CES 2025: SteamOS Finally Works on Portable Devices Other Than Steam Deck
Since the renewed interest in portable PC gaming in 2022, the Steam Deck has become my recommendation for anyone with even a passing interest in PC gaming on the go. It has a lot of competitors now, some with better chips, some with better screens, but none of them can match the user experience of Valve’s SteamOS operating system—until now.
Lenovo Legion Go S runs SteamOS.
While most Steam Deck competitors use Windows, Lenovo announced at CES this year that its new Lenovo Legion Go S will be the first non-Valve portable PC to offer SteamOS at launch. This means it will have a dedicated Steam button, easy access to the Steam Store and your Steam library (although it will still be able to play games from other stores), instant remote play functionality, and perhaps my favorite feature, unrivaled support for fast Valve menu (for setting everything from brightness to power consumption).
SteamOS is also slightly lighter than Windows, so games could theoretically run better. Although, since it is based on Linux, some games will face limited compatibility.
However, the trade-off is worth it. The Proton technology that SteamOS uses to run Windows games on Linux has been generally reliable in my library, even with games that are bound to have problems, and SteamOS is much easier to navigate with a controller than Windows.
However, Legion Go S will also have a Windows version, which will suit anyone who needs to play the game with an anti-cheat as they have difficulty running it on SteamOS. Unfortunately, it’s limited to white, and the SteamOS version looks black to me, but Lenovo assures me it’s the purple variety.
Legion Go S vs Steam Deck
So, why use the Legion Go S instead of a Steam Deck? First of all, the chip and the screen.
The Steam Deck is still an impressive piece of kit for its $400 starting price (or cheaper if you buy refurbished), but it gets a little dated when it comes to performance and visuals. A more expensive OLED upgrade might help with the latter a bit, but the Legion Go S is generally more modern and more similar to other competitors like the Asus ROG Ally.
While I was previously skeptical of these competitors due to their lack of SteamOS, Legion Go S promises the best of both worlds – modern hardware and user-friendly software from Valve. Let’s start with the chip: Instead of the basic Steam Deck, it features either the existing AMD Z1 Extreme processor or the new exclusive AMD Z2 Go processor.
The Z1 Extreme has already proven itself on devices like the aforementioned Asus ROG Ally , delivering about a dozen extra frames over the Steam Deck in recent AAA games, while the yet-to-be-released Z2 Go appears to be a more modest improvement. on top ofa custom AMD Steam Deck chip . According to AMD’s CES press conference yesterday , you can expect the Z2 Go to have roughly the same number of processing cores as the Steam Deck chip, but with a higher clock speed, the ability to handle up to 30W of power, and four additional graphics cores. . Both should perform better than the Steam Deck, although the latter will certainly be a bit cheaper.
This extra performance is another reason to upgrade: a better screen. While the Steam Deck has an 800p OLED panel with a 90Hz refresh rate, the Legion Go S has a higher resolution 1920 x 1200 panel with a 120Hz refresh rate. It’s an LCD display, so you’ll lose the crisp color contrast of the OLED, but if you’re like me and still using an LCD Steam Deck rather than the newer OLED Steam Deck, this will be a definitive upgrade. If you have an OLED, it will largely depend on whether you prefer accuracy or speed. The Legion Go S will be able to hit more frames per second (hence the extra performance required), but the Steam Deck’s OLED display will likely have better colors, even if it has a slightly lower resolution.
You can configure the amount of RAM to be twice as much as any Steam Deck, which should make using the portable device smoother. The remaining factors are a matter of comfort and appearance.
The Legion Go S is slightly thinner and lighter than the Steam Deck, and is also a complete overhaul of the original Legion Go design, ditching detachable controllers in favor of a single body. The right touchpad from the first Legion Go is also still here, albeit smaller, although it doesn’t have the dual touchpad setup like the Steam Deck. On the plus side, it has an extra USB-C port that the Steam Deck doesn’t have, as well as a slightly larger battery and extra trigger stops for a shorter pull.
It all adds up to an attractive combination for me: the first device that’s really taken my mind off the Steam Deck since I got it. You’ll have to wait for the reviews to make a final decision, but Lenovo has positioned itself comfortably here, especially considering the Legion Go S’s price.
Prices
Legion Go S Powered by Steam, a model running SteamOS, will go on sale in May, starting at $500. This will give you a Z2 Go processor, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage. Meanwhile, the 512GB Steam Deck OLED costs $50 more at $550. Storage and RAM upgrades will also be available, which also brings me to the Windows version of the device.
The Windows Legion Go S actually gets a head start by going on sale this month for $730. It is equipped with a Z2 Go processor, 32 GB of RAM and 1 TB of internal storage. That’s a big price to pay for the extra memory and storage, so it should be easy to know that the Windows model, which is otherwise identical to the SteamOS version, will also drop in May for $600, along with additional upgrade options for both models. These updates will include models with the Z1 Extreme chip, although the specifications for these configurations are not yet fully available.
Please note that Lenovo does not consider the Legion Go S to be a full-fledged version of the existing next-generation Legion laptop. This will be the Legion Go 2, which will also be unveiled at CES this year, but in the prototype stage. The latter will come with a new Ryzen Z2 Extreme processor, an OLED screen, new finishes, and a fingerprint scanner. There’s no word yet on pricing or whether it will include SteamOS, but Lenovo told me it plans to release it in 2025. Fans of the first version can also rest easy knowing that the detachable controllers are still there, too.