Three new Lenovo Legion Go models have been spotted in an EEC filing. These could be the brand’s upcoming gaming handhelds powered by the recently rumoured Ryzen Z2 chips.
According to an EEC (Eurasian Economic Commission) document, the trio are listed as Legion Go S 8ARP1, Legion Go 8ASP2, and Legion Go 8AHP2. A perfect match for the rumoured AMD Ryzen Z2 processors, which are expected to include three different designs.
These codenames give us a hint at the potential chip powering each one. For instance, the ‘RP’ in ‘Legion Go S 8ARP1’ could mean AMD’s Rembrandt design, which is said to feature on Ryzen Z2G. Subsequently, the ‘HP’ in ‘Legion Go 8AHP2’ would mean Hawk Point, i.e. Ryzen Z2. And lastly, the ‘SP’ in ‘Legion Go 8ASP2’ is short for Strix Point, or Ryzen Z2 Extreme.
As a reminder, the Z2G is expected to be the slowest of the bunch, packing eight Zen 3+ cores plus 12 RDNA 2 compute units. This makes it a likely candidate for the rumoured Legion Go S. The Z2 covers the middle ground with its eight Zen 4 cores and 12 RDNA 3 compute units, offering similar performance to the existing Z1 Extreme found inside the Legion Go. Lastly, the Z2 Extreme should be the new performance king thanks to its modern eight Zen 5 cores and large 16 RDNA 3.5 compute unit GPU.
Now, while gaming handhelds continue claiming market share, they are still far from laptops or dedicated gaming consoles like Nintendo Switch. This is understandable, as the former offers more versatility while the latter features exclusive games. Aside from price drops, what could help boost adoption is improved usability and efficiency.
For example, choosing Valve’s SteamOS instead of Windows would simplify utilisation, thus attracting console players. Adding performance-boosting technologies such as FSR upscaling and frame generation would help greatly in demanding titles. But most importantly, increasing battery life either by installing larger capacity packs or by optimising the processor should be the number one priority.
Hopefully, AMD’s and Intel’s new chips can help in some of these aspects, and we surely are eager to see what next-gen gaming handhelds have to offer.
