Gaming smartphones are continuing to carve a niche for themselves ever since the ROG Phone was announced by ASUS. While that may be the case, the unique place the smartphone occupies in the market has made it one of the most competitive segments in the smartphone arena. Lenovo was one of the many brands to enter that arena with their Legion gaming brand in 2020.
However, it looks like the recent Lenovo Legion Y70 is the last phone that will be released by Lenovo under their Legion brand. Rumours surfaced earlier last week that Lenovo could be sunsetting its Legion smartphone. These rumours started as someone claiming to be a Lenovo posted a comment suggesting that the Legion phone would not be continuing.
It looks like that may just be the case. In a statement to Android Authority, a spokesperson confirmed that “Lenovo is discontinuing its Android-based Legion mobile gaming phones..”. Apparently, the sunsetting of the Legion phone comes as a larger business transformation exercise which includes a consolidation of their gaming portfolio.
Here’s their full statement to Android Authority:
Lenovo is discontinuing its Android-based Legion mobile gaming phones as part of a wider business transformation and gaming portfolio consolidation. As a leader in gaming devices and solutions, Lenovo is committed to advancing the gaming category across form factors, as well as focusing on where it can bring the most value to the global gaming community.
Lenovo Spokesperson
It’s sad to see a smartphone go the way of the dinosaurs. However, there’s still brands like Blackshark and ASUS that are still committed to their gaming smartphones. In fact, ASUS’s ROG Phone 7 is set to be announced later in April.
About two months ago, Lenovo dropped their brand-new Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2. The new gaming smartphone replaces their old Lenovo Legion Phone Duel. It also came with a whole slew of updates that makes it one of the most compelling gaming smartphones in the current market.
There was no solid release date for the smartphone in Malaysia though, until today that is. The Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 is finally released in Malaysia. It is available now and it will set you back MYR 3,299 for the lesser 12GB + 256GB variant and MYR 3,899 for the 16GB + 512GB variant. It also comes to Malaysia with a Maxis and Hotlink special deal at that. A little more on that later.
Source: Lenovo
The Legion Phone Duel 2 is built to be the ultimate gaming phone in the market with its horizontal first orientation approach. Even its pop-up selfie camera pop’s up from the side if you are holding the device like you normally would. When you game, it is a more natural position too. At the same time, a pop-up camera allows for a fuller display real estate for a more immersive experience.
It also packs the most powerful processor the Android market has seen so far, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G System on a Chip (SoC). With up to 16GB of RAM, the spec sheet looks more like a powerful gaming laptop than a gaming smartphone. To keep the device running as optimally as possible, the Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 packs a very innovative cooling solution to keep things running as comfortably as possible.
To keep the powerful internals running for the entire day, there are two batteries inside the device that adds up to 5,500 mAh capacity. Two batteries also means that the Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 charges faster and safer at 90W. The approach allows the device to be properly optimised for a comfortable horizontal use of the device too. To ensure that you really conquer your games, there is the touch-sensitive trigger buttons.
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
The internals are encased in mix of glass and aluminium, fronted by a 6.92-iunch AMOLED Full HD+ display that refreshes at 144Hz and 720Hz Sampling rate for a near instant touch response time. The pop-up camera is also a very powerful 44-Megapixel sensor with ultra-wide angle lens that ensures that you look good in that mobile gaming stream.
The Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 is now available in Malaysia from any Lenovo Exclusive Stores nationwide and online official stores on Lazada and Shopee. You can get the Legion Phone Duel 2 in two colour options – black or white. There are also two variants of the smartphone, a 12GB + 256GB variant and a 16GB + 512GB variant, to choose from. The device will set you back MYR 3,299 onward and if you are a Maxis and Hotlink user, you are entitled to claim a complementary Lenovo 500 Bluetooth headphones worth MYR 189 between 28th June to 31st July, 2021.
[UPDATE 25/06/2021] The Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 is now available in Malaysia via Lenovo Exclusive Stores nationwide and via online official stores on Lazada and Shopee with prices starting from MYR 3,299 (12GB +256GB) and MYR 3,899 (16GB + 512GB).
Lenovo’s first gaming smartphone, the Legion Phone Duel was quite an eccentric device. Just like the ROG Phone, it was made to make gaming on a smartphone as comfortable and as optimised as possible. It was also made with some practicality in mind, with two smaller batteries instead of the usual one larger one. It also has an interestingly positioned pop-up selfie camera that acts as more of a streaming camera when you game than just a regular selfie camera. Of course, the first gaming smartphone from Lenovo’s Legion division had to pack the most powerful hardware of its time.
It did not seem too long ago that Lenovo released its gaming smartphone in Malaysia though. Now, there is a new one. Technically, Lenovo just announced it with no mentions of local (Malaysia) availability yet.
Source: Lenovo
The Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2, they call it. In our opinion, the name is still quite a handful. But enough on the name, more on the device.
The new second generation Legion gaming smartphone packs a lot of similarities to the older generation Legion Phone Duel. For one, it has a similarly placed pop-up selfie camera. It also has two batteries, like the older device. It is also supposed to pack more bite within its aluminium and glass silhouette though.
The main rear cameras are placed differently this time too. Instead of the regular top placement of the device, the main cameras are now at the mid-section of the smartphone. The layout change does give way to additional space for Lenovo to fit two cooling fans into the device though. That also means that the Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 does not need an external cooling fan like the ROG Phone. But that also means that the Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 is a little on the thick side. We would not know yet though, we have not had a hands-on with it.
Source: Lenovo
The cameras are still the same 64-Megapixel main and 16-Megapixel ultra-wide shooter at the back though. There are dual USB Type-C ports as well still with up to 90W in fast-charging capabilities. Hardware wise, these are where the similarities end.
The Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 gaming smartphone packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 System on a Chip (SoC), the most powerful 5nm SoC you can find in a smartphone today. That powerful SoC is paired with up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. The powerful internals help push Android 11 along the 6.92-inch 144Hz Full HD AMOLED display.
The same display supports HRD10+ and up to 720Hz of touch sampling rate. 720Hz touch sampling rate, at its availability, makes the Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 the fastest responding smartphone in the current market. To make gaming even more immersive with the device too, you get dual haptic feedback system for a more precise response and feel to your games. With up to 8 virtual programmable keys, including four ultrasonic shoulder buttons, you are automatically getting a competitive advantage just on the Legion Phone Duel 2.
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
Source: Lenovo
The Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 is available in China April onward in Black and White color schemes. It will be available in Europe May 2021 onward with prices starting at EU€ 799 (MYR 3,933*) for the 12GB + 256GB variant or EU€ 948 (MYR 4,667*) for the 16GB + 512GB variant. That is about US$ 950** and US$ 1,128** respectively. There is no information on its availability in the North American region and South East Asian region for now. For more information on Lenovo’s new gaming smartphone, you can visit Lenovo’s press room.
*Based on approximate exchange rate of EU€ 1=MYR as of 09/04/2021 on xe.com
**Based on approximate exchange rate of EU€ 1=US$ 1.19 as of 09/04/2021 on xe.com
