Weekend Gamer: Legion Go 2, Nitro Blaze 7, and Xbox Handheld

As you know, I recently purchased the Lenovo Legion Go, and I’ve been enjoying it. Of course, as soon as I bought it, there’s already rumors of a Legion Go 2, which may come out in 2025. The biggest feature will likely be a new AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme CPU (all the current AMD-based handhelds are using the Ryzen Z1 Extreme chip). Only the MSI Claw uses an Intel chip.

If the Z2 Extreme chip becomes available, you bet Asus will be releasing their ROG Ally 2 in competition. Right now, their ROG Ally X is only a small improvement over the original ROG Ally. I do own the original Ally, so I never bought the X, even though I did want it for the USB4 and massive battery.

For the Legion Go 2, I’m sure it’ll match the 24GB Ram and storage option. I hope they decide to stick with the large 8.8 screen (perhaps go OLED?), as the 1600p screen is the Legion Go’s biggest advantage over all the handhelds. I honestly don’t care for the detachable controllers, but I would love for Lenovo to introduce new and different controller styles. Perhaps open it to third-party accessory makers. May also give us a fingerprint reader for faster login, or face ID (but that would mean putting in a camera and that might be too much).

Lenovo Product Listing

So why are we so sure that a Legion Go 2 is in the works? It’s because Lenovo Product Listing for their official USB-C Dock lists Legion Go Gen 2 and Legion Go Lite. The rumor for the Lite version is that it’s a smaller device and you can’t remove the controllers. It’s also supposed to be cheaper, given the smaller screen… Either way, now that I own a Legion Go and the Legion Go Deck, I’m looking forward to the new Legion Go 2 version.

Speaking of Xbox, according to Xbox boss Phil Spencer, he has confirmed the company’s plan to release an Xbox handheld. Xbox Handheld? Let’s goooo!

If Xbox gets in the game, pardon the pun, they will likely develop a “light” version of Windows. You know, something like what the Xbox is currently using, but designed for a small screen? That would mean that the Xbox will have a massive advantage over all the current handhelds right now. The number one issues people have with PC gaming handhelds is Windows 11 wasn’t designed for small screen. You often need a physical keyboard and mouse.

Acer Nitro Blaze 7

In other PC handheld news, Acer has also entered the crowded handheld market with the announcement of the Acer Nitro Blaze 7, via their website.

There’s nothing really new or interesting here, it’s a 7” inch device with a 144Hz 1080p display with an AMD Radeon™ 780M Graphics. The other thing is that Acer didn’t create the device, they’re just putting their name on it and re-selling it to the American market. Extreme Tech mentioned that, “It turns out this device is a rebranded Terrans Force product.”

Right now, they didn’t announce a price, but since they saved so much money just re-branding the Terrans Force Handle 7, I wonder if they can price this at $500 or less and they can really be a true competitor to the Steam Deck. Remember, that stupid White Steam Deck is nearly $700.

Anyway, below is a breakdown of the ROG Ally vs the Legion Go specs, with yellow highlights for the pros. I hope that Lenovo will keep the price to less than $700, but inflation prices and bigger upgrades, I suspect it will likely be $800 or more. I hope not, because I already called Sony greedy for asking $700 for PS5 Pro (and not throw in a disc drive or a vertical stand!)

Guess what? The Legion Go and ROG Ally can play PlayStation games (via Steam).

Yours,

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