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Lenovo announces the Legion Y90, a gaming phone with built-in SSD

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Lenovo’s latest gaming phone, the Legion Y90, has just been announced. The phone comes in with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, a whopping 18GB of RAM and 128GB SSD storage in addition to the 256 or 512GB UFS 3.1 internal storage, and yes, there’s RGB lighting on the rear.

Lenovo will initially sell the device in China only starting at 4,299 yuan or about $681. However, there’s no news on an international release just yet. 

The phone’s rear maintains the same unusual design as its predecessor, maintaining the camera right in the middle of the phone to make holding it in a landscape orientation easier. 

The specifications are also in line with 2022’s flagship trends. There’s a 6.9-inch OLED display running at 144Hz with a 720Hz touch sampling rate, and the fingerprint sensor is embedded in the screen. The RAM is LPDDR5, and the storage is UFS 3.1. There’s a 5600mAh battery that supports 68W fast charging. 

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Lenovo’s latest jab at the gaming phone market

Gaming smartphones often differentiate themselves from regular flagships by providing niche features that otherwise wouldn’t be found on a flagship meant for a wider audience, and the Y90 is no different.

Performance and Display

As mentioned above, the Legion Y90 is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 with options between 12, 16 and 18GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256 or 512GB UFS3.1 storage. Additionally, the phone also gets 128GB SSD internal memory for additional space on the 18GB + 512GB variant.

Lenovo announces the Legion Y90, a gaming phone with built-in SSD
The Lenovo Legion Y90. | Source: Lenovo China

The phone gets a 6.9-inch 2460 x 1080 AMOLED display running at 144Hz. The 720Hz multi-finger touch sampling rate should help register finger taps more accurately.


Camera

Gaming phones are notorious for having average camera hardware (and software) for the price. The Legion Y90 gets a 64MP read camera paired with a 13MP 120-degree ultrawide. The front has a 16MP punch-hole camera.

While this does sound reasonable on paper, and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is more than capable of some good image processing, it remains to be seen how Lenovo handles the software side of things.


Battery

There’s a 5600mAh battery with support for 68W fast charging. Lenovo is claiming that you can charge the phone entirely in 35 minutes. There’s no wireless or reverse wireless charging available. 

Lenovo announces the Legion Y90, a gaming phone with built-in SSD
Lenovo claims a 35 min full charge. | Source: Lenovo China

Extras

It wouldn’t be a gaming phone if it weren’t RGB, and the Y90 gets its fair share of RGB on the rear. There are also dual x-axis vibration motors, inbuilt gaming triggers and dual USB-C ports.

Lenovo announces the Legion Y90, a gaming phone with built-in SSD
The phone gets RGB on the rear. | Source: Lenovo China

The one on the side supports up to 10Gbps data transfer, DP video output, OTG and reverse charging. The primary port at the bottom of the phone will give you up to 5Gbps data transfer, OTF, audio output, and reverse charging.


Pricing and availability

The phone is currently only available for pre-order in China and will sell starting March 10. Pre-orders will get an additional 300 yuan or roughly 48$ discount.

Here’s the pricing for the lineup.

  • 12GB + 256GB: 4299 yuan ($681)
  • 16GB + 256GB: 4599 yuan ($728)
  • 18GB + 512GB (additional 128GB SSD storage): 5299 yuan ($839)

Hardware specifications

Here are the hardware specs for the Lenovo Legion Y90

Specifications Lenovo Legion Y90
ProcessorSnapdragon 8 Gen 1
RAM12/16/18GB LPDDR5 RAM
Storage256/512GB UFS3.1 storage
Additional 128GB SSD storage
Display6.9-inches 2460 x 1080 AMOLED
144Hz refresh rate
Rear camera64MP primary camera
13MP 120-degree ultrawide
Front Camera16MP punch hole
ConnectivityWiFi 6E
Bluetooth v5.1
5G
USB-C 3.1 Gen 2
USB-C 2.0
Battery and Charging5600mAh
68W wired fast charging
OSAndroid 12 with ZUI 13

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Yadullah Abidi

Yadullah Abidi

Yadullah is a Computer Science graduate who writes/edits/shoots/codes all things cybersecurity, gaming, and tech hardware. When he's not, he streams himself racing virtual cars. He's been writing and reporting on tech and cybersecurity with websites like Candid.Technology and MakeUseOf since 2018. You can contact him here: yadullahabidi@pm.me.

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