Lenovo takes the fight to the Steam Deck with this Black Friday deal dropping the Legion Go S to $450

Save $200

Lenovo Legion Go S - SteamOS/Z2 Go version: was $649.99 now $449.99 at Best Buy

The chip in this handheld is a little newer than the Steam Deck's and a little more powerful, too. It's not quite on par with the Z2 Extreme or even the older Z1 Extreme chip—you can thank AMD's marketing department for that one—but with this sorta discount means it's not too expensive versus a higher capacity Steam Deck. The 120 Hz at 1080p might be a push but you can absolutely get some good gaming done on the go here, and with SteamOS to lighten the load.

Key specs: Ryzen Z2 Go | 8-inch screen | 16 GB RAM | 512 GB SSD

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This kind of pricing, $450 at Best Buy with a sizeable $200 discount for Black Friday, is exactly what I wanted out of the Ryzen Z2 Go version of the Legion Go S when it launched. When I reviewed it back in March—the version with Windows on rather than SteamOS—I concluded that it's a lovely handheld but costs too much for what you're getting. And I looked eagerly towards the launch of the SteamOS version.

Then I got to try out SteamOS vs Windows on the handheld, and switching over was even better than I hoped: significantly better performance in some games plus all the benefits of the SteamOS such as better sleep/wake and a more handheld-tailored UI. What was mediocre performance for too high of a price upon a Windows launch made more sense on SteamOS, and now at $450 it makes a heck of a lot of sense.

• 👉 All the best Black Friday PC gaming deals we've spotted 👈

At this price, the Legion Go S is competing more with the Steam Deck than other high-end handhelds, and here it comes out on top. For starters, the Z2 Go GPU is more powerful than the Steam Deck's Van Gogh one, and now the operating system field is level, the Lenovo handheld will plough on ahead.

More than this, though, with the Legion Go S, you have a design the comfort of which cannot be understated. I'm saying this as someone who regularly uses the Legion Go S and is still incredibly impressed by just how comfy it is—it's the more powerful Z1 Extreme version that I'm using, admittedly, but it shares the same design. The only competitor on this front, in my eyes, is the new Asus ROG Xbox Ally X, but that's way more expensive and has Windows.

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With the Legion Go S, you're getting grips that somehow fit the hand wonderfully without visually sticking out at all. Everything feels premium, from the sticks to the triggers—which can either depress normally or lock in to act more like a mouse click—to the d-pad, which has a lovely thunky sound and feel to it.

In the Z2 Go version, here, and especially with just 16 GB of memory—which will have to be shared with the GPU, remember—you shouldn't expect the absolute best handheld performance on offer today. But SteamOS really does work wonders cutting background processes back to let that processor shine in whatever game you're playing. And while there isn't tons of storage on this one, it supports 2280 form factor SSDs, so upgrading should be no issue.

With upscaling on, you can expect smooth frame rates at 1080p even in quite demanding games such as Black Myth Wukong, provided you lower your settings down to medium. And, of course, in much less demanding games, you should be able to make good use of that 120 Hz refresh rate on the large screen.

If I had a budget of $500 or less, this is without a doubt the handheld I'd choose. It's not all about raw performance, because while there's enough of that here for some smooth gameplay in most handheld-friendly games, the extra comfort, plus the large screen and refresh rate, seals the deal.

👉 Here are Best Buy's Black Friday handheld gaming PC deals 👈

Best handheld PC 2025

1. Best overall:
Lenovo Legion Go S SteamOS

2. Best budget:
Steam Deck

3. Best Windows:
Asus ROG Xbox Ally X

4. Best big screen:
Lenovo Legion Go

5. Best compact:
Ayaneo Flip DS

👉Check out our full handheld gaming PC guide👈