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.

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.

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.

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

Lenovo has already teased the second-gen version of its flagship gaming handheld. But that won’t be out until much later this year, so in the meantime, it’s come out with the Legion Go S, a slightly sturdier and more portable way to frag while you’re out and about.

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

The Legion Go and Legion Go S are shaped and sized differently, so check the dimensions of carry cases and screen protectors. However, docks, power adapters, microSD cards, and such will work on both, as with all handhelds that share the same ports.

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.