
To say we were displeased by the original MSI Claw would be an understatement. We had high hopes for the first Intel-powered gaming handheld, but it provided poor game performance, terrible bumpers, a high heat threshold, software issues, and disappointing battery life.
MSI and Intel have returned this holiday season with the Claw 8 AI+. And while the name of this handheld gaming PC is truly terrible, the handheld is a pleasant surprise. Intel worked hard to make the Core Ultra 200V “Lunar Lake” series a proper gaming chip with quality driver updates, improved super sampling, and ray tracing. MSI has updated the joysticks and bumpers on the Claw 8 AI+ to make them clickier and more satisfying and improved the thermals on the Claw 8 AI+ with a new Cooler Boost Hyper Flow system.