MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ review: A winning gaming handheld

The gaming handheld market has changed quite a bit over the past couple of years. What started with Valve’s Steam Deck offering a portable, and somewhat more affordable way, to play PC games has quickly been upended – no thanks to AI.

The enormous demand for memory and storage from the AI industry has pushed component prices upwards, and gaming handhelds – along with every other consumer electronic products – have been caught in the crossfire. Manufacturers have had little room to absorb the higher costs and while the result is a new generation of handhelds that are more powerful than before, they are also starting to cost as much as a budget gaming PC.

That makes the launch of the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ rather interesting. Priced at $2,299, it is considerably more expensive than most of its rivals, including the very good ROG Xbox Ally X – even after its latest price adjustment. But such is the world we are living in now. Any consumer electronics product that relies heavily on memory and storage seems to have become more expensive, from laptops and graphics cards to smartphones and gaming handhelds. Don’t get me wrong, the Claw’s price is still difficult to swallow, but it no longer looks like an outlier. It is simply another sign of how expensive personal computing has become.

MSI is at least offering more than a routine processor refresh for the money. This time, the Claw 8 EX AI+ is powered by Intel’s new Arc G3 Extreme processor, which comes with an integrated Arc B390 graphics, 32GB of memory and a 1TB of SSD. It also comes with a large 8-inch, 1,920 x 1,200 IPS display running at up to 120Hz, along with an 80Wh battery.

More importantly, this is another opportunity for Intel to prove that it can compete properly in a handheld market dominated by AMD. Ryzen Z-series chips have become the go-to option for manufacturer such as ASUS, Lenovo and Acer and even smaller brands for their gaming handhelds. Remember how MSI’s original Intel-powered Claw struggled to make a convincing case for itself? Even they subsequently turned to AMD for the Claw A8, which said quite a bit about where the balance of power stood.

The Claw 8 EX AI+ is Intel’s, along with MSI, attempt to prove that it can compete properly in the gaming handheld market. On paper, it has the hardware to do so, and there is a genuine sense that this is more than an incremental update. But specifications alone are not enough when a handheld costs north of two grand. It has to perform faster, last enough for long gaming sessions away from a power socket, and yet comfortable to play on.

Let’s find out.

Big but comfortable

If there is one thing the Claw 8 EX AI+ does not hide, it is its size. The 8-inch display, substantial grips and 786g weight make it larger and heavier than the ROG Xbox Ally X, and you will certainly notice the difference when carrying it around. Yet, somewhat surprisingly, that extra bulk did not make it uncomfortable to use. MSI has given the Claw deep, outward-flaring grips that fill my palms nicely and spread its weight across both hands. I could still feel the strain during longer sessions, especially without somewhere to rest my elbows, but the shape allowed me to hold it more naturally than some smaller handhelds with flatter sides. It feels reassuringly solid as well, although the mostly plastic construction does not quite look or feel as expensive as its price suggests.

The controls are generally well placed too, with the Hall effect analogue sticks, face buttons and triggers falling naturally under my fingers. The sticks feel smooth and have enough resistance for smaller movements, while the triggers offer a comfortable amount of travel. I also like the shoulder buttons, which are easy to reach without having to adjust my grip. The face buttons, however, feel a little softer than those on the ROG Xbox Ally X, and I still prefer the latter’s crisper response. Likewise, the circular D-pad works well enough for most games, but it would not be my first choice for fighting games or platformers. There are also two programmable buttons around the back, although I did not find myself using them very often outside games that required additional keyboard commands.

Where the larger body really works is its huge – for a gaming handheld – display. Game menus, texts and smaller interface elements are generally easier to read than any of the ROG and Lenovo modes. However, it uses an IPS panel instead of OLED and this omission is difficult to ignore at this price, but the display still looks sharp and sufficiently vibrant during play – even if it’s noticeably inferior to the OLED displays on the Legion Go 2 and the Steam Deck OLED. MSI has also made good use of the larger chassis elsewhere, being able to fit a larger battery (compared to the 53Wh battery on the original Claw), two Thunderbolt 4 ports and a microSD card reader.

The less convincing part remains Windows 11, although that is hardly MSI’s problem alone. Microsoft’s Xbox full-screen experience and MSI’s Claw Center make it easier to launch games, adjust power profiles and change controller settings, but there are still moments when Windows throws up a dialogue box or launcher clearly designed for a mouse and keyboard. It is not as coherent as SteamOS, but the trade-off is that I can install games from Steam, Xbox, Battle.net and practically any other Windows store without worrying about compatibility. Once a game is running, however, much of that frustration disappears – and this is where the Claw 8 EX AI+ (and Intel) begins to make a stronger case for itself.

Small in size, big in performance

Intel certainly has something to prove here, and the results show how far it has come. Without upscaling, the Claw 8 EX AI+ was comfortably ahead of the two nearest competitors in the gaming handheld space – the Legion Go 2 and ROG Xbox Ally X. The difference isn’t wide in Cyberpunk 2077, but it’s much more pronounced in Horizon Zero Dawn and Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Intel’s Arc B390 is not merely keeping pace with the AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme’s Radeon 890M, it is often operating in a different performance bracket.

Turning on upscaling generally stretches that advantage further, with Horizon Zero Dawn being the only exception where the Claw slipped slightly behind both AMD-powered handhelds. Otherwise, the gains in Cyberpunk 2077 and especially Shadow of the Tomb Raider are difficult to ignore. These results go some way towards justifying MSI’s decision to stick with Intel and make the Claw the quickest handheld of the three tested here. Whether that performance advantage is enough to justify its $2,299 price is another matter, but Intel now has a winner in this segment – after foundering to AMD in the desktop space in recent years.

In PCMark 10’s battery life gaming test, the Claw lasted over two-and-a-half hours, placing it between the ROG Xbox Ally X and Legion Go 2. That means its strong gaming performance does not necessarily come at the expense of endurance. Where the Claw surprised me was in the battery life test for Modern Office, as it lasted nearly 17 hours. Admittedly, I don’t see how any are going to buy the Claw as an office PC, and actual battery life will vary according to power settings and screen brightness. Even so, the results here suggest that Intel’s Arc G3 Extreme can be remarkably efficient when the system is not being pushed by a demanding game.

Final thoughts

After spending time with the Claw 8 EX AI+, I think MSI and Intel have finally delivered the handheld that the original Claw was trying to be. It is large and undeniably heavy, and Windows 11 will still painfully remind you that it was never designed for the small screen. The lack of an OLED display for a gaming handheld that cost $2,299 would have been fatal for any brand, but the new tech world we are living in in 2026 means compromises like this are becoming easier to explain – even if it’s not easier to accept. I still think MSI should have included OLED at this price, but at least the IPS display is large, sharp and supported by the kind of gaming performance that allows the Claw to make good use of it.

Speaking of performance, Intel has truly inpressed here. The Arc G3 Extreme is not simply a competitive alternative to AMD’s Ryzen Z2 Extreme; across much of my testing, it was clearly faster and better. The Claw 8 EX AI+ may not be as polished as the ROG Xbox Ally X as an overall package, nor does it have the visual appeal of the Legion Go 2’s OLED display, but neither can match it when the priority is getting as much gaming performance as possible from a handheld.

The difficult part, of course, is recommending it at $2,299. That is gaming-laptop money – or even enough for a decent gaming PC – and the Claw remains hard to justify if value is your main concern. The ROG Xbox Ally X is still the more sensible choice for most gamers because, even after its recent price adjustment to $1,499, it remains cheaper, more compact and already fast enough for the games I would usually play on a handheld. But if price is less of a concern and performance matters more than anything else, the Claw 8 EX AI+ is arguably the best PC gaming handheld today – and Intel’s Arc G3 Extreme plays a big part in that.

The MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ is now available for $2,299 and can be purchased at MSI’s e-store. Click here to buy.