Prototype units of the Legion Play, the gaming console of Lenovo that never launched, is reportedly being sold in the Chinese gray market.
While people are raving about the Steam Deck for being the next big thing in handheld gaming. Razer and Logitech also want to capitalize on the idea–with the latter being more focused on cloud gaming. Yet what went under the radar is that Lenovo was supposed to have its own handheld console with the Legion Play, BUT it was never sold in stores.
The Legion Play was spotted back in 2021 by Liliputing hidden in Lenovo’s website as one of the products that they were supposed to showcase at MWC 2021. The mystery product has remained in hiding until recently, when hundreds of Legion Play prototype units surfaced in the Chinese gray market.
YouTuber Taki Udon was among those who got their hands on the Lenovo Legion Play. He mentions that the Legion Play predates the Steam Deck, but it’s still a mystery why Lenovo did not push through with it. Some of the Legion Play’s key specs include a Snapdragon 888 processor, a 7-inch Full HD+ display with support for HDR10 content, front-facing stereo speakers, a 7000mAh battery, and a customized version of Android 11. There’s no software update expected on this device considering that it was never sold officially in stores.
To make matters more interesting, those interested to get this mystery handheld device can grab one in the Chinese gray Market for around $160 (~Php 8.9k), which is crazy cheap for a Snapdragon 888-powered device.
Be aware, however, that buying from the gray market is risky because 1) there’s no warranty in case something goes wrong, and 2) there’s that chance that Lenovo might sue those who are selling a prototype device that’s NOT meant to be sold to the public.