GamesLifer might earn an affiliate commission on any shopping links you find on the website, including on this page.
A couple of weeks ago, several retro gaming community members stumbled across something of an oddity on AliExpress. A new, budget retro gaming handheld appeared and unlike many others listed by the retailer, this one professed to be made by Lenovo.
Many decried it a scam – after all, it’s a fairly low end device and Lenovo is better known for its quality PC gaming laptops and devices. In addition, the name itself looked like a massive red flag. Lenovo makes the Legion Go 2, so this Lenovo G02 seemed too close for comfort.
Several YouTubers were among the naysayers, including Ryan Retro who couldn’t decide whether it was real or not.
He found out that it’s actually quite capable, but was concerned that it seemed to cheap and cheerful to be from the Chinese tech giant.
As it happens though, the Lenovo G02 is in fact genuine – it really is a Lenovo product, as revealed by the brand itself.
According to Retro Dodo, a Lenovo PR person confirmed the device is real, although it’s not technically made by Lenovo in house. It’s actually a third-party handheld that the company has loaned its name to.
“The G02 device is produced through a regional brand licensing agreement meant for the China market only and is not part of Lenovo’s official global product portfolio,” the contact said.
“As such, products developed through these agreements may differ from Lenovo products sold through authorised channels.”
So there you have it, the G02 is not a scam, it’s a real retro gaming handheld from Lenovo, albeit one that’s actually meant to be sold in China only. That hasn’t stopped it from being listed on AliExpress, of course, and with a low ticket of around £60 / $80.
It’s also got half-decent specs for the price – a 4:3 4.5-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1024 x 768, and the Rockchip RK3326 chip inside (along with 1GB of RAM). That should do you alright for up to original PlayStation emulation.
There’s also a 4,000mAh battery, so it’ll last up to six hours between charges. That sounds in the upper reaches of the price category.
You can order the G02 solo or with 64GB or 128GB microSD cards, featuring around 10,000 and 20,000 roms respectively. But I prefer to add my own legitimately sourced games anyway, and am always disappointed with the quality of the cards and rom sets with this sort of thing.
I’ve actually ordered one myself now, so will let you know how I get on when it arrives in a week or two.
Today’s best console deals
£404.99 
