The Claw is anticipated to go on sale for $699 in the first half of 2024.
MSI is eager to get a piece of the action in the handheld gaming industry, which is now all the rage. MSI has finally unveiled the Claw, a gaming handheld that is based on Windows 11 and competes with the Steam Deck, Lenovo Legion Go, and ROG Ally. The company has been teasing the gadget for just a few days now. Additionally, in contrast to those gadgets, this one is powered by Intel’s most recent Meteor Lake CPU, and it boasts an exceptional battery life.
With the Claw, MSI is not attempting to reinvent the wheel; in fact, it appears to be almost identical to the other micro-PC devices that we have seen in recent times. Each side of a 7-inch 1080p display features a conventional array of buttons and thumbsticks, and there are substantial grips on both sides of the panel respectively. The RGB arrangement known as “Mystic Light” has been utilised by MSI in the form of little rings that are located around the thumbsticks and beneath the transparent ABXY cluster.
Some of the triggers and thumbsticks are equipped with Hall effect mechanisms, which are a type of technology that is often used in high-end bespoke game controllers. It is possible for less expensive contact sensors to wear down over time, which might cause the stick to drift even when it is stationary. It is well known that the Nintendo Switch has been plagued by this issue over a number of different hardware redesigns. As a result of the fact that Hall effect sensors do not require physical contact, there is neither wear nor drift. The Claw also features a Thunderbolt 4 USB-C port, which was included by MSI. This implies that not only will you be able to charge at high speeds, but you will also be able to transfer data at lightning-fast speeds and gain expandability.
The battery life of none of these miniature gaming computers is particularly impressive, but MSI claims that it is working to improve it with the Claw. According to reports, it has a battery capacity of 56Wh, which is significantly higher than the 50Wh that is found in the Steam Deck OLED. This battery capacity is sufficient for two hours of gameplay under “full workload conditions.” As is the case with the competitors, there are a variety of power settings that can help the battery last substantially longer. But MSI is the one footing the bill for the larger battery. In comparison, the ROG Ally weighs only 608 grammes, whereas the MSI Claw weighs 675 grammes, which is equivalent to 1.48 pounds.
One of the most notable features of the Claw is that it is the first gaming handheld to be shipped using the Meteor Lake CPUs that have been developed by Intel. AMD chipsets that are optimised for mobile use are utilised by both the Steam Deck and the ROG Ally. Although Meteor Lake has not yet been evaluated in this form factor, it has the potential to surpass other products in this category. In addition to a powerful Arc graphics processing unit (GPU), the Core Ultra 7 155H features an astounding sixteen central processing unit (CPU) cores that are distributed across three different power levels. In order to execute AI workloads, there is even a neural processing unit that is built inside the device itself. At the moment, that is not a significant factor in gaming; nonetheless, you can never predict what the future may bring. Additionally, the Claw will provide up to 1 terabyte of storage space and 16 gigabytes of random-access memory (RAM).
The Claw is expected to be released by MSI sometime in the first half of 2024, although the company does not have a specific launch date in mind. Not only is it capable of running Windows 11 Home, but MSI also includes an emulator that enables you to play Android games directly from the device. According to current projections, the initial price will be $699, which is the same as the premium ROG Ally and the Legion Go. However, in comparison to the Steam Deck OLED, it is a little bit more expensive, but it has superior specifications and is compatible with PC games.