MSI Claw 8 AI Plus with Intel Lunar Lake chip announced; It can compete with the Asus ROG Ally X

The MSI Claw 8 AI Plus was announced by the company on Tuesday at Computex 2024. The gaming handheld is expected to arrive as the successor to the first-generation Claw that launched in March this year to disappointing reviews that criticized its Intel Meteor Lake chip for underperforming , especially when pitted against the Asus ROG Ally and Steam Deck OLED, despite costing more than them. Along with the Claw 8 AI Plus, a replacement for MSI’s console may soon be available.

MSI Claw 8 AI Plus announced

The company unveiled its next-generation handheld gaming PC – the Claw 8 AI Plus – during the ongoing Computex 2024 trade show in Taipei. The new Intel Lunar Lake chip will power it, and MSI claims it will be “the world’s first handheld gaming device” to feature the aforementioned Intel Core Ultra processor.

The company has yet to announce pricing for the MSI Claw 8 AI and we can expect more details to arrive in the coming months.

Specifications MSI Claw 8 AI Plus

In a blog post, the company says it will feature an 8-inch Full HD display with a 120Hz refresh rate and VRR support.

The MSI Claw 8 AI Plus is also slated to get a larger battery, potentially up to 80Wh, according to a report from the Verge. This could put it on par with the Asus ROG Ally X that was also announced at Computex 2024. The handheld will also get a second USB Type-C port with Thunderbolt 4 capabilities, according to MSI.

The potential ROG Ally X competitor will also get a wall charger, as well as an improved “tactile feel of the LB/RB keys”.

For reference, the Asus ROG Ally X is powered by an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme CPU, featuring an 8-core Zen 4 architecture. The chip is paired with an RDNA 3 iGPU and 24GB of LPDDR5 RAM. Compared to the newly announced MSI Claw 8 AI Plus, it gets a slightly smaller 7-inch full-HD IPS display with a 120Hz refresh rate and 7ms response time.

Claw x Fallout

Along with the MSI Claw 8 AI Plus, the company has announced that it is collaborating with Bethesda to launch a Claw x Fallout joint edition gaming handheld. MSI says it will have a 7-inch display and a design inspired by various elements of Fallout, such as vaults, Pip-Boys and robots.

This will offer “fans an immersive experience in a post-nuclear apocalypse game atmosphere,” says MSI.