The MSI Claw hasn’t officially released yet, but enthusiasts and media outlets are already putting the handheld PC to the test. Naturally, the early benchmarks pit the portable against its uncanny rival, the Asus ROG Ally, and while performance falls short, I reckon it’s worth waiting for the dust to settle.
In a way, the MSI Claw is late to the best gaming handheld race. By that, I mean that devices by other laptop makers like the Asus ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion GO are already tearing up the track, even if the Steam Deck is still winning in terms of popularity. Considering that MSI has effectively had a chance to come up with a strategy to combat the other contenders, it’s perhaps surprising to hear that it can’t outrun its closest rival. However, the Claw does come armed with an Intel Arc APU rather than a tried and true AMD Ryzen chip, which may explain the shortcomings I’m about to dive into.
