Lenovo Legion Go S Now Supports SteamOS

SteamOS is now supported on the newly released Lenovo Legion Go S. Find out all you need to know about it.

Lenovo Legion S is a recently released handheld, and according to the latest details, it now comes with support for SteamOS! If you didn’t know, this operating system was made by Valve for its Steam Deck. Gaming handhelds have increasingly become more prominent amongst users. With Valve’s Steam Deck igniting a whole new wave of incredibly portable personal computers, companies like Asus and Lenovo were quick to reveal their own devices.

However, Steam Deck alternatives were limited to Windows 11 support, often making the user interface problematic to use compared to a handheld-first operating system such as SteamOS. It looks like Valve is open to other companies using their operating system, and Lenovo is the first company to feature a handheld with SteamOS. Let’s explore all the details!

SteamOS on Lenovo Legion Go S: All You Need to Know

Lenovo Legion Go S now supports SteamOS (Image via Lenovo)

Valve’s SteamOS update 3.7.8 contains many new features; however, a key announcement made headlines. Mentioned in the update notes was “Added official support for the Lenovo Legion S,” officially confirming support of Valve’s SteamOS operating system on Lenovo’s latest handheld.

Existing users who have the Lenovo Legion Go S can head over to this Steam Support page, containing instructions on how to migrate from their current operating system to SteamOS instead. The steps found under “Re-image / Install SteamOS” have to be followed to do this. A USB Drive is also required for the process.

The BestBuy listing for Lenovo Legion Go S is up, however, the stock status shows as “coming soon”, with a notification option if you want to purchase this handheld as soon as it becomes available. The Ryzen Z1 Extreme variant costs $829.99 and is more powerful than the Z2 Go chip.

Lenovo Legion S Features and Benefits of Using SteamOS

Lenovo Legion S is quite a powerful handheld (Image via Lenovo)

The new handheld is quite similar to its previous generation model, and will be available to purchase soon as a dedicated variant with SteamOS. The AMD Ryzen Z2 Go processor features a boost clock up to 4.30 GHz. The RAM is 32GB LPDDR5X, with 6400 MT/s speed. Another processor option is available with AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme.

This handheld has a 1TB NVMe Gen 4 SSD storage and is also fitted with a 1920×1200 screen having a brightness of 500 nits and a 120Hz refresh rate. Note that there is a Legion S available with Windows 11 too for $759.99. However, the SteamOS version will be available to purchase soon. Many users have already purchased theirs, some even showcasing the device on Reddit.

Initial tests confirm faster performance on the Lenovo Legion Go S with Valve SteamOS compared to Windows 11. Since Valve’s operating system is intrinsically made for gaming, this is hardly a surprise. Despite many PC games running on Lenovo Legion S with SteamOS requiring the use of translation layers such as Proton, performance is great.

SteamOS arrival on the Lenovo Legion S will make many people think: Should gaming devices really use Windows? To be honest, for most people, Windows 11 will remain the ultimate choice for productivity and gaming due to its versatility. However, devices like handheld gaming consoles can definitely benefit from using a more streamlined user interface and overall software environment.

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