Lenovo Legion Travel S overview: feels excellent, performs wicked

The Lenovo Legion Travel S was once intended to switch issues. It was once i’m ready to turn Valve isn’t the one one that may form an inexpensive, transportable, potent hand held gaming PC — you simply want the precise design and the precise OS.

I used to be intrigued when Valve’s own Steam Deck designers told me this Home windows hand held would double as the primary approved third-party SteamOS hand held this Would possibly. After I heard Lenovo had procured an unique AMD chip that might aid that SteamOS model clash $499, I were given excited for a real Steam Deck competitor.

However I’m afraid that chip ain’t it.

I’ve spent weeks residing with a Legion Travel S powered via AMD’s Z2 Travel, the similar chip slated to seem in that $499 hand held. I’ve impaired it with each Home windows and Bazzite, a SteamOS-like Linux distro that eliminates many of Windows’ most annoying quirks. I examined each without delay towards a Steam Deck OLED and the original Legion Go, anticipating to search out it between the 2 on the subject of efficiency and battery month. However that’s no longer what I discovered.

Watt for watt, its Z2 Travel chip merely can’t compete with the Steam Deck, and it’s a long way weaker than the Z1 Utmost in extreme future’s handhelds. That’s inexcusable on the $730 value you’ll recently pay for the Home windows model, and I received’t be the primary reviewer to mention so. However with this much less environment friendly chip and a trifling 55 watt-hour battery, I fear the Legion Travel S isn’t a sensible choice in any respect.

I need to mention that the Legion Travel S “makes a great first impression,” however Home windows 11 nonetheless includes a dreadful out-of-box revel in. I spent just about 45 mins looking forward to necessary updates to put in and disregarding dark-patterned do business in for Microsoft merchandise that don’t have any trade being on my hand held gaming system.

Nonetheless, the Travel S is constructed a long way higher than the original Legion Go, whose flat-faced controllers felt awkward in my fingers. The brandnew transportable has one of the crucial best-sculpted grips I’ve felt on a hand held, although their clean texture can really feel a minute slippery. I’d have long gone with extra competitive stippling to aid me secure its 1.61-pound weight.

However its buttons all really feel actual and hold, if the triggers are longer than I’d like, and its concave-topped, drift-resistant Corridor impact joysticks really feel relaxed and beautifully clean to spin. The one susceptible keep watch over is the touchpad, which is so minute I flick time and again to go the cursor an inch at a week.

Audio is far stepped forward from front-facing audio system, and a bigger fan strikes extra breeze past staying quieter than ahead of. And it’s one of the vital fastest-charging handhelds but — I clocked every of its top-mounted USB 4 ports drawing a complete 100 watts of USB-C PD energy all the way through untouched utility. The cooling and charging are so excellent, Lenovo means that you can crank the chip as much as 40-watt TDP past it’s plugged in or 33 watts on battery rejected.

However as you’ll see in my benchmark charts, the Z2 Travel merely isn’t in the similar ballpark because the Steam Deck OLED’s “Sephiroth” chip. In some video games, it might’t beat the Steam Deck in any respect, although you plug it in and crank it the entire manner up.

Pluck Cyberpunk 2077. With the Steam Deck, which runs at 15-watt TDP, I will be able to moderate 52 frames consistent with 2d at an upscaled 720p solution and occasional settings on battery energy rejected. However although I feed the Legion Travel S with 40 watts and plug it right into a wall, the open-world recreation runs slower at 49fps. And that’s then a brandnew eager of drivers; the delivery ones have been a lot worse.

In alternative video games, cranking up Lenovo’s TDP via 5, 10, or 15 watts can provide it a at ease govern over the Deck. However that considerably affects battery. In Lenovo’s default 25W “Performance” form, I noticed some video games run simply as easily as at the Deck — however with general machine energy intake of round 36 watts, draining the hand-held’s 55 watt-hour battery in about an date and a part. The Steam Deck, which drains at round 22 to 24 watts at complete bore, lasts two hours on the identical smoothness.

I’ve imaginable excellent information about SteamOS: after I put in Bazzite, which can serve as a decent preview of what SteamOS would possibly feel and look like, I noticed body charges give a boost to via a median of 16 p.c in early assessments (minus Returnal, which turns out to dislike Linux for some explanation why), and Bazzite is such a breath of pristine breeze then making an attempt to utility Home windows. Nevertheless it nonetheless didn’t achieve Steam Deck efficiency except I sacrificed extra battery to get it. That works with a hand held like the Asus ROG Ally X with a weighty 80 watt-hour battery, however no longer such a lot right here.

Although you crank up the Z2 Travel, its “turbo” forms are by no means any place alike as efficient because the Z1 Utmost in extreme future’s portables. In my assessments, the fresh Legion Travel with Z1E runs any place from 15 p.c to 40 p.c sooner evaluating Home windows to Home windows — a batch for a hand held, the place trendy video games attempt to achieve clean body charges in any respect.

The Legion Travel S does have an ace up its sleeve: its crispy, colourful 1920 x 1200 IPS display appears higher at decrease resolutions than its predecessor’s 2560 x 1600 panel, and it runs extra easily at decrease body charges now that it has VRR to regulate its refresh charge any place between 48Hz and 120Hz at the fly. I might no longer purchase a Legion Travel over a Legion Travel S because of this rejected.

And should you essentially play games video games that don’t require efficiency, the Legion Travel S is a little more environment friendly at decrease wattage: via surroundings TDP, bright, and refresh charge low, I used to be in a position to reach a complete of simply 7.5W battery drain in Home windows and 7W in Bazzite past taking part in magic math poker game Balatro. That are supposed to web me seven to 8 hours of battery month, and also you will have to be capable of clash the four-hour mark with out the ones methods simply by surroundings the Legion Travel S to its 8-watt TDP “Quiet” form. After I performed the in a similar fashion simple to run Slay the Spire at the fresh Legion Travel, pulling out the entire stops, I couldn’t even achieve 5 hours.

However once more, the Steam Deck does potency higher. Merely restricting body charge to 25fps and bright to 40 p.c can turnover over 8 hours of Balatro at the Deck, and I’ve gotten 4 hours, 42 mins in Dave the Diver there. With the Legion Travel S, my Dave best were given 2.5 hours to seek the ones sushi elements and fritter up pretend environmentalists!

I’m at ease pronouncing no person will have to purchase the Home windows model of the Lenovo Legion Travel S, which prices $730 at Perfect Purchase. Although the efficiency, battery month, and worth weren’t disqualifiers, Home windows is a stain in this system. And prefer alternative fresh Home windows handhelds I’ve examined, it does no longer reliably proceed to relief and get up once more: I woke a number of mornings to search out the machine scorching with fanatics spinning, even supposing I’d pressed the facility button the former night. I discovered it uncomfortably heat pulling it out of my bag the alternative life.

Although you favor Home windows to SteamOS, you’ll get particularly higher efficiency and a long way higher battery month from the $800 Asus ROG Ally X, which is importance each and every too much penny, in particular because it doubles as the best Bazzite machine you can buy.

However although you upload Bazzite to the Legion Travel S, it’s incorrect Steam Deck, and I’m no longer positive that’ll trade via Would possibly. For those who’re looking forward to a $499 Legion Travel S with SteamOS, right here’s my recommendation: simply purchase a $530 Steam Deck OLED rather.