Is it worth replacing your Steam Deck OLED with the brand-new Lenovo Legion Go S? Let's dive in!

2025 has bestowed many new gaming handhelds upon us, and no stranger to the scene is , with its original . The tech giant has unveiled two new devices: the , which is set to come to market very soon, with and the , which is currently in the prototype stage.

I went and I think it could be the one to dethrone the in the world of handheld devices, as it solves a lot of optimisation issues by launching with OS. The operating system, paired with a range of other upgrades over the Steam Deck OLED, and it feels like the Lenovo Legion Go S could shake things up.

However, with regional pricing and adjusted costs based on specs still yet to be confirmed for the Lenovo Legion Go S SteamOS edition, it's up in the air as to whether or not the device will be worth picking up over the well-known and loved Steam Deck OLED, which achieved a . We've compared the two devices in design, specs, price, and games on offer so you know which one is right for you.

The first design difference you'll notice between the Lenovo Legion Go S and the Steam Deck OLED is, of course, the screen. Both of these devices have great screens for their own respective reasons, so which one you prefer will be based on what you need out of your gaming handheld.

Impressing with an 8 inch FHD+ screen is the Lenovo Legion Go S. You also get a 120Hz refresh rate, which is perfect considering the processor can provide you with high performance and frames even beyond this refresh rate. However a downside here is that the screen is just LCD rather than OLED, and while it did look gorgeous in my hands-on preview session, no LCD screen can compete with OLED.

On the other hand, is the Steam Deck OLED, which, as the name suggests, boasts a beautiful 7.4-inch OLED screen. While the size difference may not sound stark, any additional screen area is appreciated on devices this small. You also get a 1280 x 800 resolution screen, which is a bit disappointing at not even full HD. While I will admit, for some, it may be hard to notice resolution differences on screens this small, going from 1280x800 to 1920x1200 is a major leap.,

Aside from the difference in screens, the Lenovo Legion Go S and Steam Deck OLED also have different design features. The former features an asymmetrical joystick design, while the latter has a symmetrical one, so if you have a preferred layout, you know which one to opt for.

The Lenovo Legion Go S offers adjustable triggers, allowing you to change between full press and hairline, as well as RGB on the joysticks, both elements missing from the Steam Deck OLED. Personally, I also find the Lenovo Legion Go S much more comfortable to hold; however, this won't be the case for everyone.

On paper, the Lenovo Legion Go S and Steam Deck OLED specs are vastly different, with even just the processor offering a major leap in performance from the former. With the Lenovo Legion Go S offering up to an Ryzen Z1 Extreme chip, we already know that this processor can offer some high frame rates and performance across even AAA titles compared to the older Steam Deck OLED custom processor.

Another major difference between the two systems is the amount of RAM on offer, with the Lenovo Legion Go S offering up to a hefty 32GB, double that of the Steam Deck OLED's 16GB. This will allow the newer handheld to take full advantage of the power offered by its processor, again leading to better performance if you opt for more RAM.

• Processor: up to AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme


• Operating System: Windows 11 / SteamOS


• Display: 8inch FHD+ (1920x1200), 120Hz


• Storage: 1TB M.2 SSD Gen4


• Memory: up to 32GB LPDDR5x


• Ports: 2x USB-C, 1x Micro SD Card Reader, 1x Audio Jack


• Battery: 55.5Whr


• Size: 299 x 127.55 x 22.6mm (WxDxH)


• Weight: 740 g

• Processor: 6nm AMD APU: CPU: Zen 2 4c/8t | GPU: 8 RDNA 2 CUs


• Operating System: SteamOS


• Display: 7.4-inch, 90hz, 1280 x 800p, touchscreen


• Storage: up to 1TB M.2 SSD Gen4


• Memory: 16GB LDDR5


• Ports: 1x USB-C, 1x Micro SD Card Reader, 1x Audio Jack


• Battery: 50Whr


• Size: 298 x 117 x 49mm (WxDxH)


• Weight: 640 grams

The main upgrades you get with the Lenovo Legion Go S are a bigger battery (while not a major difference, every little bit counts), an extra USB-C port and a thinner device, making for a more compact feel. However, despite the Lenovo Legion Go S being smaller, the Steam Deck OLED is actually 100g lighter, which could make a major difference in terms of comfort for those who want to play for longer or anyone who wants to take their handheld on the go with them.

The Lenovo Legion Go S price depends on which model you want to pick up. The Windows 11 model comes in at £599 / $599 / AU$1,299. However, the SteamOS model, which is more comparable to the Steam Deck OLED, comes in at just $499, which roughly converts to £408 or AU$800, but of course, this doesn't account for regional pricing. The device will be released with different CPU and RAM availabilities, but right now, we don't know the price tiers for different customisable spec options yet.

The Steam Deck OLED price comes in at £479 / $549 / AU$865 for a 512GB edition and £569 / $649 / AU$1020 for a 1TB version. While this is cheaper than the Windows 11 edition of the Lenovo Legion Go S console, it's actually more expensive than the SteamOS version. If you're looking for the cheapest gaming handheld which runs SteamOS, then the Lenovo Legion Go S is the winner, however with regional pricing for this version yet to be confirmed this could depend on where you live.

Game availability is a major factor for those considering a gaming handheld. The Lenovo Legion Go S Windows 11 edition is capable of running any games you already play on your PC. It doesn't matter which store front or client you need to access these titles. However, it's worth noting that just because it physically can run the titles doesn't mean it will do it well, as performance will be down to optimisation.

On the other hand, the Lenovo Legion Go S SteamOS edition and Steam Deck OLED both have the same game availability due to the operating system. With both handhelds running SteamOS, you're limited to playing games from your Steam library only. A benefit to this can be that many games on Steam are optimised to be played in handheld mode on the Steam Deck, and we can assume this optimisation will apply to the Lenovo Legion Go S, too.

Overall, right now, it feels like a no-brainer to opt for the Lenovo Legion Go S over the Steam Deck OLED if you're hoping for better performance alone. On top of a better processor, you also get a range of other upgrades and benefits, all of which I think are worth opting for over the OLED screen the Steam Deck OLED offers. However, with pricing yet to be confirmed and these better specs likely coming in at a higher cost than Lenovo's current offering of $499, it's unclear whether or not the Lenovo Legion Go S will actually be budget-friendly.