It’s been about 6 months since we reviewed Lenovo’s first gaming smartphone, and the company is back at it with round 2. The Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 is set to be released in China and select markets in Asia Pacific and Europe in May. Unlike the first iteration, the Legion Phone Duel 2 may be coming to North America, with Lenovo stating availability here is to be determined.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
So what’s new and improved over the first Lenovo Legion gaming smartphone, which, coincidentally, we felt deserving of an Editor’s Choice Award last year? At a glance, the latest gaming phone on the market will include:
- Powerful second-gen Lenovo 5G gaming smartphone built on Lenovo’s second-generation Advanced Technology Architecture 2.0 for horizontal usage supported by one complete thermal system.
- Virtual Octa-Trigger keys allow gamers to bind more weapons and tools to give them the edge in battle
- Enhanced 44MP front pop-up camera and AI features give streamers greater convenience and produce higher-quality selfies over previous-gen
- Updates to Lenovo Legion Realm mobile app energizes gaming ecosystem with a new store, gaming news content, and networking features
As mobile gamers grow and games like Fortnite, Arena of Valor, and Call of Duty: Mobile becoming more popular, more companies are releasing devices with gaming specs and hardware-specific features. I can honestly say that the hardware does make a difference, even when it comes to mobile, as my gameplay success varies greatly between when I use a regular smartphone instead of a gaming smartphone.
The Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 is designed with “cutting-edge, gamer-first” features. These include intelligent cooling with a large passive cooling vapor chamber and active Twin Turbo-Fan, Octa-Triggers, and Dual HaptiX feedback for a more console-like experience. Of course, the phone includes the latest mobile technology with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G Mobile Platform, up to 18GB LPDDR5 memory, and up to 512GB UFS 3.1 storage.
The display is just as important, and the 6.92-inch AMOLED display has a 2460 x 1080 resolution, HDR 10+ support, and a 144Hz refresh rate with a 720Hz touch sampling rate. The first iteration of Lenovo’s gaming phone featured a pop-up front selfie camera, and the new version bumps this up to a 44MP shooter with AI-enhanced features. Coupled with four AI-optimized microphones, this gaming phone is geared for streamers.
The dual 2750mAh batteries combine for 5500mAh of battery. Ultra-fast dual 90W USB-C ports give users 4500mAh of charge in just 17 minutes, with a full charging coming in around half an hour.
Specifications of the Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 include:
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G Mobile Platform with 5nm processor technology, 8 cores Kryo™ 680 (1@2.84G + 3@2.42G + 4@1.8G) |
| GPU | Adreno™ 660 @840MHz |
| Display | • 6.92″ 20.5:9 (2460 x 1080) 144 Hz AMOLED 8-bit HDR gaming display • 720Hz touch sampling rate • Delta-E < 0.5 • 800 nits outdoor-readable brightness (1300 nits peak) • 111.1% DCI-P3 color gamut coverage • 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio • Pixelworks i6 AI tunning • HDR10+ certified • TÜV Low Blue Light certification • DC dimming • Corning® Gorilla® Glass 5 |
| Memory | 12/16/18GB LPDDR5 |
| Storage | 256/512GB UFS 3.1 |
| Cooling System | • Integrated, Active, Twin Turbo-Fan Cooling System • Area of Air-duct: 3000mm² • Intake fan with 29 fan blades 12,500 RPM; Output fan with 29 fan blades 15,000 RPM • Passive cooling components • Vapor Chamber liquid cooling area: 4730mm² • Fans Max speed noise: 27dB (30cm distance) • Thermal cooling area: 62573mm² |
| Front Camera | • 44MP Samsung® GH1+ Camera, f/2.0 aperture, 0.7 μm, 5 lens, 84˚ wide angle • Auto focus and live stream-ready • AI beauty mode/Background remove or replace/Virtual avatar/Counting-down selfie/Portrait photography/Night mode/HD photo • Video recording: 4K video recording at 30 fps, or 60 fps, 1080p HD video recording at 30 fps, or 60 fps, 720p HD video recording at 30 fps/Slow motion mode: 720P@240fps, 720P@120fps, 1080P@120fps |
| Rear Camera | • 64MP OmniVision® flagship OV64A image sensor, f/1.9 aperture, 1.0 μm pixel, 7 lens, 82° field of view • 16 MP f/2.2 aperture and 123° field of view 1.0 μm pixel • Digital zoom up to 10x • Photo shooting: Portrait mode/Wide angle photo/RAW photo/Super night mode/Photo geotagging/Panorama/Time-lapse/Macro Mode/Pro mode • Video recording: HDR 10+ video recording at 4K@30fps, 8K video recording at 24 fps, 4K video recording at 30 fps, or 60 fps, 1080p HD video recording at 30 fps, or 60 fps, 720p HD video recording at 30 fps/Slow motion mode: 720P@240fps, 720P@120fps,1080P@240fps, 1080P@120fps/Audio Zoom/Director mode/Dual mode |
| Battery | 5500mAh (2750mAh x 2) with Turbo Charging (up to 90W quick charging (sold separately)) or Fast Charging (65W quick charging) |
| Audio | • Dual front-facing speakers and Dolby Atmos® • 7-magnet stereo speaker with dual smart amplifier for louder, deeper and less distorted sound effect • Equivalent to dual 1.6 cc speakers • Audio Output: 48 kHz/16-bit standard (USB-C output) • Game Mode for better in-game sounding experience with localization capability • Four Microphones with noise reduction technology |
| Sensors | Fingerprint sensor, 3D motion sensor, Electronic Compass, Gyroscope, Proximity, Ambient Light Sensor, Quad Ultrasonic Shoulder keys, Dual Capacitance keys, Dual Force Touch sensor |
| Navigtation | GPS (L1+L5)／AGPS／GLONASS／BEIDOU (L1+L5)/ Galileo(L1+L5) / QZSS |
| OS | ZUI 12.5 based on Android 11 |
| Colors | Ultimate Black and Titanium White |
| Dimensions | 176 x 78.5 x 9.9mm (6.93 x 3.09 x 0.39″) |
| Weight | 259g (9.14oz) |
The Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 is expected to be available starting April 2021 in China (called Lenovo Legion Phone 2 Pro in China) and in select markets in Asia Pacific and Europe in May 2021. Availability for North America is to be determined. In Europe, the Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 with 16GB/512GB memory option and charging dock included will start at €999.00 (including VAT). The Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 with 12GB/256GB memory option without the additional charging accessory will start at €799.00 (including VAT).
What do you think about the Lenovo Legion Phone Duel 2 and gaming phones in general? Let us know in the comments below, on Twitter, or MeWe.
