Technologies

Lenovo Legion Go S Is My New Favorite Way to Play Call of Duty Anywhere

With Battlefield 6 on its way, its time to take the fight on the road with my new gaming handheld, the Lenovo Legion Go S.

As a tech enthusiast, I do buy a lot of stuff (you know, just doing my bit!), but I believe the Lenovo Legion Go S is the best purchase I’ve made since the pandemic. The reason why? Sitting in bed and playing Call of Duty multiplayer is one of my new favorite things to do. It does come with some compromises, but playing my favorite game without setting foot on the floor? Worth it.

I spent a lot of time trying to decide which handheld to buy, whether the Steam Deck, the Nintendo Switch 2 or any one of a number of Windows devices. Here’s why I chose the Legion Go S and why I’ll probably never install SteamOS on it.

Also read: Best Handheld Gaming for 2025

Which handheld should I choose?

When I was looking for a handheld, I had only tried a handful of them before. I have used the ROG device and both Switches (and I own the original) but have still not played the OG: the Steam Deck. I have also envied friends’ Decks, but they have always seemed kinda janky, and you can’t play the latest Call of Duty or Battlefield games on SteamOS due to their respective antipiracy restrictions.

I was a little tempted by the prospect of the $450 Nintendo Switch 2, but having to build up a brand new library — and pay an eye-popping $80 a game — put me off. With the Legion S, I had the ability to enjoy every PC game I’ve ever played, and just for an extra $50 over the Switch.

Yes, I have read Scott Stein’s review of this Lenovo handheld, but I come at this device from 30 years of playing FPS games on PC. I know a lot about Windows’ shortcomings, and its… longcomings? Strengths? Strengths! Even so, I think this PC/gaming hybrid is exactly what I have dreamed about since playing Doom on my first 486.

A PC, but for your hands

The Legion Go S I bought features an AMD Ryzen Z2 Go chip with 32GB of RAM and a roomy 1TB of drive space. It cost $500, and that price is still available. You can buy the Legion Go S with Steam OS for $100 more right now, but it has lower specs.

I’ve seen a lot of people on Reddit who either bought the SteamOS version or bought the Windows version and installed Steam over the top— the latter is what I planned to do, too. However, I had the console in my hands for less than 5 minutes and decided it didn’t make sense to swap the OS. Keeping Windows not only gives me access to Steam and Xbox Games Pass, but also Blizzard and all of the other gaming apps I use.

There is the option to dual-boot into both Windows and Steam OS, but I haven’t seen the need so far. I have seen people complain about having to wait for Windows to boot, but I just leave it in standby with a click of the power button. Click again. It’s almost instantaneous.

I’ve just come back from a walk to the park, to eat some lunch and play a little of the new Battlefield beta on the Legion Go S (Windows). While my dog wasn’t impressed by the lack of walking we were doing, I had a real blast just killing time (and bad guys). It’s worth noting here that, as a beta, Battlefield 6 is not in any way optimized for specialized devices like the Legion Go S. For instance, I needed to calibrate the Legion’s joysticks to make them more responsive — they were very slow — and so in the meantime, Call of Duty is a much more streamlined experience.

On that point, Call of Duty on the Legion Go S is super smooth, and it’s fun to pick up a quick round of Gun Game. It’s the more casual games that work best on this device, and I can plug in for a few minutes, get some frags and get on with my day. If I’m looking to play something more involved — like Battlefield Conquest, then a PC is better.

However, I do think Scott Stein’s review of the device is right on the money with many of his points. Particularly in terms of loading times of games — the handheld can just look like it’s stopped working — and it takes about a minute for Call of Duty to load every time. Not great for the «casual» vibe, but meh, I can live with it. In addition, you will definitely need to turn some of the settings in FPS games right down.

Bridging the gap

Until now, all of my PC gaming was done on an Intel desktop — which I did buy in the middle of the pandemic — and so it’s getting a little long in the tooth now. I do top it up with more storage and RAM when it’s needed. My main game machine for the past few years has actually been the Xbox Series X, but now the Lenovo is helping bridge the gap between lean-forward and lean-back gaming on the couch.

While my PC and Xbox are still great, it’s not always convenient to game in the ways I want. For instance, in addition to loads of Call of Duty and Battlefield, I also play Steam library party games like Pummel Party and Jackbox Games. Until now, I’d stream them from my PC into the living room using Steam Link. But this method does introduce some lag and the occasional image defect, and not to mention that it’s clunky — sometimes I’ll need to duck back into the other room to fix something. Now, with the addition of a $30-plus dock, I can plug the Legion straight into my TV.

As a longtime Windows user, it’s the ability to do anything on the Legion that a PC can do that is most enticing. I even used its on-screen keyboard to write this sentence. Though… I just found that more awkward than a physical keyboard, and the text was filled with errors — it would be OK to use in a pinch, but a physical keyboard is still king. The lack of a keyboard has another downside: It’s not possible to do shortcuts as easily. It’s a matter of learning a bunch of new buttons, and forget about navigating with the onboard «pointer» — it’s awkward and quite imprecise.

Final thoughts

Do I top the Call of Duty leaderboards using a handheld? I did… once. But mostly, I’m terrible. The Go is a little too heavy and bulky to be fully agile with the right joystick, in particular, as you’re usually supporting the device’s weight. You can put it on a table, and when I did that with the natty 8BitDo Lite controller, it was a lot easier to control. I still died a lot, though. I am better with a mouse and keyboard.

Mostly, though, I play on the Legion Go S because I can get my CoD fix without the hassle of sitting at a desk or turning on the living room TV and Xbox. Dead Kennedys said it best when it named its album «Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death.» Ideally, those deaths would involve those of the opposing team, but really, I’m just happy to be involved.

Technologies

Apple Is Making All Four iPhone 17 Models in India in a Big Pivot From China, Report Says

It’s one way to minimize Trump tariffs as the September launch date for the iPhone 17 draws near.

Apple is manufacturing all four of its iPhone 17 models in India ahead of next month’s launch, according to Bloomberg. That marks a first for the company, as it tries to mitigate the effects of President Trump’s tariffs on products produced in China.

The production is taking place at five Indian factories. Tata Group is managing half of the manufacturing in new plants in the southern state Tamil Nadu, and Taiwan’s Foxconn will be manufacturing iPhones near the Bangalore airport.

India has become the No. 1 maker of smartphones shipped to the US, and its iPhone production there jumped 63% (to $7.5 billion in exports) in the second quarter of 2025 as Apple has maneuvered through the new landscape of US tariffs.

Earlier this year, CEO Tim Cook said that Apple would be moving nearly all of its iPhone assembly to India to avoid tariff penalties. However, China will still be the top producer (by far) of iPhones to non-US markets.

Apple will launch its four new iPhone 17 models sometime in September (check out all the rumored iPhone 17 features) in what may be the last iteration of the company’s typical late-summer product launches. Apple reportedly will begin two-phase rollouts beginning in 2026.

Technologies

PlayStation Plus Subscribers Can Play Marvel’s Spider-Man and More Now

Those PS Plus subscribers can also play a game trial of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach.

Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can, and PlayStation Plus subscribers can now become the famous web-slinger in Marvel’s Spider-Man.

PlayStation Plus is Sony’s version of Xbox Game Pass, and it offers subscribers a large and constantly expanding library of games. There are three PlayStation Plus tiers — Essential ($10 a month), Extra ($15 a month) and Premium ($18 a month) — and each gives subscribers access to games. However, only Extra and Premium tier subscribers can access the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog.

Here are all the games PS Plus Extra and Premium subscribers can access now. You can also check out the games all PS Plus subscribers can play in August, including Lies of P.

Marvel’s Spider-Man

When you start this game, Spider-Man is already a pretty experienced crime-fighter. That means you aren’t working your way up from fighting street-level crooks to organized criminals. No, you’re swinging right into fighting heavy-hitters like Wilson Fisk and Shocker. As you’re fighting these major players in the criminal underworld, you’ll also have to navigate Peter Parker’s personal relationships and career while still trying to help the millions of people in New York City.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (game trial)*

Hideo Kojima is back with another trippy and visually stunning game. Death Stranding 2 is set a few months after the first game in the series. The United Cities of America are connected, but humanity still faces the threat of extinction. It’s up to you and your team to travel a world filled with strange enemies to answer haunting questions, like whether people are better off disconnected from one another.

Note that this is a time-limited trial. PS Plus Premium subscribers can only play five hours of gameplay. If you decide to buy the game, your progress and trophies will carry over.

Resident Evil 2*

Experience the classic 1998 PlayStation game that helped spark a media franchise. This isn’t the 2019 Resident Evil 2 remaster, but the story remains mostly the same. A few months after the Mansion Incident, Raccoon City has been overrun by zombies. You’ll play as rookie cop Leon Kennedy and college student Claire Redfield as they explore the city’s remains and try to escape with their lives. But plan accordingly. With limited supplies scattered around the map, you might not be able to shoot your way out of every situation.

Other games added to PS Plus

PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium subscribers can play all of the games listed above, as well as the ones listed here, now.

Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key
Coral Island
Earth Defense Force 6
Harold Halibut
Indika
Mortal Kombat 1
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis*
Sword of the Sea
Unicorn Overlord

*Premium subscribers only.

For more on PlayStation Plus, here’s what to know about the service and a rundown of PS Plus Extra and Premium games added in July. You can also check out the latest and upcoming games on Xbox Game Pass and Apple Arcade.

Technologies

ROG Xbox Ally: Specs, Price Leaks and How It Compares to Steam Deck

Can Microsoft and Asus stop Valve?

The Steam Deck has yet to find a real competitor in the PC handheld gaming device battle. Other hardware companies, including Asus, Lenovo and MSI have tried, but so far, their devices keep falling short. Asus plans to try to take another swipe at the crown, though, this time with the help of Microsoft.

In June, the two revealed their partnership for a new handheld device: the ROG Xbox Ally. This handheld will come in two variants and will attempt to bring the Xbox console experience to a portable device.

Will this be enough to outdo the Steam Deck or will the Xbox Ally just be another wannabe?

How much will the Xbox Ally cost?

Neither Microsoft nor Asus has confirmed an official price yet. One thing for sure is that the Xbox Ally won’t be cheap.

Multiple leaks suggest the price will be 599 euros for the Xbox Ally and 899 euros for a higher-end version, the Xbox Ally X. That does leave the question of what the price will be in the US. Most likely, the price will be the same just in dollars, as that is the typical practice for gaming hardware prices.

One uncertainty is whether the price will be adjusted before launch because of tariffs. Microsoft recently increased the prices of its Xbox Series consoles and Asus has done the same with its laptops and its current ROG Ally lineup.

When does the Xbox Ally come out?

Like with the price, Microsoft and Asus have yet to confirm an actual release date. However, the same leak that mentioned a possible price also leaked a day when the handheld device will come out.

According to Dealabs, the Xbox Ally release date might be Oct. 16. This timing gives Asus a chance to make the device widely available in time for the holidays and Black Friday sales.

What’s the difference between the Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X?

There are two versions of the Xbox Ally: the lower-priced Xbox Ally and the higher-priced Xbox Ally X.

The key differences between the two are in their processors, storage and memory. The Xbox Ally will have the AMD Ryzen Z2 A Processor, while the Xbox Ally X will use the faster AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme Processor. Memory will be different, with the lower-priced Xbox Ally having 16GB of LPDDR5X-6400 and the higher-cost handheld coming with 24GB LPDDR5X-8000. Both will come with SSD storage but the Xbox Ally will have 512GB and the Xbox Ally X will have 1TB. The Xbox Ally X will also come with a bigger battery but with a faster processor and more memory. It’s not clear if that difference in capacity translates to a longer battery life.

Specs for Xbox Ally/Xbox Ally X

	ROG Xbox Ally	ROG Xbox Ally X
Operating System	Windows 11 Home	Windows 11 Home
Controls and grip	Contoured grips inspired by Xbox Wireless Controllers deliver all-day comfort. ABXY buttons / D-pad / L & R Hall Effect analog triggers / L & R bumpers / Xbox button / View button / Menu button / Command Center button / Library button / 2x assignable back buttons / 2x full-size analog sticks / HD haptics / 6-Axis IMU	Contoured grips inspired by Xbox Wireless Controllers deliver all-day comfort, complete with impulse triggers for enhanced control.ABXY buttons / D-pad / L & R impulse triggers / L & R bumpers / Xbox button / View button / Menu button / Command Center button / Library button / 2x assignable back buttons / 2x full-size analog sticks / HD haptics / 6-Axis IMU
Processor	AMD Ryzen Z2 A Processor	AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme Processor
Memory	16GB LPDDR5X-6400	24GB LPDDR5X-8000
Storage	512GB M.2 2280 SSD for easier upgrade	1TB M.2 2280 SSD for easier upgrade
Display	7-inchFHD (1080p) IPS, 500 nits, 16:9; 120Hz refresh rate, FreeSync Premium;Corning Gorilla Glass Victus + DXC Anti-Reflection	7-inch FHD (1080p) IPS, 500 nits, 16:9; 120Hz refresh rate, FreeSync Premium;Corning Gorilla Glass Victus + DXC Anti-Reflection
I/O Ports	2x USB-C (2 x DP 2.1, PD 3.0), 1 x micro SD, 1 x analog audio	2x USB-C (1 x USB4, 1 x USB 3.2 both w/ DP 2.1, PD 3.0), 1 x micro SD, 1 x analog audio
Network and Communication	Wi-Fi 6E (2 x 2), Bluetooth 5.4	Wi-Fi 6E (2 x 2), Bluetooth 5.4
Dimensions	29.1×12.2×5.1 cm	29.1×12.2×5.1 cm
Weight	670g	715g
Battery	60Wh	80Wh
Included	ROG Xbox Ally 65W charger Stand	ROG Xbox Ally X 65W charger Stand

What makes the Xbox Ally different from the Steam Deck?

The most notable difference between the Xbox Ally and the Steam Deck is the operating system. Like the ROG Ally, the Xbox Ally will also use Windows 11, while the Steam Deck uses Valve’s SteamOS.

Even though every PC game works with Windows, handheld gaming devices running Windows have had serious issues, as the OS implementation has been a bit buggy. Portable consoles like the ROG Ally, MSI Claw and Lenovo Legion Go simply don’t run well with full Windows because the OS is designed for laptops and desktops and not handheld devices. SteamOS, however, is designed to run almost every game on Steam without issues and regardless of device size.

The Xbox Ally changes that by giving it an Xbox interface. This would be similar to how the Xbox app on PCs works for running games. It would also be able to download Xbox games directly to it, remote play them off a console or stream them via Xbox Cloud.

Another big difference is the hardware. The Steam Deck came out in 2022 and it was the first mass-produced handheld gaming device for PC. At the time, Valve had to use custom AMD processors but since then, AMD has produced more processors for handheld devices, which are now much more powerful in just a few years. The Xbox Ally would also have faster RAM. Both the improvement in processors and RAM should significantly increase the number of games the Xbox Ally can run versus the Steam Deck, which is already struggling to run newer games at 30fps.

Externally, the Xbox Ally will come with the same size 7-inch display but it will have a higher refresh rate of 120Hz, a brighter screen at 500 nits and increased resolution at 1080p. There will also be some slight differences in the physical size of the Xbox Ally, which will be a little bigger and heavier. Another difference from the Steam Deck is that the Xbox Ally controls will be more similar to the Xbox controller.

Microsoft and Asus have a large hill to climb if they plan to have the Xbox Ally dethrone the Steam Deck. It will be especially tough if Valve decides to announce the Steam Deck 2 soon.