For years, AMD has been the default choice for gaming handhelds.
Whether it is Valve's Steam Deck, Asus' ROG Ally lineup or most of the devices coming out of China, AMD chips have largely powered the handheld gaming boom. Intel has been present, but rarely part of the conversation.
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However, Computex 2026 showed us how the tables are about to turn with Intel unveiling its new Arc G-Series processors, a family of chips designed specifically for handheld gaming devices. The company is pitching them as the next step for the category, promising better graphics performance, improved efficiency and longer battery life.
After spending some time with the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+, the first handheld powered by Intel's Arc G3 Extreme processor, the pitch feels a lot more believable.
The demo unit we tried was running Hogwarts Legacy. What surprised us wasn't that the game ran well. Premium handhelds have been doing that for a while now. What stood out was just how smooth the experience felt.
Frame rates hovered around 100fps and occasionally pushed beyond that on the device's 8-inch 120Hz display. The result was a level of fluidity that felt much closer to a gaming PC or console than a battery-powered handheld.
