MSI Claw 8 AI+ announced as first Lunar Lake handheld gaming PC

MSI has officially announced the Claw 8 AI+, which stands as the first handheld gaming PC to run on the Intel Lunar Lake architecture.

The brand initially presented its second generation gaming handheld at Computex 2024 in June, but now it has the device available to test at its IFA 2024 booth.

Besides being powered by a brand new Intel Core Ultra processors (Series 2) processor, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ packs an 8-inch 1,920 x 1,200 IPS display with a variable refresh rate, which is boosted from the 7-inch screen in the original MSI Claw.

It runs on the new Intel Core Ultra 200V “Lunar Lake” architecture, which means it has integrated Arc Graphics with 8 Xe2 cores. This is backed by either 16GB or 32GB of LPDDR5X RAM.

The new chip promises to greatly bolster energy efficiency, which should be further enhanced by an increased 80 Wh battery capacity. MSI also claims to have listened to user feedback (it’s fair to say that the MSI Claw wasn’t brilliantly received) with an additional Thunderbolt 4-supported USB-C port.

It has also enhanced the tactile feel of the LB/RB buttons, and has replaced the charger with a lighter wall-mounted alternative. MSI is also providing a one-month free trial of Xbox Game Pass with each new MSI Claw 8+.

All this is sounding pretty positive, but as Notebookcheck points out, MSI’s German language press release reveals that the MSI Claw 8 AI+ isn’t likely to be launching until early 2025.

MSI has it all to do to overhaul some of its high quality rivals, including the Steam Deck OLED, the Lenovo Legion Go, and the mighty Asus ROG Ally X.