I think one of the biggest pros of the detachable controllers is the fact that they can be replaced if there is stick drift or stuck buttons etc…

How is 2 USB C ports weird? Having a port on the top and bottom is great. You can plug in an external monitor + peripherals into the other. You can use an eGPU + accessories. Or just choose which port is more convenient for the occasion.

Have tried all three, I think each is great in their own way. - Legion Go is much more versatile than the rest and the bigger screen is absolutely fantastic. I have a portable gaming monitor that flips out like a tablet (18") and packing that + legion go = full PC when away on business etc + portable for on the plane etc. Biggest downside would be the battery/size compared to the Steam Deck. - Steam Deck OLED is MUCH more user friendly... it just works and the battery life is insanely good. However it's much less versatile than the rest re options and compatibility and after using the Go the screen feels very small. - ROG Ally if the Legion Go is too big for you, however the overheating issue is bleh. I think it comes down to personal preference and at what price you can get each product for.

I have a OLED steam deck and Legion Go. I love them both but the Go is my favorite device.

Correction: Legion Go has quadruple the steamdeck resolution, not double. It's a perfect integer scaling of 4, meaning you can run games on Go at 1280x800 resolution and 1 pixel at that resolution will be the exact equivalent of 4 native pixels with no overshoot or undershoot, best picture quality possible when not running at native res. So in that sense they designed the resolution of this screen very well. You can have a high res display when you need it for movies and what not, and when you rather have performance like when gaming, you can run it at 1280x800 and still get great integer scaling that fills whole screen and retains great image quality.

Important to note that the Legion Go can be used with any usb-c external egpu whereas the Ally can only be used with proprietary Asus gpus. Also, the main feature for the detachable controllers is the fps mode which is something I would be interested in as I cannot play shooters with a controller. I personally like the trackpads on the steam deck and from other reviews I’ve watched the trackpad on the Legion Go is not very good. I have the OG Steam Deck that I got on sale and upgraded to 1TB.

Phil's doing a great job as a host! keep it up man

The Legion is a beast it has only been out for 5 months! The Legion go is the king

I was waiting for this since Jay did the unboxing and said Phil was going to do the full review. Love Phil's nerd energy.

Awesome video, love seeing Phil in videos. Keep up the great content guys! Long time sub and absolutely love seeing the team, more please 😂❤

I love this. 4 years ago we didn't have any of these first party handheld gaming pc's, and then Valve came through and essentially put a cornerstone in this market. With its success I knew that other companies would want their piece of the pie and innovate. We're still pretty expensive in this market (2x steam decks for 1 Legion Go?) but I'm happy to see that the customer gets to win with options with the companies' competition for your dollar.

yeah but you can 3d print or pay someone to 3d print a controller center holder that way u can slide them In a shell like the switch

One mention, you can config the start and select button to the top left and top right buttons in Legion Space fairly easily. I agree though, it's annoying that that's their default position. Great review though!

I got the Legion Go soon after it was released mainly because of it's larger screen and higher resolution. I use it as my travelling PC for content consumption and light on the go gaming.

Got my Legion Go last month and I have to say I am absolutely loving it, I use it for on-the-fly video editing with my iPhone 15 Pro Max (recording Log straight to SSD and not having to worry about on-board storage also helps). DaVinci Resolve works really well on the Z1Ex and is my go-to mobile video editing solution, I just attach a KB, mouse and dock then detach the controllers when I'm on work mode. I can echo the controller functionality in that it really is a missed opportunity to be able to use them like the switch, there are some third party solutions for having the controllers as a desktop controller ( a good chunk of them are 3D printed), the lack of first party solutions would have been livable if there were more third party solutions available ( the steam deck seems to have that locked down). All-in-all I absolutely adore the Legion Go, I take it with me wherever I go and never have a dull moment with it around. Currently I play MWIII and Diablo IV permanently live on the Legion Go and I just install and uninstall other games when I get bored ( I only have the 512gb version, but I plan to upgrade the SSD to 2tb whenever prices are more desirable) I just wish we weren't stuck with 16gb of RAM

Nice review Phil, it is easy to see that you have passion and great knowledge in this space.

I had a similar gripe about the start/select buttons, and it was nearly a dealbreaker for me until I found the option to switch them in the Legion Space software. Literally just a click of a button rebinds the buttons with the two on the left controller, which I am SO happy about. Really wish they touched on that in this video, because while the Legion Space software is god awful (I set it to never run on startup anymore), that was one option I am eternally grateful for.

Great review of the Go and it does line up with a lot of my thoughts when using both of these devices. Go was just too big for my small hands. Weight wasn't really an issue because I'm used to carrying my laptop in one hand

You can swap the start/select with the legion/settings keys now. I personally love this device, was curious to see what this channel thought

I think this is the first review of this device I've seen that mentions the screen being portrait-native, and this is very interesting to know.

I have a Switch and an Anbernic RG35XX Plus for my handheld needs. For the rest, it's on PC, and I feel 100% fulfilled!

Great review Phil! I wish you would spend some more time talking about ergonomics and the quality of the buttons and analog sticks though. Like for instance, I thought the analog sticks and the face buttons felt really good, but the weird mouse buttons on the back right controller would kind of unsettle me when I accidentally pressed them. Also, for my XL-glove size hands, the bottom corners of the legion go were very uncomfortable after about 45 minutes of gameplay.

There ARE features unlocked by detaching the controllers, mainly controller gyro. You can use them in emulators on Linux, and emulate a Wii Remote + Nunchuck for example!

Good work Phil. I'm honestly more interested in the clamshell ones coming out and can't decide between keyboard or second screen. I just remember my ds and picking it in my bag without worrying about it. That's what I'm looking for from a portable system. No cases, no add ons, nothing flimsy. Ruggedised flip PC with no extraneous rgb and two nvmes with selectable boot so I can go between windows and Linux. Two USB 4 top and bottom and an optilink as well, delivered by an airborne hog.

As a tinkerer, I really want this as a handheld with omph.. Nice review, youre sounding honest. Wished you covered more use [noise, heat, muscle cramps..] and use cases like replacing tablet, actual third party accessories, and more about docking [support for a tv via hdmi or displayport over usb-c is, as you say, a__]. Overall, good job👍

Timing of this is perfect. Been trying to decide between this steam deck oled and the asus (though the sd card issue is ruling out the ally

Thanks, I am on the Hunt for a handheld pc...might wait for rog ally 2

had rog ally at launch i loved it sold it two months ago picked up an a leigon go last week and it in my experience it just has a lot less issues works really well display and comfort are way better on the leigon go i think i like the leigon more tbh

FYI, Lenovo was in the gaming pc/laptop area much longer than ROG/asus

The detachable controllers is such a big plus regardless of having a standalone (extra) piece of hardware you have to lug around or not. I think the functionality of being able to use one of the controllers as a mouse is huge and it wouldn't work without the controllers being detachable. Makes it even better if you're couch gaming because you can just use your couch cushions or coffee table as a mouse pad, or get one of those lap boards that you'd put a keyboard and mouse on anyways. It opens up a ton of versatility imo. I also think the lack of a dock doesn't really matter, extra ports will always be welcomed and I don't really see it as an oversight more so than the fact that they didn't intend for it to have a docking station. It'd be more useful as a second monitor anyways, which is what it would be used as when "docked" at most setups

Reserved my Steam Deck 256GB within 2 hours of reservations opening. Got it late Q2 2022 and love it. I have since upgraded the sticks to Hall Effect, the ssd to a 1TB drive and replaced the battery because it wore out. I have very large hands. I have been so thrilled with that device that I sold my Switch because I could play almost every game I had on it on the Deck anyways about 6 months after receiving the Deck. I can't recommend it enough and have been persuaded to switch my main PC to be a Linux machine because my CPU is not supported by 11 and I don't like 11 anyways. I really like the Steam Deck, but I think I should've named it Prometheus instead of Archimedes.

8:30 I use the bottom USB port for charging when I'm playing in handheld and the top one when it's in "tablet" mode or when I want to rest my hand on the table , just like on the video. So I am really glad that they have 2 ports.

this helped me realize while I like the idea of these handhelds; I'm probably going to wait a while before wanting one.

It seems like he wanted, desperately, to not say that the Legion was better than the Ally or that it was worth buying.

I'm loving this current push for handheld gaming pc's. I haven't been a console player in years and my time is limited to just sit at my pc all day gaming. I expect as more companies enter the industry and another generation of the steam deck comes out, these will be amazing handhelds.

l've been using my Legion Go as an ultra portable PC first & foremost rather than a dedicated handheld gaming system, find this brilliant when on the go to do work etc using a portable Bluetooth keyboard & mouse. At home I have it plugged in running at 30 watts using a Xbox controller rather than the detectable controllers on my coffee table when gaming, I find this much more comfortable than trying to play it handheld due to it's size. The Nintendo Switch is my dedicated handheld console of choice.

Assuming the two usb c ports were geared towards using with the legion ar glasses and still being able to charge device. The legion AR glasses were released as a companion accessory for Legion Go.

Bought a steamdeck a few months ago (oled) and thought it was fantastic. Bought a legion go in February and haven't touched the oled since

The added functionality from removing the "Gocons" comes from docking the device. If you connect this to your TV let's say and have USB-C out to your TV, you won't need an additional bluetooth controller. As for the START/SELECT buttons, you can swap those in Legion Space. Also... how does this compare to a laptop and/or desktop? Psst, I know a channel that did some comparisons... okay fine it's mine. Also, you can get this refurb now for $590!

I really enjoy these Just Philing in segments. Well done

PHIL!!!!!!! Nice review :) I was debating between the two but then I went and got a Quest 3 instead :P I have a powerful enough PC so I was looking for something a bit more in terms of experience.

Awesome review Phil!!! On the ASUS ROG Ally, the issue I have with mine is I still the expanded memory slot which is busted.

I think comparing these devices is great but there is one glaring issues and that’s how do they hold up over time . My Asus Rog ally I loved it … until the sd card reader died . Then the vibration function just decided to stay on permanently. Even after reboots . I decided to go to legion go. So far so good . Detachable controls is Awsome so your hands don’t get tired holding up rite 😮

Also the kickstand folds out quite a bit. Just keep folding it open until it stops, then will sit flatter on a desk when hooked up to a monitor, and better acess to the bottom usb-c port

I wish! Nice Carball play!

I love using my steam deck for travel. I picked it up before these windows handhelds were available and it’s great for flights. Essentially every steam game I own that I can’t carve out time for on my desktop works great. The ever evolving updates are sick. And now steam basically auto transferring updates and downloads from my desktop to my steam deck?? So awesome!

I've never updated Vampire Survivors on the Switch till yesterday and now I got this sweet Adventure mode to play now! 😅

Hmm... Nicely done, Phil. This quite an insight. But for me, I still think both are expensive and lack upgrade paths aside from storage. Looks cool, but hard to justify as a daily driver.

I have a Legion Go and I loved it. The bigger screen felt better than the Ally to me. I do agree that not having an official dock looked like a miss. The detachable controller - there could be better value added if the right one is somehow sculpted to be a mouse when detached (without using the disc base) - they already crammed in a mouse optical in it after all. Overall, they could have added an eyelet for a hand loop (like the PSP and some old phones) for those of use that are worried we might drop the device when holding it.

I think there's one important keyword when it comes to the Legion Go: Flexibility. It allows you to play as a normal handheld, as a table setup with wireless controllers and hooked up to a TV/monitor, also with wireless controllers. The fact that it has windows also allows you to connect more or less any peripherals you would like, and play it as more of a traditional PC with keyboard and mouse, or just hook up whatever bluetooth-controllers you might have laying around to play splitscreen multiplayer. The fact that it has two USB-C ports, one on the top and one on the bottom, also allows you to insert the charger or dock/dongle on whatever end might fit better in your environment. Maybe you're playing handheld and prefer having the charger hanging off the bottom, or maybe you've set it up with the kickstand and need to use the top one because the bottom is blocked? The FPS mode is also yet another addition for more flexibility. Don't have a mouse and keyboard around but still want to play your favourite mouse and keyboard games? Just make some keybinds for the controller, turn on FPS-mode and have at it! There's just so many ways to use this device, and like Phil said, it's a great fit for anyone willing to tinker a bit. It's by no means perfect, but I would never under any circumstance say that any added feature that adds flexibility is a wasted feature.

Great job Phil!

Awesome review! I think I will wait for the next generation handhelds. To get a little more performance and perhaps cooler system. :)

the only reason i'm not even considering the ally is due to that sd card killing problem. i want to go legion but now there is a cheaper alternative handheld from orange pi coming which if shipped to the UK for under 500, it is a hard choice.

Did a great job Phil! If you missed it you can change the legion space button on it now. Can turn it to the top buttons are "start" and "share"

U can swap the start and select with the ones on the left controller. Also the vibration works pretty good just varies by game. Horizon forbidden west has a near little effect on the right controller when shooting the bow, I keep it on the strongest setting.

I've been listening to the rtfm show again and I love how much phil has really come out of his shell when he is on camera. Defo keep Phil for this subject. He nailed it

I came across the desire for a handheld gaming device this year. Legion Go wasn't on my option list due to it's size and bulkiness. I tossed for over a month between Steam Deck and Ally. Figuring out how my gaming, preferred games, and current library could be played while mobile, and how they could be played from my norm. Lots of time spent weighing the cost and use case to find if it was worth it to me. I went with the Steam Deck, due to its user-friendliness as Valve has put a lot of effort in the OS and UI. Didn't want to deal with the perceived hassle of Windows 11 on a device that it ultimately wasn't designed for. Ended up spending higher dollars on it than I was originally planning because I got the OLED Steam Deck. Couldn't bring myself to buy anything less on the sole basis that the OLED touch screen is far more responsive and not laggy than the LCD is. I love it!! Use my Deck FAR more than I thought I would!

I'm picking mine up later today can't wait to see the performance just happy I can bring it everywhere I have a laptop too but these seem way more portable

I haven't had a chance to play with the Ally or Go, but I love my OLED Steam Deck. Screen is amazing, it runs anything I want it to, emulation is amazing, battery life is amazing. Haptics are top notch

for ergonomics of the detached controllers, I'd say phil's take isn't the best. the switch style holder he wants does as grips that the joycons sorely lack, but then they're even closer together than any other controller. while shoulder width apart is a better ergonomic posture for your hands. so each has a big plus, while having a big minus at the same time. I've only ever used the holder type thing to rubber band the sticks together for some auto grinding in some games on my switch. I just got some joycon covers that add the much needed grips & play with the joycons apart. it's so much more comfortable for long play sessions. you can use the button remapping to add confirm & cancel buttons to each side too. difference in opinion on the ergonomics/reasons for the detachable controllers aside, great video Phil!

I absolutely love my Legion Go. I purchased it because i was going on vacation from California to Oklahoma to visit family, and i needed something quick and easy to use if my job had an issue i needed to take care of, I have a foldable bluetooth keyboard and it all fit in my back pack, plus I could play games on it in the cramped airplane seat. I love being able to play it in bed while my wife is watching TV, while I do have a Switch this give me more options between my steam library and my XBOX game pass. With innovations happening as fast as they are i can't wait to see what a 3rd or 4th gen handheld can do.

Doing great Phil!!! Sending love to the team! Keep it coming guys!

If it has Windows and I can connect a 4K or widescreen display, then I’m all in. I’ll 3D print a dock if I have to, but if this does well, I’m sure Lenovo will come out with their own. Perfect travel computer. Better than a laptop. Smaller. Lighter. More portable. As a bonus it plays modern games half way decently (only need 60fps for single player games I’d be playing on a plane or in a hotel room anyway).

I got my partner a Steam Deck OLED for Christmas last year and they love it and constantly use it. For myself, I'm still more of a just desktop PC guy as I don't travel much or anything and when I do I just pack up the Switch. That said I think if I did get one, I'd either get the Steam Deck OLED myself or the Legion Go because of the dual USB ports and because I have big hands. Great job on the review Phil!

Love my steam deck. 2 years on it still performs great and UI seems like it has the best refinement of all these handhelds. Just waiting for a 3rd party to release an OLED replacement screen.

I have them both and my Ally has been in its case since my Go came in at launch, the screen can't be beaten!

Thx Phil for the honest overview between the 2 Devices.I bought the ROG ALLY

I have a 1TB OLED Steam Deck and love it. My bro has the Ally and he installed Steam OS on it and loves it. Both are good.

Legion Go is such a great emulation device paired with Mig Switch. If you wanna just read an Ebook or browsing, just detach the controllers, flip the device and it's a nice little tablet. The 1600p screen is really nice for browsing and reading. The legion pop out OSD allows you to change resolution on the fly too, so you don't have to run 1600p. Some people argue that integer scaling 1280x800 to 1600p looks good, but to me it's still rather dull for 3D applications. Been fine running 1600x100 - 1920x1200, or streaming to the Go from main RIG. The biggest issue right now is speed of software updates and Memory Capacity. Yes the soldered memory allows for the 7500mts, but with 6GB reserved for GPU, it's a bit light for the system to work with.

Thankfully they just released an update where you can rebind the buttons to whatever you want including swapping the top face buttons to start and select and the other 2 lower ones are now the hot keys for me. The software def sucks but hopefully they keep working on it and I know they have been listening to feedback. Valve continue to knock it out of the park with software so hopefully these other companies step up their game (and that includes Microsoft) I love that the controllers separate I think they work well in that configuration but thankfully there are 3d prints and even lenovo and Jsaux are making some new accessories including the adapter to combine them into a single controller.

Appreciate this review, I'm currently trying to decide between The Go / Ally / Deck right now to go along side my 4080 desktop.

really wish more details were provided here. i have had my Lego since launch and I love it. there are many 3rd party controller parts that you can get if you look that allow you to connect the detachable controllers like the switch. additionally the start and select buttons can be changed to the more natural configuration. the 2 USB charging ports are great and i use them depending how I am sitting or if I plug in my external SSD and power supply at the same time to play game off the external SSD.

I'm about Jay size, 6'4" and 275 lbs... I would go for the Lenovo myself. I do like the looks of it too. The mouse control sounds cool.

I wonder if you can remap the start/select button. Great video guys!

I'll always refer to them as start and select I'm right there with you!

I get its all preference, but for me a bigger higher res screen is well worth it. I use my go to stream games from my pc often and i love being able to do that at 1600p and 144hz. I dgaf at all about legion space. I never use it. You can remap the buttons to start and options. There are plenty of frames for the controllers online. A first party dock would he nice, but im glad if theyre gonna have two ports, i like having one up top and the bottom. Not discrediting Phil's experience, but every con for him, has been a complete non issue for me. And if you plan to stream games at all (which i highly recommend) the bigger, higher res screen is worth it.

I love my Lenovo LeGo. When I travel its way more convinient to carry around than a laptop. Games run much better than I exspected to be honest. The screen has amazing sharpness for movies. When taking the controllers off and connecting a bluetooth keyboard its even a good looking small pc to use in a conference. It did what I bought it for: replacing my laptop.

I went with the base Rog Ally for $399. I mostly play emulation, retro games, and indie games, so it's perfect for that use case. One of the main reasons I chose the Ally (other than price) is lack of fan noise. It's basically silent unless you're really pushing it. Other reviews of the Legion Go have mentioned that it has a pretty loud fan.

I feel like this would be cool if it had the additions you mentioned with the doc and the controller shell especially if they sold the doc with a display or anything

i own one and the first thing i did was get an adapter to turn the ssd from 2242 to 2280, then i straight up uninstalled legion space and put on handheld companion cause the 3rd party software had much more capabilities than legion space does, then i found a way to get the official amd drivers installed for the gpu and i've been happy since

I bought the Go a couple of months ago for the detachable GoCons, screen size, Windows, and you can use it as a small Win-tablet. The cons for me is the lack of a GoCon dock, USB A port, dock mode USB C port (it should've been mounted in the center so some sort of KB or dock can be used because the port is useless when the Go is sitting. I like the stand because you can stand the tablet on the sides when the GoCons are removed.

For Lenovo's first ideration of this handheld. I do feel like when they do a revision i see them taking all the feedback and improving on all those aspects in this review. If they can pull it off making a portable switch like handheld with the accessories to back it up and possibly steamOS sotfware options. Insta win for Lenovo.

I like the LGo, its not perfect, but the larger screen was a necessity for my use. I run games at the 16 : 10 equivalent of 1080 or 720, depending on the game and how well it is running. On these small displays, just using vsync and shooting for 50-60fps is perfectly acceptable. I change the refresh rate from 144 to 60, and leave it there, and let the game's vsync handle the rest. And I can even handle 30+fps on it, as long as it is solidly no lower than 30fps during the more demanding areas of the game.

Phil, LLG screen is MIPI, which is why it can use VRR.

I'm watching this on my Ally and I love it. I'm also sure there are 3D printable docks for the Legion controllers

I love my Steam Deck OLED. The screen is amazing and it runs smooth as butter. I knew I wanted a Steam Deck OLED and did not cross shop it all, but a Phil-parison between the three would be interesting.

I love the legion more than all of them. Sent my steam deck back as soon as the legion dropped and have not regretted it at all. Its still fun and and very powerful til this day. And ive had it since it first dropped to the public

As someone who already owned an eGPU it was a no brainer for me to get the Go. But I agree that for a tinkerer like myself, there is a ton of possibilities with the Go compared to other devices. I still recommend for people if you have to get a Windows handheld, get the ROG Ally.

You can swap the start/select buttons with the legion buttons in the legion space software settings.

I went with the ally, I mainly use it at home and stream from my desktop, I like the smaller form factor for traveling though.

If you feel like the ally is to small you can get different grips and cases for it. Skull and co case is super nice and even works as a stand.

Msi claw and legion go I'm glad I missed and bought the rog ally on pre order. Love the rog ally extreme specially with amd FMF software! 3d printed a dust cover for the egpu port and stand, 2280 2tb m.2 mod, liquid metal, jsaux rgb clear back cover which has bigger air intake vents and reduces temps well and makes the fan quieter from turbulence. I only use my ally on battery like 1% of the time as its always docked with a controller or in the cars my vehicles have 110v outlet.

3:49 it feels weird at first but this is absolutely my prefered way of playing on the nintendo switch, you can get really comfortable not having to bring your hands together to hold the controller

Probably gonna wait for Switch 2. I purely play on pc, but I'm curious about the handhelds in general. My kids are also coming into the age where a handheld may become relevant, so it's something I'm paying attention to.

I got a PC 3700x/3080, a ROG Ally, a GPD win4 (7840u version), Switch, and a Odin 2. I got all avenues ready to play for different use cases. also great video love that you guys are getting into or starting to make vids on Handheld PCs was waiting to see if you guys would. great work phil and looking forward to more videos!

You will appreciate detachable controllers when you got a painful bad back and when lying in bed you can put a pillow on your stomach with a screen on it, and both hands lie comfortably next to you and you hold the controllers in them and play. Holding it normal way just hurts after a while.

You can change the start and select buttons with one click in the settings, which I recommend. But I agree it should be like that by default lol

The detachable controllers are nice if they break and needs to be replaced perhaps? If they are available to buy seperatly?

I might have a go at the ally, i will wait and see what msi brings to the table.

Yooo what is up guys, Philz2Cents, the wrapper, here today and for you I have this Legion Go 😆