MSI is the latest PC manufacturer jumping in to create a handheld PC gaming device that will now take on the Asus ROG Ally, Lenovo’s Legion GO, and current king, Valve’s Steam Deck. During the start of the CES 2024 show, MSI officially revealed its upcoming handheld PC gaming device, dubbed the MSI Claw (Claw – A1M). This is the same device we discussed before, and MSI was going to wait until CES 2024 to show off the device; however, it was leaked ahead of time. While we weren’t 100% sure about the specs, we got to see the official specs for ourselves now that the device has been revealed.
The MSI Claw looks similar to the Asus ROG Ally, except it’s in black. But that’s where the similarities end, as the MSI Claw switches things up using an Intel Core Ultra 7, whereas everything else, including the Steam Deck, uses an AMD SoC. This makes things interesting as not only is this Intel’s newest chipset but so far, it’s been AMD’s world in terms of handheld PC gaming. As for why MSI went this route, they felt Intel’s offering was more power efficient yet offers better performance. We won’t know if that’s the case until we get some benchmarks and see this thing in the wild.
There’s no release date for MSI Claw yet, and given that the device was just shown during CES 2024, expect to see and hear lots of impressions of it. On the price range front, MSI says we’ll see this around $699 to $799, with the $699 versions coming with an Intel Core Ultra 5 and the $799 with an Intel Core Ultra 7. The device should be available in the first half of 2024. So, you have until then to decide if you’ll want it or will take back that shiny new device you got over Christmas.
Update: There are three versions of the MSI Claw. Each will share the same amount of memory, 16 CPU cores, but the specific CPU and storage will vary.
- Intel Core Ultra 5 with 512GB of Storage
- Intel Core Ultra 7 with 512GB of Storage
- Intel Core Ultra 7 with 1TB of storage
Pricing for each has been all over the place, so I can’t comment on the actual pricing.
A few things stand out for me, including 16 cores (6 P-cores, 8 E-cores, 2 Low Power E-cores), a Thunderbolt 4 port, a fingerprint sensor-equipped power button, and a 53Wh battery, which is the largest one in just about every handheld PC, except for the Ayaneo Kun, which sports a 75Wh battery. The 7-inch 120Hz IPS display has a resolution of 1080p and a brightness of 500 nits, which puts it on par with the screen on the Asus ROG Ally. Sadly, there’s no mention of a VRR screen, which I hoped was supported. Finally, there’s the “up to an Intel Core Ultra processor 155h,” which means there will be multiple versions of the device, again, similar to the ROG Ally. It doesn’t look like the Claw will feature a trackpad, either.
What did make me jump up and smile is that the MSI Claw will support Hall Effect triggers and joysticks and, unless I’m wrong, will be the first handheld gaming PC to do so. Finally… Someone understands why these are important.
On the software side, this will run Windows 11 Home or Pro (who needs Windows 11 Pro on a gaming device?) and will feature MSI’s customized MSI Center M to adjust the device’s various functions. This will also have an AI Engine that can adjust the settings on the fly, making me interested in how that affects performance and battery life. There’s also the ability to adjust both of the fan curves as well.
Given everything I know about the MSI Claw, I look forward to seeing how it stacks up against the Asus and Lenovo offerings. Especially since this is running an Intel SoC. However, my concern is that the CPU E-cores could hold the device back, performance-wise. We’ll have to wait and see.
Windows 11 Pro
1 x microSD Card Reader
1 x Audio combo jack
1x Power button with Finger Print Sensor
Black
