this post was submitted on 17 Aug 2023
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[–] [email protected] 79 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Lol, it'll run windows 11 to kill your battery with all the spyware it runs.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Feels like a stretch. Elaborate?

[–] [email protected] 41 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Back in 2015 or so Lenovo was pre-installing superfish spyware on some systems. Whether this was an accident or intentional is up for interpretation. Whether 8 years is enough to earn back trust is up to you. Personally I re-image anything that's mine because I don't need the vendor's bloat that just does the same things windows already does. I don't really use windows much anyway these days for my personal machines but I'm probably not going to buy anything from Lenovo any time soon.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It wasn't just preinstalling malware. It was also installing malware stored in the firmware into fresh Windows installs.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Yeah, i remember it being pretty bad and fighting with my boss at the time because they were all in with lenovo. Even after I showed them the articles about the malware they wanted us to push out lenovo's bloat on all machines (like the stupid battery monitor) because they liked how it looked better. I got a new job shortly after.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago

Not to mention the Lenovo Service Engine rootkit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenovo#Lenovo_Service_Engine

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[–] [email protected] 59 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

if it isn't running Linux I'm not very interested but it's cool hardware

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago (4 children)

If it’s not running Linux could one not just… install Linux? I wouldn’t be surprised if drivers were out before long.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago (2 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Most likely. Official support is nice though, as with Steam Deck.

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[–] [email protected] 42 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Hopefully they dont make the same mistake ASUS did. The fanciest hardware in the world won't help if the software doesn't work out of the box.

[–] [email protected] 42 points 1 year ago (8 children)

Steam Deck got so much right, straight out of the gate. The suspend-resume is nothing short of amazing. The UI is 100% muscle, 0% fat.

IMO, starting with Windows as a base is an automatic setback. There's a strong chance that it'll interrupt your game to ask you if you want to set Edge to be your default browser or some stupid shit.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago

IMO, starting with Windows as a base is an automatic setback. There's a strong chance that it'll interrupt your game to ask you if you want to set Edge to be your default browser or some stupid shit.

Ugh I can imagine that thing rebooting for an update the second you pause a game to go do something

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 year ago (2 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Mostly I'm just enjoying all the competition in this sector - it's good for consumers

[–] Aurenkin 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

For sure. I just wish someone would make a device that has control parity with the steam deck.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

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.

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[–] [email protected] 25 points 1 year ago

I’m excited for this new PC/Console hybrid market to start becoming something big. Hardware competition will drive progress up and prices down while openiNg access to games to many. I do really hone the market lands on Linux as their main OS instead of Windows11.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Why are they choosing to run Windows on these things

[–] [email protected] 25 points 1 year ago (2 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago (2 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

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.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (5 children)

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...

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago

I work in a datacenter and even enterprise grade Lenovo hardware is trash. Hard pass

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (2 children)

They lost me when they said it was going to run Windows.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago (3 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

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!

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago

Will say it's an interesting idea to put a scroll wheel on the back of the right grip. On the deck and steam controller I'd sometimes use track pads to just be scroll wheels, but sometimes I wish there was just a physical tactile scroll wheel instead.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

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.


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[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Em... Lenovo is still big in the smartphone business, they are just all Motorola branded now.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Interesting. I thought Nintendo had a patent on the detachable controller thing?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Maybe they had a patent on their mechanism. This looks like the controllers may magnetically lock in rather than be slid on.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

That's...worrying. Considering they're going to be the main holding points for a handheld games console.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

Like seeing the competition. I got the Rog Ally right now and loving it. Not sure I would want the joy cons type form factor though that might make portability easier.

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