But if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. That’s what Lenovo did with the Legion Go S. This isn’t a successor to the Legion Go—the company unveiled a prototype Legion Go 2 with some small refinements—but it’s an alternate version that comes in two flavors: Windows or SteamOS. That makes it the first licensed handheld gaming console running SteamOS. Unfortunately, there’s no dual-booting option; you have to choose which operating system you want at checkout, though you are able to run third-party game stores on SteamOS, like the Epic Games Store.
With SteamOS, you can take advantage of cloud saves, so you can stop playing at your desktop PC or laptop and move to the Legion Go S without losing progress. You can also stream games from your PC to the console if they’re more graphically demanding (as long as your internet connection is good).
Outside of software, the Legion Go S variants have the same hardware. They’re powered by AMD’s Ryzen Z2 Go or Ryzen Z1 Extreme, sport an 8-inch 1,920 X 1,200-pixel resolution LCD display with a 120-Hz variable refresh rate. The screen is smaller and lower-res than on the original Legion Go, which affords better battery life, though it also helps that the battery is beefier at 55.5 watt-hours. It does not feature removable controllers, though you can use the two USB-C ports to hook it up to a monitor for a desktop-like experience, and there’s a microSD card slot to expand storage.
The Windows-powered Legion Go S starts at $730 and arrives this month, though there will be other configurations with newer chipsets coming later in May, with prices starting at $600. The SteamOS version starts at $500 and launches in May.
Monitor Speakers With Private Audio
Lenovo has dozens of new CES products, but one last gizmo that stood out to me is the ThinkCentre M90a Pro Gen 6 all-in-one computer. It doesn’t sound all that exciting (all-in-ones rarely are), but Lenovo has new technology called “Lenovo Focus Sound” injected into this machine. This is almost like a film applied over the display that delivers audio specifically to you—using a machine-learning algorithm and the built-in camera, it makes sure only you can hear audio from the monitor, so nearby coworkers can’t hear that you’re secretly catching up on Love Island.
It sounds bizarre—almost like someone is whispering in your ear—but it works! I stood directly in front of the computer and listened to a demo reel, and the people next to me couldn’t hear a thing. I moved a little to the right, and the sound disappeared. It seems helpful for office environments, but then again, headphones already exist. Still, the technology is very cool, even if it sounds a little unsettling. The M90a Pro Gen 6 goes on sale this quarter and starts at $2,539.
