MSI’s gaming handheld Claw hasn’t even really got off the ground yet, but the manufacturer has already unveiled its successor at Computex 2024. The MSI Claw 8 AI, as it is called, is based on the brand-new Intel Lunar Lake processors including the new iGPU and comes with a larger display.
MSI Claw 8 AI presented
Thanks to Intel Meteor Lake, the MSI Claw gaming handheld was clearly lagging behind other devices in terms of performance. Even updates like the last one at the beginning of May didn’t help much.
Now a quasi-successor has been unveiled at Computex 2024, which goes by the name of MSI Claw 8 AI. This switches to the new Intel Lunar Lake CPUs, which were also just unveiled today.
MSI has not yet provided any specific details about the processor, and the price and release date are also still unknown.
What is known, however, is that the handheld can call up significantly more power and the iGPU also delivers 50 percent better gaming performance thanks to the new Xe2. The handheld is also equipped with 32 GB of LPDDR5x RAM and a 1 TB SSD in the M.2 2280 form factor.
80 Wh battery capacity
The battery of the new Claw has also grown significantly. The capacity is now a whopping 80 Wh, which puts the handheld on a par with the new ASUS ROG Ally X.
The MSI Claw 8 AI also has a larger display. The screen diagonal increases to 8 inches. The 120 Hz fast panel also supports VRR (Variable Refresh Rate). The handheld also offers two USB-C ports that support Thunderbolt 4.
This means that it can also be used with an external GPU, just like ASUS. In addition, the charger is said to have been shrunk slightly, while the bumpers (LB and RB) have been improved.
Our colleagues at DigitalTrends have already been able to see the new gaming handheld in action. Visually, not too much has changed compared to the first model, at least at first glance.
Curiously, the first version of the Claw is being re-released in a limited Fallout edition, but this only differs visually from the normal handheld and therefore seems rather unattractive when the successor is already being released.
However, the press release advertises the “largest battery in the industry”, so perhaps the new 80 Wh battery could also be installed here.
