The market for handheld gaming PCs keeps growing, as evidenced by MSI‘s release earlier this week of its second-gen, Ally X device. However, most of these consoles are powered by AMD’s Ryzen Z1 or Z1 extreme APUs, leaving Intel as an also-ran in this emerging category. But MSI broke some new ground when it released its Claw handheld this spring and it came packing an Intel Meteor Lake Core Ultra 7 155H CPU.
Today at Computex 2024, MSI announced the next-gen version of its handheld, the MSI Claw 8 AI+, which will be powered by Intel’s upcoming Lunar Lake CPUs and will have an 8-inch screen — which is one inch larger than the original Claw A1M. According to MSI it will also have a Thunderbolt 4 port, presumably for pairing with a docking station or an eGPU, as well as a longer battery life than its predecessor. No further specs were available at the time of writing.
The company also announced that there will be a 7-inch Fallout version of the Claw, called the Claw x Fallout. According to the press release, this will feature “a unique design inspired by the Fallout series’ Vaults, Pip-Boys, and robots, offering fans an immersive experience in the game’s post-nuclear apocalypse atmosphere.” (The official press image at the top of this article shows the Claw x Fallout.)
All of these details confirm the rumors about these new Claws that circulated over the weekend. However, we’re hoping to get more information after we visit MSI’s Computex booth and hopefully see one (or both) of the upcoming Claws in person. We’ll update this article with any new information.
Whether these handhelds will make a positive mark remains to be seen. We did not get a first-gen Claw to review, but our colleague Tony Polanco of sister-site, Tom’s Guide, had a lot of issues with the Claw A1M — particularly with the software that came with it at launch. If Intel wants to make a dent in the handheld market where major players such as Asus and Lenovo are choosing AMD’s chips, well, MSI needs to stick the landing.