Meet the MSI Claw 8 AI+, MSI’s chance at redemption for the PC gaming handheld market
IFA 2024 was a time of tech and gaming news, and MSI also dropped a surprise by confirming the specs of its upcoming PC gaming handheld, the MSI Claw 8 AI+.
It turns out that MSI will still be using an Intel CPU to power its system, namely the Intel Core Ultra 200V Lunar Lake SoC. MSI is also increasing memory speed, battery life, and screen size compared to its predecessor.
The maximum system memory gets bumped to 32GB, and jumps from LPDDR5-6400 to LPDDR5x-8533. The battery capacity gets a boost to 80Wh (nearly double the 53Wh of the original system), and there are dual Thunderbolt 4 ports. The new model supports the M.2 2280 SSD form factor, and the display size gets bumped up to eight inches, though it doesn’t get an OLED display.
The MSI Claw 8 AI+ is the official successor to the original Claw 8 A1M model, which was infamous for its scathing reviews and poor reception upon launch. Since then, MSI has multitude of BIOS updates which greatly improved performance. However, it still lags behind other superior portable devices such as the Steam Deck, Asus ROG Ally X, and Lenovo Legion GO.
Will MSI succeed this time?
While I agree with MSI’s decision to start fresh with the MSI Claw 8 AI+, as the A1M model simply wasn’t up to par even with all the performance updates, it’s always difficult to regain lost trust when it comes to releasing a flawed product.
The new Intel CPU it is equipped with sounds impressive, as the Architecture of Lunar Lake is potentially capable of blowing AMD mobile CPUs out of the water in terms of performance. So theoretically, it makes sense for MSI to stick with Intel – that and it makes the MSI Claw stand out more in the growing sea of gaming handhelds.
But given all the massive problems the original model had, it’s hard for me to trust that this next round with Intel won’t backfire. Technically, we never got official confirmation as to what part of the manufacturing process went wrong, but many of the laptop’s problems stemmed from constant issues with Intel drivers and the subsequent downloads to fix them.
Personally, I’m hoping for MSI to pull off a win here, as I’m always in favor of healthy competition in any given market. Having another viable PC gaming handheld option to choose from is a win in my book, as it will motivate the other tech giants to continue innovating. It also seems like MSI is listening to criticism from buyers and incorporating it into their final product, just as almost every improvement in the ROG Ally X can be directly attributed to community feedback.