Lenovo, a top player in the gaming industry, announced that it is discontinuing its Legion line of gaming smartphones. The decision was made as part of a wider business transformation and gaming portfolio consolidation. Lenovo had released two gaming-focused Legion devices to date, with the last one being the Lenovo Legion Y70 in 2022. Unfortunately, it wasn’t successful in terms of sales. A spokesperson for Lenovo confirmed the news of the abandonment of its mobile gaming phones.
Gaming Smartphones Remain a Niche Market
Gaming smartphones have grown in popularity over the years, but they remain a niche market. Despite efforts from manufacturers to create devices tailored for gamers, most consumers seem to prefer buying high-end smartphones they can also use for gaming. Xiaomi’s gaming line is also facing difficulties with very few hardcore gamers looking for a dedicated gaming smartphone, gravitating more towards Asus ROG Phone series.
Samsung Not Interested in Filling Lenovo’s Void
Lenovo’s decision to discontinue its Legion line of gaming smartphones leaves a gap in the market that Samsung has not shown interest in filling. It appears that Samsung never really created a dedicated gaming phone, focusing more on improving performance on its flagship series. The company recently partnered with Qualcomm to give its S23 series an overclocked Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset with bigger vapor chambers and is also working on a new version of its Game Launcher.
Asus Dominates the Gaming Phone Market
The Asus ROG 6 Pro released in November 2021 was a powerful device and proved that there is still a market for gaming phones. Asus dominates the gaming phone market and carries most weight on its shoulders with its ROG phones. It seems the potential of the gaming phone market is limited to only a portion of consumers who are enthusiastic about mobile games.
Lenovo’s Commitment to Advancing the Gaming Category
Despite discontinuing its Legion gaming phone line, Lenovo remains committed to advancing the gaming category across form factors. The company is a leader in gaming devices and solutions and will continue its efforts to bring the most value to all gamers. There is no information regarding how many employees may be affected by this decision or whether the decision will affect Lenovo’s Legion lineup of gaming laptops. It is also unclear whether Lenovo will continue to offer support for existing Legion smartphone models.
In conclusion, with Lenovo discontinuing its Legion gaming phone series, the market becomes narrower, leaving Asus as the prominent player in the gaming phone market. Samsung has never really created a dedicated gaming phone and most mobile gamers seem to prefer high-end smartphones they can also use for gaming. Despite abandoning its mobile gaming phones, Lenovo remains committed to advancing the gaming category across form factors to bring value to all gamers. Only time will tell whether we’ll ever witness a true gaming phone coming to life.
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