Still, the Go S is built far better than the original Legion Go, whose flat-faced controllers felt awkward in my hands. The new portable has some of the best-sculpted grips I’ve felt on a handheld, though their smooth texture can feel a little slippery. I’d have gone with more aggressive stippling to help me hold its 1.61-pound weight.

The Lenovo Legion Go S is a balance of compromises, offering an affordable entry-level price, stellar audio, good ergonomics, and a great display, but with subpar gaming performance compared to its competitors.

I've been using the Lenovo Legion Go S (with Windows), and I hate to say it, but Lenovo has a real dud on its hands.

With so many meaningful improvements, the Legion Go S is a gorgeous and comfortable handheld. But does its high price and middling performance hurt it?

It’s worth noting that Lenovo has other Legion Go S configurations coming later this year. In May, it plans to release a $599.99 variant that has the same specs as the model I’m reviewing, but with half the RAM (16 GB versus 32). It will also debut a Z1 Extreme-powered model in April, but there’s currently no price attached to that version.

Lenovo's sleek Legion Go S gaming handheld falls behind the competition in performance and battery life... but costs just as much.

The Lenovo Legion Go S is an extraordinarily comfortable handheld that seems poised to best compete against the cheaper Steam Deck OLED.

The Lenovo Legion Go S is an incredibly ergonomic handheld gaming PC that feels great in your hands, but Windows makes the whole experience feel awkward.

The Lenovo Legion Go S establishes Lenovo as a premier handheld manufacturer, but I'd recommend waiting for a better hardware configuration.