Hands on: MSI Claw 8 AI+: will the second time be a charm for MSI? It sure feels that way

I got to sit down with the MSI Claw 8 AI+, and it might just be the handheld to beat next year.

What is a hands on review?
The MSI Claw 8 AI+ being shown off at IFA 2024
(Image: © Future / John Loeffler)

Early Verdict

The MSI Claw 8 AI+ powered by Intel Lunar Lake is shaping up to be the PC gaming handheld to beat next year, thanks to its improved design, bigger screen, and a massive 80WHr battery which, when paired with the increased energy efficiency of the Lunar Lake SoC, could see a doubling of battery life over the previous Claw, along with up to 50% better gaming performance — assuming MSI prices it properly.

Pros

  • +

    Intel Lunar Lake processor

  • +

    8-inch, 120Hz display

  • +

    Massive 80WHr battery

  • +

    MSI Center is greatly improved

Cons

  • -

    Intel Lunar Lake will struggle on older games

  • -

    Pricing unknown

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

The MSI Claw, announced back at CES 2024, was a PC gaming handheld that had a lot of hype built up around it (myself included), and it didn't have the most auspicious launch earlier this year. Beset by performance issues that could rightly be laid at Intel's feet (Meteor Lake has been rather meh), I wouldn't blame anyone for looking at the MSI Claw 8 AI+ with a good bit of side eye and skepticism.

I also wouldn't blame folks if they gave me some as well, since I was definitely excited for the Claw's release, only to be just as disappointed as everyone else when the handheld finally shipped out. 

So, I won't ask you to take my excitement for the new MSI Claw 8 AI+ without a heap of salt, but having spent more than half an hour taking the Claw 8 AI+ for a spin at IFA 2024 this weekend, I'm going to ask that you bear with me. I've seen what these new Lunar Lake chips are capable of, and I really do think that Intel and MSI have ironed out what was wrong with the original Claw and are set to deliver a very impressive gaming handheld that will easily challenge the Steam Deck, Asus ROG Ally X, and Lenovo Legion Go in an increasingly competitive market.

The MSI Claw 8 AI+ being shown off at IFA 2024

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

That's not to say there won't be issues with this handheld, sadly. Intel's graphics drivers for its Intel Arc GPUs simply lack the legacy support for older games that Nvidia and AMD graphics drivers do, and they always will, as many older studios aren't even around anymore to help Intel work out the bugs in DX10 games and earlier.

If what you're after is playing the classics from the mid-2000s and early 2010s, an AMD-powered handheld is going to do that better. But if what you're looking for is a chance to play the latest PC games on the go, the Claw 8 AI+ may be the gaming handheld to beat in 2025.

A huge part of that is Lunar Lake. Rebuilt from the ground up in a way that Meteor Lake really wasn't, Intel Lunar Lake promises significantly improved performance over previous Intel chips while using substantially less power in the process. This translates directly into better battery life for when you're on a flight, on the road, or just chilling on the couch and you don't want to be married to a wall outlet.

The MSI Claw 8 AI+ being shown off at IFA 2024

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

In terms of gaming performance, I've seen the same Intel Core Ultra 7 chip that'll ship in the Claw 8 AI+ average nearly 70 fps in Cyberpunk 2077 on medium settings at 1080p and it looked fantastic, and it'll look even better on the smaller 8-inch screen which significantly ups the pixel density over a 14-inch ultrabook.

Plus, with an 80WHr battery packed inside, it'll almost certainly get some of the longest battery life of any gaming handheld on the market. Of course, we aren't talking more than an extra hour or two, but there's a huge difference between playing GTA IV for two hours on a flight and stretching things out to four hours (assuming the Claw 8 AI+ can effectively run this particular DX9 title).

The final specs for the Claw 8 AI+ aren't final yet, though it will come with an Intel Core Ultra 7 200-series chip in either 16GB or 32GB of memory. Whether a Core Ultra 5 or Core Ultra 9 configuration is in the cards isn't known yet, and as such, there's not much we can say about pricing at this time. But an MSI rep did tell me that MSI is targeting a January 2025 launch window, so we're bound to hear a lot more about the MSI Claw 8 AI+ in the weeks and months ahead.

MSI Claw 8 AI+: Design

The MSI Claw 8 AI+ has been redesigned somewhat from the original Claw, especially in terms of its aesthetics. Gone is the boring all-black chassis of the first-gen Claw, as there is now a matte silvery-copper panel around the controls that nicely accents the otherwise black plastic chassis.

The MSI Claw 8 AI+ being shown off at IFA 2024

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

MSI wasn't able to provide a full spec sheet for the Claw 8 AI+, so I can't tell if there is anything new about the ports on the new Claw other than the addition of a second USB-C port. This will likely be a Thunderbolt 4 port, but I didn't have an opportunity to confirm that.

The MSI Claw 8 AI+ being shown off at IFA 2024

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

The back of the Claw 8 AI+ looks pretty much the same as the original Claw, featuring two programmable macro buttons and an air intake for the cooling system.

The MSI Claw 8 AI+ being shown off at IFA 2024

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

One very welcome change though is the revamped MSI Center, which is accessible from the touch of a button and features as close to a modern console interface as I've seen on any handheld other than the Steam Deck. It will even change the background to reflect the game that you're highlighting.

Windows 11 is still a terrible platform for PC gaming handhelds, so getting the MSI Center software right will be critical, and MSI is still tweaking the interface to improve it ahead of launch. Even as it is today, however, it's a much better experience than you'll find in other handhelds.

MSI Claw 8 AI+: Performance

The MSI Claw 8 AI+ being shown off at IFA 2024

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

I didn't get to really push the Claw 8 AI+ to its limits during my time with the device since MSI is still fine-tuning the power profile for the chip, but I got a chance to play some Hi-Fi Rush and Sonic the Hedgehog to see how the device handled.

True, these are not the most demanding games around, but even in the early production state my Claw was in, the two games looked fantastic and played without issue, consistently getting very high frame rates. 

MSI Claw 8 AI+: Price & availability

The spec sheet for the MSI Claw 8 AI+ isn't finalized yet, so there's no way to price this system out, either from MSI or my own estimates based on the hardware profile.

As for availability, MSI is targeting a January 2025 launch for the Claw, but that's not an official release date, so it might slip a bit deeper into 2025. We'll hopefully know more about that soon as we get closer to the holiday season.

MSI Claw 8 AI+: Final thoughts

The MSI Claw 8 AI+ being shown off at IFA 2024

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

It's too soon to tell how the MSI Claw 8 AI+ will perform, much less whether it will be a success, but there's no question that this is a very different experience than I've had with the first-generation model.

Everything I've seen from Lunar Lake makes me optimistic though, and the improvements that MSI has made to the Claw's design are also stand-out arguments in this second-generation Claw's favor.

We won't know for certain until we get an actual production unit in hand to benchmark and review, but given what I've seen so far, I can definitely say that I am very eager to see what this gaming handheld is capable of in a few months time.

John Loeffler
Components Editor

John (He/Him) is the Components Editor here at TechRadar and he is also a programmer, gamer, activist, and Brooklyn College alum currently living in Brooklyn, NY. 

Named by the CTA as a CES 2020 Media Trailblazer for his science and technology reporting, John specializes in all areas of computer science, including industry news, hardware reviews, PC gaming, as well as general science writing and the social impact of the tech industry.

You can find him online on Threads @johnloeffler.

Currently playing: Baldur's Gate 3 (just like everyone else).

What is a hands on review?

Hands on reviews' are a journalist's first impressions of a piece of kit based on spending some time with it. It may be just a few moments, or a few hours. The important thing is we have been able to play with it ourselves and can give you some sense of what it's like to use, even if it's only an embryonic view. For more information, see TechRadar's Reviews Guarantee.