Windows-based portable gaming PCs are all the rage at Computex, and MSI came loaded for bear with an update to its Claw design. The Claw 8 AI+ will launch with a Lunar Lake processor and a larger screen later this year. Adam cornered MSI’s System Product Management Director Cliff Chun on the show floor to talk about it.
First of all, MSI isn’t abandoning the original, 7-inch version of the Claw. In addition to a new BIOS and drivers created in cooperation with Intel that give the Meteor Lake version of the handheld a claimed 70 percent boost in performance, there will be a Lunar Lake-equipped variant of the 7-inch Claw released.
But the big news is the 8-inch Claw 8 AI+, which will debut along with Lunar Lake. Chun says that MSI experimented a lot to find a more ideal form factor for the larger screen. “We were studying different sizes. We felt that the 7-inch was perfect at launch, but for a bunch of different games…8-inch is still good, and a lot of people kept asking us, they want a bigger device.” Later he said that MSI tried out a mini, 5-inch version, but it felt too small and a 10-inch version felt far too heavy.
Going bigger also allowed a few other upgrades, including double Thunderbolt USB-C ports, an 80-watt battery (matching that of the ROG Ally X), and a repositioned SSD. “We’ll have multiple versions of SSDs. It’ll be easier for end users to upgrade because of the location. We moved it away from the fan so end users don’t need to remove the fan.”
What about that white-on-black color scheme, contrasting with the competition that’s gone all white or all black? “This one is much more elegant. If you go white it looks too much like a PlayStation…we tried a lot of different colors. With this one if it gets a little dirty it doesn’t show. We’re still fine-tuning it, it isn’t final yet.”
So, when is it coming out? MSI is hoping to get the Claw 8 AI+ to market along with the Intel Lunar Lake launch. Pricing specifics weren’t shared, but it will apparently be “similar” to the original model, which retails for $800. For more updates from the Computex show floor, subscribe to PCWorld on YouTube.