When Valve launched the Steam Deck in February 2022, handheld gaming PCs entered an all-new era. In our review, we said it was "almost portable perfection."
Since then, we've seen several special editions and an OLED revamp for the Steam Deck that it still among our best handheld gaming PCs, but no true follow-up has been in sight.
The release of more powerful hardware like the ROG Ally stole some of the spotlight, but Valve designer Lawrence Yang insists that a Steam Deck 2 will only arrive when a "generational leap in compute" makes it necessary.
Valve clearly didn't believe that AMD's Ryzen Z1 chips met that standard, and neither did its Ryzen Z2 APU, revealed earlier this year during CES 2025. Thankfully, Lenovo did.
Also revealed at CES 2025 was the Lenovo Legion Go S, a new handheld gaming PC with both Windows 11 and SteamOS variants. Or, as I've been viewing it, a Steam Deck 2 in all but name.
Disappointingly, the Legion Go S model that followed in February touted the less impressive Ryzen Z2 Go processor and as a Windows-only configuration.
However, the pre-orders for the real Lenovo Legion Go S have finally arrived at Best Buy, and by as early as May, we're set to get our hands on a true spiritual successor to the Steam Deck — packing the highly-praised Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor and running the impressive Linux-based SteamOS.
Steam powered and ready to (Legion) Go
The all-new Legion Go S revamp offers both SteamOS and "WindowsOS" (read: Windows 11) models. Though, if you ask me, the latter option is entirely redundant when placed next to its lighter, bloat-free, and buttery-smooth counterpart.
As a Steam Deck user, I can attest to Valve's SteamOS being far better suited for gaming on the go, thanks to the experience gained from developing Steam's Big Picture mode.
Windows, while undoubtedly more familiar to many and the home of PC gaming, has always been the sticking point for handheld gaming — regardless of the tweaks Microsoft has made purportedly in preparation for its own Xbox handheld.
Aside from that, there's the issue of price. SteamOS, based upon Arch Linux, doesn't appear to carry with it the same kind of license price bump that its Windows counterpart does — with the Legion Go S costing $80 more if you opt for the model packing Windows 11.
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Processor | RAM | Storage | Price |
Steam Deck OLED | Custom AMD "Van Gogh" 6nm APU | 16GB | 1TB | $549 |
Lenovo Legion Go S (SteamOS) | AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme | 16GB / 32GB | 512GB / 1TB | $549 / $749 |
Lenovo Legion Go S (Win. 11) | AMD Ryzen Z2 Go / Z1 Extreme | 16GB / 32GB | 512GB / 1TB | $729 / $829 |
Based solely on price, Lenovo's SteamOS-powered Legion Go S mops the floor with the Windows configuration and stands toe-to-toe with the original Steam Deck in value while offering a more powerful APU (though less storage).
But it's what that more powerful Z1 Extreme APU could be capable of that we really need to take into consideration.
Can the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme shine on Linux?
Linux gaming has arrived, or, had arrived? Sure, Linux gaming has been in a constant state of improvement for some time, but if a tree falls in the woods and nobody is around to hear it, blah blah blah.
In the eyes of the average Joe or Jane, Linux gaming might as well have capped out at Pong — and that's if they even know what Linux is in the first place.
Meanwhile, Steam Deck, using Valve and CodeWeaver's Proton compatibility layer, has been putting the operating system's gaming capabilities front and center for years.
The improved Z1 Extreme APU of the Legion Go S only helps SteamOS flex that little bit harder, stretching that Steam Deck-verified badge to its limits by being able to tackle more demanding titles that Valve's current hardware struggles with or can't run at all.
Better still, thanks to its lighter footprint, SteamOS may allow the Legion Go S to squeeze out more life from its 55.5Whr battery, not to mention potentially improve in-game performance.
In a test to see how a non-Windows operating system could impact handheld gaming performance, Managing Editor forTom's Guide, Jason England, managed to squeeze out a 15% increase in frame rate and a 22% improvement in battery life when he used a custom Linux image to turn his Asus ROG Ally X into a Steam Deck.
Of course, we can't be sure if these results are repeatable until we get to see Valve's SteamOS officially in action for ourselves, but those findings do offer plenty to whet the appetite of handheld gaming PC owners.
SteamOS: Underdog to MVP?
No matter what your friendly neighborhood Linux evangelist tells you, sometimes the superior platform or product doesn't come out on top in the end.
AskJeeves, HD DVD, and my efforts to woo Sarah Michelle Gellar all came in second place to "inferior" alternatives. (Sorry Freddie, but you know it's true.)
You can likely add Linux to that list on desktops, as Windows has had the market in the palm of its hands for decades. However, SteamOS' wider arrival on handhelds could give Linux a major victory over Microsoft's OS.
If SteamOS' performance, battery life improvement, and user experience topple that of Windows 11 (and let's face it, Microsoft hasn't done much to help that — yet), I don't see handheld gaming PC owners turning their noses up at Valve's platform as it becomes available on more diverse hardware.
SteamOS, if the hype holds true, could flip the handheld gaming market from Windows to Linux overnight. And, if the neckbeard prophecy is true, perhaps that will convince desktop users to follow.
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