'Inspired by wind-sculpted desert rocks' and bestowed with Intel Lunar Lake, the new MSI Claw handhelds might actually be worth a look

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(Image credit: MSI)

The MSI 8 AI held in someone�s hands, with an RGB lit background

If you find the concept of MSI’s Claw alluring but aren’t very impressed with its power and software, the new Claw 7 AI and Claw 8 AI might be worth a look, even with the annoying AI namedrop in there.

Though the price and ability to buy the handheld have since disappeared,Videocardzreports the khaki-coloured 1 TB Ultra 7 258V model with 32 GB of RAM is selling for $899, and the black 512GB Ultra 7 258V model with 32 GB of RAM is selling for $799.

This places the cheaper model at the same price as theAsusROG Ally X, which we reckon is currently thebest handheld gaming PC. Theoriginal Amazon listingfor the new Claw models is still live, though “temporarily out of stock”.

It’s worth noting that this is the first major handheld to ship with Intel’s Lunar Lake, which has pretty great stats so far. In ourUltra 7 258V testing, which is the exact same CPU found in the handheld devices, we found it performed incredibly well, even managing mid-30 fps playing Cyberpunk 2077 on medium settings. That’s pretty impressive performance, and it also delivers solid battery life for its size.

Even thoughAMD’s Strix Pointhas a better integrated GPU on paper, we found the 258V held its own in preliminary tests. Of course, we’ll have to get hands-on with the two Claw models to see if they deliver that performance long term, but early signs are positive.

On the new device’s performance, MSI says “Running at 17W for longer battery life, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ & Claw 7 AI+ still outperform competitors, boasting a remarkable 113% higher peak FPS and an average 20% higher FPS under identical power conditions.”

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One of the bigger criticisms of MSI’s Claw is its software, but this new line comes with a “brand-new, updated MSI Center M software, offering a more intuitive interface”. This supposedly makes the device easier to navigate, which, alongside a great price point, is what makes theSteam Deckstill a viable handheld choice years later.

Notably, the new Claw devices come with two Thunderbolt 4 ports, and MSI pitches it as a “perfect Mini PC with Copilot+ capabilities”. This may go some way to justifying the noticeably high price point. It can also play Android titles with its App Player software, which could mean cracking packs in the Pokemon TCG app or attacking others in Clash of Clans, all without having to grab your phone.

If you are interested in getting the device yourself, preorders are due to start rolling out at retailers now, though I haven’t had much luck finding one so far.

As has seemingly always been the case for the MSI Claw, MSI is making a few interesting choices here and I’m looking forward to seeing how it performs in a real-life environment.

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