SteamOS is coming to third-party handhelds, starting with the Lenovo Legion Go S

Why it matters: It has long been speculated that Valve intends to expand the reach of its SteamOS Linux distribution beyond the Steam Deck, with Lenovo's upcoming Legion Go model potentially playing a significant role in those plans. Following Lenovo's announcements at CES, a clearer timeline for the general availability of SteamOS is now materializing, hinting at significant ramifications for the future of handheld gaming PCs.

Starting in May, customers will be able to purchase Lenovo's newly announced Legion Go S handheld gaming PC with Valve's SteamOS operating system as an alternative to Windows. However, Valve has confirmed that it plans to release a SteamOS beta for other handhelds even earlier, likely in April.

While the Steam Deck's hardware may be slower than competing devices from Lenovo, Asus, MSI, and GPD in terms of raw performance, its operating system is arguably its greatest asset. Unlike ...