MSI released its first gaming handheld PC, MSI Claw, earlier this year in March. While initially, it received mixed and underwhelming reviews, the device did receive useful upgrades, like the BIOS and MSI Center M update, which boosted gaming performance.
Now, MSI has announced that it is already working on another Claw device – the MSI Claw 8 AI+. This new handheld will not be a direct successor to the original Claw, but rather, both devices will be improved as there’s also a Claw 7 AI+ refresh on the way. The Claw 8 AI+ was officially announced at IFA 2024 alongside Intel’s new Lunar Lake processors, which the new device will be utilizing.
MSI Claw 8 AI+ release date
As announced by the MSI USA account on X, the “official on-shelf date is January 15” 2025 for the new and improved model, as well as the 7 AI+ refresh. Pre-orders for the device are now live. Interestingly, a December 26th launch date is also mentioned by VideoCardz, though this may be relevant outside of the US only.
MSI previously said, quoted at IFA 2024, that “sales [are] scheduled to start in early 2025”. Earlier in June, there was speculation that MSI Claw 8 AI+ would launch in September 2024. However, a report on Digital Trends mentioned that a September release seems unlikely as “MSI was clearly showing off a prototype when I visited its Taipei headquarters” – this obviously checks out now that we know the finalized release date.
MSI Claw 8 AI+ pre order now live
Some of the most recent news, as of December 6th, is that the MSI Claw 8 AI+ and 7 AI+ handhelds are now available for pre-order.
MSI Claw 8 AI+ specs
As we reported earlier, the new MSI Claw will be powered by a new Intel Lunar Lake processor. Early on, MSI officially listed an Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) CPU which is believed to be the Core Ultra 200V Lunar Lake chip – and now it is confirmed that the 8 AI+ will use up to an Ultra 7 processor 258V.
Further, as per the brief reveal at the Computex 2024, we know that the MSI Claw 8 AI+ will sport an 8-inch screen with FHD+ resolution, which is an inch bigger than the original Claw. However, the display will offer the same 120Hz refresh rate. At the same event, it was revealed that the Claw 8 AI+ would be equipped with a huge 80Whr battery, which is bigger than MSI Claw’s 53Whr battery. Considering that the rival ROG Ally X upgraded its battery and saw plenty of praise from fans, we can see that MSI is trying to do the same.
The specifications are summed up in the table below; you can see the full list of specs on the official MSI product page.
| Specification | MSI Claw 8 AI+ |
|---|---|
| Processor | Up to Intel Core Ultra 7 258V (Lunar Lake) |
| Screen Size | 8-inch |
| Resolution | FHD+ (1920 x 1200) |
| Refresh rate | 120Hz VRR |
| Panel type | IPS-level touch screen |
| Battery | 80Whr |
| RAM | 32GB LPDDR5x-8533 |
| USB Connectivity | 2x Thunderbolt 4 (DisplayPort / Power Deliver 3.0) |
| Storage | M.2 2230 |
| Operating System | Windows 11 Home |
| Dimensions (W x D x H) | 299mm x 126mm x 24mm |
| Weight | 795 grams |
MSI Claw 8 AI+ price
MSI remained tight-lipped regarding the price of the new MSI Claw for a while, but now we can see via pre-orders that the 8 AI+ will cost you $899.99. Considering that the original MSI Claw was somewhat infamous for being pricy, we were hoping that the company wouldn’t repeat the same with the MSI Claw 8 AI+.
That being said, considering that the new MSI Claw will have a new Intel processor, bigger screen, bigger battery, and other significant tweaks and improvements such as 32GB of RAM, its heftier price tag at launch compared to the original MSI Claw is understandable.
For reference, the original MSI Claw A1M launched with an introductory price of $699.99 for the 512GB Ultra 5 135H model. This jumped up to $749.99 for the Ultra 7 155H (512GB) and $799.99 for the Ultra 7 155H (1TB). At $900, the 8 AI+ is even more expensive than the ROG Ally X.
