 pixels. The Lenovo Legion Go 2 only has 1,920 x 1,200 pixels on the display – but that’s a good thing:

• It was rarely possible to play current games at such a high resolution without the help of upscaling. 
• The Legion Go 2’s 1,200p resolution is still high enough to display content sharply at this screen size, and significantly more games should be playable at native resolution. 

500 nits: The maximum brightness of the handheld has not increased, but it is bright enough to play outdoors as long as you sit in the shade. 

Comfort and workmanship: Two major weaknesses have been addressed

The Lenovo Legion Go 2 comes in a matte plastic case. This makes it feel even more premium than the first Lenovo Legion Go. 

The new detachable controllers are no longer as angular, but rounded at every point. This makes the Legion Go 2 significantly more comfortable to hold than its predecessor. Despite weighing almost a kilogram, the handheld is very comfortable to use. 

In addition, the two controllers are much more securely attached to the casing. On the Lenovo Legion Go 1, they had a little play and therefore felt wobbly at times. In the successor, they sit rock-solid – at least at first glance. 

Controllers, FPS mode, and tabletop gaming

As with the Nintendo Switch 2, the Lenovo Legion Go 2’s controllers can be detached and used wirelessly with the handheld. A sturdy kickstand on the back allows the tablet to be positioned at multiple angles.

The right controller can be turned into a vertical mouse with a small plate into which the controller is inserted – just like its predecessor.

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The mouse sensor seems more precise than on the Legion Go 1, but I still need to test this thoroughly.

There are two new buttons on the left controller that simplify the operation of Windows 11 on handhelds: one immediately brings up the desktop interface and the other brings up the Alt-Tab screen for switching between apps and windows.

More power and larger battery

The Lenovo Legion Go 2 is equipped with either the AMD Ryzen Z2 or the Z2 Extreme. 

• The AMD Ryzen Z2 is about as fast as the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme, which is used in handhelds such as the first Lenovo Legion Go or the Asus ROG Ally. 
• The AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme is about as fast as the chip in the new Asus ROG Xbox Ally X (AMD Ryzen Z2 AI Extreme). 

It also has 32 GB of RAM with 8,000 MT/s. The 16 GB of RAM in the previous model was already a bit tight at the time of release, as it had to suffice for both the CPU and GPU, as is usual with an APU (processor with integrated graphics unit). I am therefore particularly pleased about this innovation. 

My pre-production model offers an extremely large amount of storage space with a 2 TB SSD, which can be expanded with a microSD card if necessary. 

One of the biggest criticisms of the first Lenovo Legion Go was its short battery life. With quite a few games, I had to plug in the power cable after about an hour.

The new Lenovo Legion Go 2 has a 74 Wh battery – on paper, that’s about 50 percent more. However, the competition from Asus (ROG Ally X) and MSI (Claw A8 and 8 AI+) offers even higher values with 80 Wh batteries. 

That was my first impression of the Lenovo Legion Go 2. I can keep the pre-production model for a few more days and will show it in a stream on Tuesday, September 9, 2025, at 1 p.m. So check out our FYNT show on Twitch if you’re interested! 

Price and availability: With these specs, I was afraid beforehand that the handheld wouldn’t be cheap. 

• The price starts at €999 for the version with AMD Ryzen Z2. The price for the faster model has not yet been determined.
• The Lenovo Legion Go 2 is scheduled to be released later this month. 

Do you already have questions about the handheld? Feel free to ask them in the comments below!