MSI Claw is a PC gaming console introduced by MSI earlier this year, and has entered the local market a few months later. Powered by an Intel Meteor Lake processing chip, it shows little change to other average options using an AMD Ryzen Z1 processing chip.
In the middle of this year, MSI unveiled its successor, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ which features a number of new updates such as an 8.0-inch screen display with a 120Hz refresh rate, a larger 80Wh battery and another Thunderbolt 4 plug.
During the launch event of the Intel Core Ultra 200V processor chip series that took place in Berlin, we had the opportunity to touch this console ourselves for a while to see for ourselves what the new differences are shown on this console.
First is the larger size of this console compared to their previous offerings, 8.0 inches on the new console and 7.0 inches on the old console. Interestingly, increasing the screen size by one inch did not change the weight of this console, as I could still hold it without so much trouble.
Another upgrade made is in terms of the use of Hall Effect switches not only on the analog controls, but also on the R2 and L2 trigger buttons on the back. MSI told us that just like the analog controls, the trigger buttons can also be changed if necessary.
One interesting result shown on this console design is the addition of a second Thunderbolt 4 plug. At first I was reminded that this plug will fit on the bottom of this console to give users a choice of how to charge the console, and maybe MSI will introduce a dock accessory for it.
But this second Thunderbolt plug is placed on the side of the first plug, and the reason given is to allow the user to install additional accessories or additional storage when the first plug is used to charge the device.
I also had time to test the performance of the MSI Claw 8 AI+ console with the computer game Hi-Fi Rush. I was told that the game ran at Full HD resolution and medium settings, and even without a screen showing the frame rate, I could see that the game ran at at least 30FPS on battery power alone.
Unfortunately I can't see the details like the frame rate and also the CPU speed, because the unit used for the exhibition is an engineering unit, and the specifications of the CPU used are no longer confirmed.
In fact, when I asked which Intel Core Ultra 200V CPU would be used to power this console, an MSI spokesperson said that they couldn't tell us at the moment because they themselves are testing which processing chip is best suited for such a console.
It should be noted that the big difference between the Intel Core Ultra 200V chip models is in terms of CPU speed and LPDDR5X 16GB or 32GB memory offerings.
MSI says that there is a high probability that this console will hit the market around early 2025, but the announcement of the full specifications of this console will probably be made earlier than that. They also cannot tell whether the MSI Claw 8 AI+ will come with one SKU, or different offerings.
MSI Malaysia has also teased the MSI Claw 8 AI+ console earlier, so we're pretty sure it will arrive in the local market soon after it launches in major markets first.