This year at CES, Intel announced its next mobile platform, the Panther Lake generation of Core Ultra 300 CPUs. With solid integrated graphics and day one multi-frame generation, it’s a great architecture for gaming on handhelds or laptops. Plus, with Intel claiming 82% better performance than AMD in the new generation, it could cause a shake-up for handhelds.

But forget all that, because MSI is showcasing some new Claw 8 AI+ A2VMs, except they don’t have any new hardware in them, just new aesthetics. As MSI Nordic showed off from the booth, it is introducing the Glacier Blue and Void Purple editions of the handheld. Both are cool-looking options that give the Claw a fresh lick of paint.

Being one of the few top handhelds featuring Intel’s processors, we’re keen to know what MSI is planning to do with Panther Lake. For now, though, it’s just adding a couple of color swaps. The specs posted still board the Core Ultra 7 258V CPU and 8-inch 1200p touchscreen with up to 120Hz refresh rate IPS screen.

Will the Claw get the Panther Lake upgrade?

Just because MSI hasn’t yet announced the next-gen MSI handheld, we do expect to see it at some point. With Intel specifically talking about handhelds in its presentation, with MSI clearly listed as a partner on the slides, we can expect to see a Panther Lake Claw at some point; it just might take some time.

We may expect one to be announced CES 2027 as a sequel to this year’s event. If we’re lucky, it could come even sooner, such as during Computex, which would place it more in the middle of the year, so it’s something worth keeping an eye out for. Computex 2026 is already scheduled for June 2-5.

About the Author

Sebastian Kozlowski

With a fascination for technology and games, Seb is a tech writer with a focus on hardware, news, and deals. He is also a tester and reviewer for the site. Contact him @ [email protected]