MSI announced the Claw, the company’s first gaming handheld and also the first on the market to have an Intel chip.
The MSI Claw runs on the Meteor Lake Intel Core Ultra chips, which is a change of pace from all other gaming handhelds on the market that feature an AMD chipset. MSI does not specify all the options that will be available other than saying it will offer up to the Core Ultra 7 155H, which features 6 P-cores, 8 E-cores, and 2 Low power E-cores with a max turbo clock of 4.8GHz, and 24MB of total cache.
The Intel Core Ultra chips feature the new Intel Arc graphics, with the 155H GPU being clocked at 2.25GHz and support for modern rendering features such as ray tracing and with native XeSS support.
The MSI Claw will also have 16GB of LPDDR5 memory and M.2 2230 NVMe PCIe Gen4 SSD of up to 1TB capacity. There is also a microSD slot for easy expansion.
The Claw features a 7-inch, 1920×1080 resolution, 120Hz VRR IPS LCD with touch support. The display has 100% sRGB coverage and up to 500 nits of brightness. The device features USB-C, Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity. You get built-in 2x2W stereo speakers and audio jack.
The MSI Claw has a 53Wh battery, which is the largest in the class. MSI claims the device is capable of two hours of battery life while gaming, which is about what we got from the ROG Ally, which although has a smaller 40Wh battery but also a lower power rating of 30W while the Claw can go up to 40W. The Claw comes with a 65W charger in the box.
| Model Name | Claw A1M |
|---|---|
| Processor | Up to Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 processor 155H |
| Operating System | Windows 11 Home (MSI recommends Windows 11 Pro for business.) |
| Windows 11 Pro | |
| Chipset | Integrated SoC |
| Memory | LPDDR5 onboard, 16GB, dual channel |
| Display | 7″ FHD (1920 x 1080), 120 Hz Refresh Rate, Touch Screen, 100% sRGB(Typical), 500nits(Typical), IPS-Level panel |
| Graphics | Intel® Arc Graphics |
| Storage Slot | 1 x NVMe M.2 2230 SSD by PCIe Gen 4 x4 |
| Sensor | 6-Axis IMU Vibration Motor |
| Communication | Intel® Killer™ Wi-Fi 7 BE1750, Bluetooth v5.4 |
| Audio | 2 × 2W Speakers / 1× Audio combo jack / Hi-Res Audio ready |
| I/O Port | 1 x Thunderbolt™ 4 / DP/ USB Type-C (w/ PD 3.0 Charging) |
| 1 x microSD Card Reader | |
| 1 x Audio combo jack | |
| 1x Power button with Finger Print Sensor | |
| Battery/Adapter | 6-Cell, Li-Polymer, 53Whr / 65W USB Type-C PD 3.0 |
| Dimension | 294 (W) x 117(D) x 21.2(H) mmn |
| Weight | 675 g |
| Color | Black |
As with the ROG Ally, the MSI Claw will be running Windows 11 out of the box. It will include the MSI Center M app for managing the device settings and installed games and there is a dedicated button to launch it. The device also includes the MSI APP Player, which lets you emulate Android apps and games.
The MSI Claw will start at $699 and will be available in three variants. The top of the line model with the 155H and 1TB storage will be $799. It is expected to go on sale in the first half of 2024.
