Gamers looking forward to the next generation of MSI Claw 8 AI+ gaming handheld won’t have to wait much longer. MSI announced that it will reveal pricing and availability information for the handheld in September.
This news comes after a glimpse of an official comparison slide showcasing the Claw 8 AI+ alongside its predecessor. The details about the Lunar Lake CPU powering the Claw 8 AI+ are still under wraps. But the reveal positions it as a competitor to the established Asus ROG Ally X. As you may know, the ROG Ally series utilizes the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme APU. The MSI Claw 8 AI+, on the other hand, boasts a significant upgrade from Meteor Lake to a Lunar Lake processor.
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MSI is holding back the official announcement and release details until September. But there’s a strong possibility that the launch may not be far off, potentially happening before the year’s end. And it’s yet unclear whether the MSI Claw 8 AI+ will manage to surpass the performance of the Asus ROG Ally X. But if it does, it will firmly establish itself as a top contender in the handheld gaming market.
While the recent MSI slide didn’t offer any new hardware details, we do know that the Claw 8 AI+ will feature an 80 Wh battery. There is also an 8-inch 120 Hz IPS screen and an additional Thunderbolt port. However, the specific Core Ultra 200V CPU model remains undisclosed. This makes it difficult to assess the device’s true value.
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Early benchmarks suggest that the integrated graphics performance of the Lunar Lake CPU will be comparable to existing models. The Core Ultra 7 and Core Ultra 9 variants of the Claw 8 AI+ are likely to be the most appealing options for potential buyers.
MSI’s success with the new handheld will depend on its ability to offer a competitive price-to-performance ratio. The original MSI Claw wasn’t a bad handheld. But it faced challenges due to the lower-priced Steam Deck and the stronger performance of the Asus ROG Ally and ROG Ally X.
The eagerly awaited pricing and availability information for the MSI Claw 8 AI+ will be announced in September, coinciding with Intel’s launch of the Core Ultra Lunar Lake processors on September 3rd.