If you thought the Legion Go S was safe from the new Legion Taxes of 2026 like I did, we have been proven wrong.
Earlier today Lenovo raised the Price of the Legion Go S Z1E around 75% making them more expensive than the original listing price of the Legion Go 2 Z2E which also recently saw a price increase. These increases are making the OneXPlayer Apex appealing even at what was their steep pricing.
I’ve been trying to figure out what Lenovo’s strategy is here. The Legion Go S has been fairly well stocked and selling at retailers since release even after coming out above the $500 Lenovo said it would release for at CES.
It has also been the closest you can buy at a retailer to a Steam Deck [the Steam installed variant] while Valve has struggled to keep up with demand. This really leaves us with the Xbox Ally [non-X model] and installing Steam to it in affordable X86 handheld gaming right now.
Why
This may have started because Lenovo has been struggling to fill orders of the Legion Go 2 Z2E since launch. I’m not sure how that would translate to the Legion Go S but no matter the reason its sad to see.
The other possibility is Lenovo gearing up to announce new models and then using these price increases to keep up inventory levels until release. Yes this sounds a bit crazy but these PC Handheld manufacturers treat them like Laptops introducing new models every year.
Lastly Lenovo might be getting out of the PC Gaming Handheld space. This seems to be the most likely outcome mostly due to market conditions effecting all manufacturers.
There has been struggles for both Lenovo and ASUS to get ahold of the needed Z2E processors for their current devices [ASUS Xbox Ally X rumored to be getting an increase to $1400 soon]. This has caused massive delays outside the RAM crisis to fill customer demand.
There is a possibility of companies changing over to the seemingly more available AI Max+ 395 or AI Max+ 495 SOCs in the coming months. This would lock them in at higher price points so maybe they are preparing the market?
Future
Lenovo was showing off a foldable version of the Legion Go just a few weeks ago that can be played folded at 7.7”’s and open at 11.6”’s. This is the thing that makes me want to believe they aren’t leaving the market, though I’m not convinced the folding tablet was initially made for gaming.
I never thought there would be a day when my hoarding of handhelds would show an appreciation in value.
What do you think is going on with Lenovo and their pricing? Are they sticking around or trying to exit the PC Handheld Gaming space?
Hopefully there will be better news I can post for you here.
GameOn
CellPhish
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