Lenovo’s latest effort to create the ultimate gaming phone has given us the Legion Dual 2, a wild-looking device with an integrated fan, a pop-up camera for streaming, and several virtual triggers.
Gaming phones are not known to be subtle – we just look at the recently reviewed Asus ROG Phone 5 – and the Legion Duel 2 certainly draws no punch with its sheer amount of design and features.
Lenovo Legion Duel 2 Price and Release Date
There are two versions of the available Duel 2, a 256GB and 12GB RAM model for £ 699 / € 799, and a 512GB and 16GB RAM model for £ 899 / € 999. US pricing has not yet been officially revealed.
Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 Specs & Features
Of course, the main focus here is on the features that mobile gamers will like. Including eight programmable virtual triggers (a pair at the top, back and inside of the screen) that can be mapped to the functions in the game. We’ve been impressed by some of the virtual triggers before and it’s definitely better than fussing about Dodgy touchscreen controls, so it’ll be interesting to see how these perform.
Inside the Legion Duel 2 you’ve got a twin turbo fan cooling system, which Lenovo said will keep the phone cool and be able to maintain performance for longer. It has also placed the Snapdragon 888 chipset in the middle of the phone, not the edges, keeping its surrounding area around a cool cooler.
This is a phone designed to be used horizontally. In the middle is a pop-up 44-megapixel webcam designed for game streaming, with autofocus (still a rarity on front cameras), optional background blurring, and 4K support. There are also four AI microphones around the phone with a focus on noise canceling.
You’ve also got a pair of USB-C ports that can give up to 90W of charging power when you plug both in at the same time.
During a briefing ahead of the unveiling, Lenovo stated that the 5500mAh battery can be charged up to 80% in about 17 minutes. Of course, this only happens when you have filled both USB-C ports. While the two USB-C ports are slightly over-the-top for most situations, the one on the side is smart when you’re gaming.
Another special thing of the gaming phone is that it has a nice, unique design. Legion Duel 2 has a bunch of RGB lights on the back, which can be customized with a sandwich-like style with different colors and with a different middle section. This is where the cameras sit and considering that they were barely mentioned during the briefing, we are expecting a 64MP main sensor.
Other features here include stereo font speakers, up to 18GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, and a 6.92-inch 1080p 144Hz display. There is no cutout or cutout happening on the way. It is an OLED display and supports HDR10 + for high dynamic range content and gaming.
Gaming phones are still a mystery to some and we can see why. A lot is happening here, but with the rise of mobile games, it is not at all clear whether the benefit is worth it. We loved the Asus ROG Phone 5, but every time there is a chance that it could be one of the best Android phones of the year – at least if you’re desperate for virtual triggers and a very gamer-focused vibe.
Deputy and Mobile Editor
Max Parker is the deputy editor of Trusted Review and Recombu. He also directly manages the Trusted Review ‘mobile, wearables and tablets section. Max joined credible reviews as a feature writer in 201 …
