Lenovo has come in for some criticism of late regarding the launch price of its most recent handheld: the Legion Go 2, which has seen a substantial price hike over the MSRP of its predecessor. At their latest Lenovo Innovation World event, however, held around IFA 2025, Lenovo executives retorted to these criticisms, saying that the high price is reflective of its premium components.

Legion Go 2’s high price is a result of ‘the high-performance processor, OLED display, detachable controllers, and ergonomic design’. They say it’s meant to be an ‘enthusiast’ product for gamers who want the best, even at a premium price. Lenovo’s Volker Düring went on to highlight the Legion Go S series (including a SteamOS model) as a more affordable alternative.

The Legion Go 2 is expensive because of the high-performance processor, OLED display, detachable controllers, and ergonomic design that make it so powerful. Therefore, the Legion Go 2 targets enthusiast gamers who are willing to invest in their hobbies. They value customizing their own hardware and building their own setups, and they choose such hardware even if it is expensive.

It’s true that the market for these enthusiast products may not be that large, but we believe it is an important market for increasing our value. For those looking for a more affordable option, the Legion Go S series focuses on the out-of-the-box experience and also offers a SteamOS model.

Volker Düring, GM & VP – PC Gaming, source: PC Watch [translated]

Although these points have some merit, the fact remains that for an FPS performance uplift of just 10-15%, an 80% price hike is a hell of a lot of money to pay. To be honest, rather than looking to the Legion Go S, we hope that the company continues to sell the original Legion Go as a more affordable alternative, as we think the screen looks pretty damn good, even without being OLED.

Legion Go 2 vs Legion Go price & specs

The original Legion Go cost between $599-$749, depending on whether you opted for the Ryzen Z1 chip model, the more powerful Z1 Extreme, or equipped it with 256GB/512GB/1TB storage. The new Legion Go 2, however, costs either $1,099.99 or $1,349.99 for the Extreme model, which is a price increase of around 80%.

Besides the chipset, the flashier upgrade is the new OLED screen, although the resolution has actually been reduced to 1200p from 1600p (which we think is an absolutely fine decision given the small size of the screen). Probably the best upgrade is the improved battery, which Lenovo chose to focus on particularly after feedback on the previous model: Lenovo has increased the battery capacity by 50% in Legion Go 2, although this does make it heavier, there’s also the option for an external secondary battery.

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Aaron Ritchie

Aaron's laptop knowledge makes him the go-to guy on PC Guide. But he still finds time for features, deals and much more.