MSI came to Computex this week to showcase a bunch of new products, including a new variant of the company's Claw handheld, the Claw 8 AI Plus. With the original Claw having only launched a little earlier this year, you might be wondering what MSI could offer in the new version of the Claw that would justify its release.
The answer to that is a significantly larger battery, and MSI has upgraded to a new CPU with Intel's new Lunar Lake chips. The most important upgrade of the two should be the new CPUs. MSI's original Claw A1M model featured a Meteor Lake Intel Core Ultra 5. The new Claw 8 AI Plus features Intel's Lunar Lake chip, which should have up to 50 percent more GPU performance than its Meteor Lake counterpart.
This alone should help the new MSI Claw 8 AI Plus deliver a better gaming experience as it is expected to offer better performance and smoother gameplay thanks to the more powerful CPU/GPU combination. Not to be forgotten, however, is the larger battery. MSI has not yet announced a cost, nor has it been confirmed when the handheld will launch. However, it may be sooner than expected. The Claw A1M was announced at CES in January and was available in early March. Just two months later.
The MSI Claw 8 AI Plus comes with a significantly larger battery
MSI's first handheld came with a 53Wh battery. This was bigger than the Steam Deck and the ROG Ally. However, it didn't really help the Claw last longer on a charge. The new MSI Claw 8 AI Plus aims to boost your gameplay session with an 80Wh battery. The same can be found in the new ROG Ally X that ASUS announced this week. It's unclear how much of an impact this larger battery will make, but it will certainly be a nice bump.
However, the Claw 8 AI Plus definitely needs a bigger battery. Considering the more powerful chipset and the larger screen.
MSI has also updated the screen size
If the name of the handheld doesn't give it away, the MSI Claw 8 AI Plus also comes with a larger screen size. MSI stretched it from 7 inches to 8 inches. It also retains the same Full HD resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. If Tom's guide Notes: The display is also touch sensitive. It also offers support for variable refresh rate.
Additionally, MSI updated the design a bit. The buttons appear to be in the same place, but the shell now has a new, lighter color instead of matte black. It also appears that the bottom corners have a less defined curvature. MSI has also reportedly given the Claw 8 AI Plus a new cooling system. It's called the 'Cooler Boost HyperFlow' system and should help keep temperatures down compared to the Claw A1M.
MSI also still uses the same Hall Effect joysticks with RGB lighting.
Image credits: Tom's Guide
