MSI Reveals Its Claw Gaming Handheld Powered By Intel Core Ultra

Something that has been the same across all gaming handhelds in the last few years has been AMD, but with MSI now entering the market with their Claw gaming handheld, that is about to change with Intel bringing the power behind this console.

MSI Claw Gaming Handheld

Revealed at CES, MSI has entered the handheld market with their Claw which boasts itself as the first gaming handheld to be powered by Intel Core Ultra and ARC graphics. Specifically, this handheld can feature Up to the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H which features up 16 cores and 8 Xe cores with its ARC integrated graphics offering smooth 1080p gaming at medium settings. MSI will also feature a lower powered model using an Intel Core Ultra 5 CPU.

This chip is paired up with 16GB of LPDDR5 memory as well as a single NVMe M.2 2230 SSD Gen 4 SSD which is likely to be upgradable and may come in varying size options by default. Powering all of the hardware is a 53Whr battery which offers a 2 hour battery life under full workload which seems about on par or even better than the ROG Ally based on reviews.

Externally the Claw isn’t too different from the ROG ALLY sporting very similar button placements and RGB lighting under the joysticks. The 7-inch display features a 1080p resolution, 120Hz refresh rate and 500 nit brightness which is effectively the same as the Ally. Whilst it is very similar to the Ally, the Claw is more bulky coming in at 675g, a whole 67g heavier than the Ally at 608g.

For the I/O the Claw uses USB-C PD 3.0 charging and supports DP and thunderbolt 4 connectivity through the same port. For additional storage there is a MicroSD card reader, for your audio needs there is a combo jack as well as two 2W speakers and finally the power button which features a finger print sensor for Windows Hello.

What MSI & Intel Had To Say

“In our commitment to enhancing the gaming experience for our users, we aim to address market pain points and dedicate efforts to the handheld space,” said Eric Kuo, the Executive Vice President& NB BU GM of MSI. “We have fine-tuned specific designs tailored exclusively for gamers, debuting our very first handheld, Claw, which redefines the standards in the handheld market.”

“We’re proud to partner with MSI to deliver unparalleled experiences for users around the globe. The new MSI Claw is an exciting new gaming handheld powered by an Intel Core Ultra processor that provides an unparalleled gaming experience to be enjoyed anywhere, anytime.” – Michelle Johnston Holthaus, Executive Vice President and GM, Client Computing Group, Intel

Pricing and Availability

Pricing wasn’t shared directly by MSI, but via Tomsguide.com, the Claw is expected to launch in February or March for an MSRP of $699 for the Core Ultra 5 model, or $749 for the Core Ultra 7 model.