Lol, it’ll run windows 11 to kill your battery with all the spyware it runs.
if it isn’t running Linux I’m not very interested but it’s cool hard work
If it’s not running Linux could one not just… install Linux? I wouldn’t be surprised if drivers were out before long.
Power management on laptop-like devices is a problem for Linux because of lazy manufacturers. ACPI often reports broken values and h/w vendors patch it up using Windows driver overrides, rather than a real fix. Suspend/resume is a delicately choreographed set of steps given to the OS by ACPI so if that’s wrong, you’ll get awful battery life or worse, crashes. Linux devs will emulate the Windows driver patches but that comes later, if at all.
I mean, hopefully it would work but Lenovo would need to not take the easy way out. They’ve been slipping, even with their Thinkpads lately.
Since its a all in one device couldn’t the community just come up with a fix for the power management?
Yes, but things like that take time. So yeah: Six months after the device is released there will probably be fantastic Linux support. Until then it’ll be hit or miss from an “annoying fucking bugs” and “where’d my battery life go?” perspective.
This is why it’s always better when a device manufacturer supports Linux right out of the gate. Not only does that give the device vastly more capabilities it also helps Windows by ensuring that the hardware doesn’t require all sorts of wacky ACPI workarounds and custom software be developed in order to do things like check the temperature or battery capacity (things that Lenovo has made absurdly proprietary in the past).
I think most people now when looking at portable gaming devices like these want a seamless experience (like with the Steamdeck)
Windows has proven to be problematic with these devices, where when you use the Steamdeck it’s pretty much pick up and play. The ROG ally uses Windows + it’s own armory crate software and from what I’ve heard it’s been pretty hit or miss
The problem is that if it ships with Windows then you are paying for a Windows license that you won’t be using.
I don’t really like the design of those joy-cons clones. From the images it feels they could snap out from the screen if you put too much pressure. Maybe I am wrong though, I should test it.
Mostly I’m just enjoying all the competition in this sector - it’s good for consumers
For sure. I just wish someone would make a device that has control parity with the steam deck.
Yeah, people focus too much on the power of these things and not the functionality. Steam OS is a killer app compared to trying to squeeze windows onto a handheld. The options it gives you for system level control of performance or control set ups is priceless when dealing with PC titles. The fact that I can load up a 90s DOS shooter designed to be played with a keyboard alone and have it working with a pad within minutes is great.
When I first got used to the steam controller, it was the best I’d ever used. Valve managed to improve upon it with the Index and Deck. I hate gaming at a friend’s house and having to go back to what amounts to a standard controller these days.
Why are they choosing to run Windows on these things
Valve has the resources to hack Proton to make things work, others just want an OS they know will already run Windows games without much fuss. Valve specifically wants to move away from Windows because of fears of anticompetitive behavior from Microsoft. They’re not just doing it from the goodness of their hearts. Microsoft would like nothing more than the Steam store crushed and all its games moved to their own walled garden.
Lenovo has fucktons of resources to do this sort of thing. Probably more than Valve!
Not only that but I guarantee that Lenovo probably has 10x more Linux engineers and developers than Valve working for them full-time, right now.
They should just work together to get steamos on this thing. After getting used to my deck, I never want to game on windows again.
A big reason to move away from Microsoft is also lack of licensing fees, which the other companies can definitely get behind. They’d have to make their own store and front end most likely, but proton is basically all done for them and is already in a shippable state that “just works” for users.
Because it’s much easier than making their own Linux version.
Valve learned their lesson from the steam machines and isn’t just working with 3rd parties with steamos.
Then they could’ve used generic Linux distros…
deleted by creator
Article says it’ll run Windows 11
That’s my favorite Linux distro!
I dream that one day this joke will not be funny because Windows will actually be a Linux distro.
Microsoft did hire Lennart Poettering last year…
It looks sick. I actually have no problem that it’s thicker if that means that the battery life is longer (although weight is a concern over thickness, of course). Lenovo hardware is hit and miss though (and I say this having used a Legion laptop for the past few years).
Also, Steam Deck will still remain king until the other companies can make a good track record of consistent software improvements which are needed on a device like this. I see all of these other clones - the Ally, the 50000 Aya devices - and I still am not tempted until I know that they will be supported long term. I really think that this support sets the tone for these devices - is this market going to be a ‘it’s a year old and already outdated so I’ll just buy a new one’ kind of thing? Or will it be ‘this is good for a quite a few years and I’m happy with my purchase and not immediately getting fomo’? I really hope it’s the latter.
Another thing is that, and maybe I’m misremembering, but didn’t Nintendo patent some part of the detachable controller design that scared companies from doing anything similar for a long time? I could have sworn that was happening for quite a while…
Support, community and quick resume will keep me from straying from my Steam deck for a while. I don’t see any competitors beating Steam deck in anything but hardware for a while.
I sure want them to try though, fight for my money!
Support is important, but being a PC, you can get that from 3rd party solutions like ChimeraOS
They lost me when they said it was going to run Windows.
As long as it’s not Windows on ARM, it can always get SteamOS installed later.
My wallet would support Steam if it had any sort of bills in it. Lenovo is a lousy company in the gadgets market. I own a marvelous Yoga Tab 3 Pro with an Intel Atom CPU and a built-in projector. An expensive device that received the one clunky Android upgrade and no source code. I modded the firmware enough to make it still usable, but God, do I hate their “support” service. Good riddance!
I work in a datacenter and even enterprise grade Lenovo hardware is trash. Hard pass
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Based on the images, Lenovo’s take on a PC gaming handheld looks a lot like devices such as the Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally, but it also has a lot in common with the Nintendo Switch.
According to Windows Report, the Legion Go has an eight-inch screen, images show two Joy-Con-like controllers that can be removed, and it even appears to have a wide Switch OLED-like kickstand that you can pop out for tabletop gaming.
The Legion Go’s controllers appear to be a blend of the Switch’s flat but removable Joy-Cons and the Steam Deck’s contoured but attached grips.
Perhaps the most important takeaway from these apparent images of the device (there are more, and you can see them all at Windows Report) is that Lenovo isn’t shying away from making the Legion Go thick.
Asus steered away from thickness and heft with the ROG Ally, which wound up with middling battery life, but we’re beginning to see portables like the upcoming Ayaneo Kun pointed towards beefier batteries.
Lenovo has dabbled with handheld gaming devices in the past, showing the “LaVie Mini” concept in partnership with NEC at CES 2021 and building an unreleased Android-based device called the Legion Play.
I’m a bot and I’m open source!
Interesting. I thought Nintendo had a patent on the detachable controller thing?
Maybe they had a patent on their mechanism. This looks like the controllers may magnetically lock in rather than be slid on.
That’s…worrying. Considering they’re going to be the main holding points for a handheld ganes console.
There were android tablets that had them before the switch even launched, they probably have some patent on exactly how they connect, but the concept itself seems too broad to patent.
There were singular units that can also house the phone like the Backbone One, but there were no units that connected physically to the phone via rails like the Nintendo Switch (and this Lenovo device, apparently) does.
Those types of controllers work very differently and thus are not affected by Nintendo’s patent.
I hope not, because the potential for systems like this is great.
Imagine it with an open faced dock below your TV, but the console screen is running a mini map, for example. It could show your inventory or missions and side quests in adventure games.
If it’s a touch screen, a long display cable could let it be a part of the game. Building things or making potions could be done on it by dragging and dropping, or stirring with your finger.
It feels like there’s a lot of possibilities, but nobody’s trying them out yet.
I’m sure there are ways around the Nintendo patent :) and yes I imagine stuff like this would be great for DS/WiiU emulation.
Do you remember Lenovo getting into the smartphone business ? I bet they are going for a redo this time again. they are known for having commitment issues
Em… Lenovo is still big in the smartphone business, they are just all Motorola branded now.
The product designer for this needs to be fired. Anyone who’s held a controller for an extended period of time knows these hard corners will kill your hands.
Once again the consumer electronics industry proving that it has essentially zero imagination.
Those who want a Steam Deck can probably just buy a Steam Deck. Or a Switch. 13.2% faster processor, 8.3% more colors, 9% faster refresh… all those endless specs don’t speak to me, which is all any company can do if they are just copying some existing design.
How about different form factors? I think the idea of a Steam Deck is great, but I hate how bulky it is. I am willing to sacrifice CPU power and even screen size for something a little more pocketable. Something in a portrait orientation rather landscape, maybe.
Wow, that looks awful as a handheld.