MSI’s New Handheld Might Be the Redemption It Needs

MSI has kept its Claw 8 AI gaming handheld down closed doors for months connected end, arguing it couldn’t amusement excessively overmuch of its bigger handheld until Intel yet unveiled its Lunar Lake chips. Good news: Intel yet offered the afloat rundown of the Core Ultra bid 2 during this year’s IFA showcase successful Berlin. So, present we tin cognize everything determination is to cognize astir MSI’s sequel to the maligned, pricey Claw 7 earlier it hits store shelves successful January 2025. Right? Right?

Sorry, but no. We lone learned fractional of what we’d hoped astir the upcoming handheld. The Claw 8 AI features an all-new updated plan that’s easier to clasp and has a brighter, 8-inch display. It’s sporting caller Center M bundle that looks similar thing you tin really usage this time. All that’s large to see, but we inactive don’t cognize the nonstop specs connected CPU capabilities oregon artillery beingness to expect from its caller 80Whr artillery and much businesslike chip. 

I spent astir 30 minutes playing astir with the bigger, eight-inch surface and was impressed by the evident leap successful prime compared to the past version. The Claw 8 resembles a PlayStation 5 DualSense controller with a white-on-black motif and creaseless sides. It’s much ergonomic than the top-end $800 Claw 7 by miles. My fingers remainder neatly into the grooves carved on the back, and the backmost buttons are overmuch shallower and easier to handle. 

MSI told maine some the triggers and joysticks are Hall effect. The triggers and bumpers connected the Claw 7 were excessively jagged to wrapper your digit astir comfortably, but the Claw 8 AI feels much smooth. The sticks are conscionable connected the incorrect extremity of bladed for my taste, but I wasn’t excessively bothered by the wide consciousness of the controller successful hand. Plus, MSI has kept each the cute RGB lights successful some the sticks and look buttons. What tin I say? I similar it erstwhile my look buttons glow successful the dark.

There’s Still Too Much We Don’t Know About the MSI Claw 8 AI

Despite each that, we person to stay skeptical. I lone got to play done the opening sections of Hi-Fi Rush. The crippled looked bully connected the caller screen, supporting up to a stated 500 nits highest brightness. It’s a colorful game, though it’s not the rubric that volition propulsion immoderate modern handheld PC to its limits. 

We don’t cognize what benignant of TDP it volition support, though MSI told Gizmodo that, acknowledgment to the caller businesslike chips, it should beryllium capable to enactment coagulated gameplay astatine little wattage. We cognize that MSI is readying to usage immoderate mentation of the caller Intel Core Ultra 7, but Intel is selling 4 antithetic kinds, each with somewhat antithetic GPU processing capabilities. 

Those latest x86 chips are expected to beryllium overmuch much businesslike than AMD’s oregon adjacent Qualcomm’s caller mobile CPUs. The next-gen laptops sporting bid 2 Ultra chips are promising 20 to 30 hours of artillery life. We anticipation the Claw 8 tin enactment connected for longer than adjacent the Asus ROG Ally X, but we tin lone speculate.

At the precise least, everything looks amended than before. MSI’s archetypal effort astatine a handheld UI, called Center M, was lacking successful some velocity and accessibility. MSI told maine it’s inactive investigating retired the caller mentation of Center M, but it’s intelligibly a measurement up successful presumption of looks. Every crippled you prime comes with its ain poster that blows up the full screen. MSI is besides integrating the Xbox app’s FPS tracker and crippled seizure widgets straight into Center M done a acceptable of caller tabs. I don’t cognize yet however good it does papering implicit the issues with Windows 11 connected handheld. Then again, nary existent Windows-based handheld that has what I would see a working UI for this signifier factor, dissimilar the Linux-based Steam Deck.

MSI inactive needs to finalize truthful overmuch astir this console, and I’m wondering if MSI is kneecapping itself with its merchandise date. This instrumentality would beryllium poised to vie good successful 2024. At IFA, AMD confirmed it has a caller Ryzen Z2 Extreme spot successful the works. Most handhelds similar the ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go, and (essentially) the upcoming Acer Nitro Blaze 7 each usage the Z1 Extreme. AMD apical brass told Digital Trends it was getting acold amended artillery beingness successful immoderate caller titles, but the chipmaker has yet to uncover thing much astir the caller chip.

The happening is, AMD volition uncover much astir the Z2 Extreme aboriginal adjacent year. If you’re looking to get thing for the holidays, you mightiness alternatively opt for the Ally X if money’s nary contented oregon the Steam Deck if you conscionable privation thing that works and looks bully doing it. As for adjacent year, I privation to judge successful MSI, particularly if Lunar Lake’s large show claims shingle out. If MSI tin marque thing priced competitively with others connected the market, past the Claw could person a existent changeable astatine redemption.