MSI Claw 8 AI+ and Claw 7 AI+ debut with Intel Lunar Lake chip

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What began with Valve’s Steam Deck, the supremacy of gaming handhelds, shows no signs of cooling down.

After the Steam Deck OLED, Valve is already planning a limited Edition of its handheld in White; meanwhile, Sony is reportedly developing a handheld capable of running PS5 games.

That said, the Taiwanese company MSI’s first dig at a Windows-based gaming handheld, the MSI Claw, was a bust. It was poop performing device with worse battery life and was more expensive than its better-performing competitors. 

However, MSI hasn’t given up. The company has announced the successors to the MSI Claw, the MSI Claw 8 AI+, and the Claw 7 AI+ via a blog post on the MSI website.

MSI Claw 8 AI+ & Claw 7 AI+: First Lunar Lake and Copilot Plus gaming handhelds

While the Claw 8 AI+ and the Claw 7 AI+ aren’t the first gaming handhelds from the Taiwanese company, these are the first gaming handhelds sporting Intel’s Lunar Lake CPUs.

Both new MSI handhelds pack the same Intel Core Ultra 7 258V with Arc 140V graphics, which are apparently more energy efficient.

MSI claims that, unlike its competitors, the ASUS ROG Ally and Steam Deck, the 17W power draw offers “113% higher peak FPS and an average 20% higher FPS under identical power conditions.”

Specs	MSI Claw 8 AI+ A2VM	MSI Claw 7 AI+ A2VM
Display	– 8-inch FHD+, Touchscreen panel (1920 x 1200),16:10 – 120Hz Refresh Rate – 100% sRGB(Typical) -500nits(Typical), VRR, IPS-Level	– 7-inch FHD, Touchscreen panel (1920 x 1080) – 120Hz Refresh Rate – 100% sRGB(Typical) – 500nits(Typical), VRR, IPS-Level
Processor	Intel Core Ultra 7 processor 258V	Intel Core Ultra 7 processor 258V
Graphics	Intel Arc 140V GPU	Intel Arc 140V GPU
Memory	32GB LPDDR5x-8533 Memory on Package	32GB LPDDR5x-8533 Memory on Package
Storage Slot	Up to 1TB PCIe Gen4 SSD Easy Access	1 x NVMe M.2 2230 SSD by PCIe Gen 4 x4
I/O Port	– 2 x Thunderbolt 4 / DP/ USB Type-C (w/ PD 3.0 Charging) – 1 x microSD Card Reader – 1 x Audio combo jack – 1 x Power button with Finger Print Sensor	– 2 x Thunderbolt 4 / DP/ USB Type-C (w/ PD 3.0 Charging) – 1 x microSD Card Reader – 1 x Audio combo jack – 1 x Power button with Finger Print Sensor
Battery & Adapter	– 80Whr 6-Cell Li-Polymer battery – 65W USB Type-C PD 3.0	– 54.5Whr 6-Cell Li-Polymer battery – 65W USB Type-C PD 3.0
Additional Features	– Wi-Fi 7 – Bluetooth v5.4	– Wi-Fi 6E – Bluetooth v5.34
Weight & Dimensions	– 795 g – 299 x 126 x 24 mm	– 675 g – 290 x 117 x 21.2 mm
Operating System	Windows 11 Home	Windows 11 Home
Colors	Sandstorm	Black

In addition, these are the first gaming handhelds to support Microsoft’s Copilot Plus, paired with two Thunderbolt 4 ports and 32GB of RAM.

MSI has also included an exclusive APP Player, allowing you to install and run Android apps and games.  

Both MSI Claw 8 AI+ and Claw 7 AI+ are mostly the same in terms of hardware except for display and battery. 

The Claw 8 AI+ has an 8-inch IPS panel and an 80W battery, while the Claw 7 AI+ has a 7-inch panel and a smaller 54.5Wh battery. 

MSI hasn’t disclosed the official price for its latest gaming handhelds.

However, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ is listed on Amazon for $899, while the Claw 7 AI+ is listed for $799. Both devices are expected to ship before the end of the year. 

What do you think about MSI’s new handhelds? Are they enough to compete with the Steam Deck and ASUS ROG Ally? We’d love to hear your thoughts! Share your opinions in the comments below, or join the conversation on Twitter or Facebook.