Both handhelds are powered by the same Core Ultra 258V processor but will have different screen sizes and battery life.
MSI has today officially launched its newest gaming handhelds for purchase. The Claw 8 AI+ and Claw 7 AI+ are the latest consoles, powered by the Intel Lunar Lake CPUs, and succeed the Claw 7 handheld, which featured the Intel Meteor Lake CPUs. MSI says,
Gear up for unparalleled mobile gaming with the new MSI Claw 8 AI+& Claw 7 AI+ refresh. Powered by the next-gen Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 processor (Series 2), these two compact powerhouses combine exceptional performance with outstanding efficiency. Enjoy stunning visuals on vibrant displays, available in two sizes: 7-inch and the new 8-inch, enhanced by AI-driven precision.
The Claw 8 AI+ and 7 AI+ are both going to use the same Intel Core Ultra 7 258V processor, featuring the Intel Arc 140V graphics. The processor features an 8-core/8-thread configuration with 4 performance and 4 low power-efficient cores clocked at 2.2/4.8 GHz and 2.2/3.7 GHz frequencies respectively.
The Claw 8 AI+ is now the company's flagship handheld, having an 8-inch IPS display that runs a 1920x1200p resolution on a touchscreen panel with a 120Hz refresh rate. While both the Claw 8 AI+ and Claw 7 AI+ have the same display properties, the latter has a smaller 7-inch screen size. Not only the screen size is different, but the Claw 7 AI+ also has a smaller battery life of 54.5Whr.
On the other hand, the Claw 8 AI+ comes with an 80Whr battery life, which is equivalent to the ROG Ally X. Both MSI handhelds bring 32GB of LPDDR5X memory, clocked at 8533 MT/s, up to 1Tb of PCI-E 4.0 M.2 storage capacity, and the Windows 11 operating system. The Claw 8 AI+ and Claw 7 AI+ both retain the 2230 M.2 form factor inside the console and the latter is going to ship with 512GB of storage by default.
...thanks to the exclusive App Player, the MSI Claw 8 AI& Claw 7 AI+ offer the widest game library, encompassing both Windows and Android titles, providing multiple gaming platforms to cater to diverse gamer preferences.
- MSI
Similarly, there is a small change in connectivity. The Claw 8 AI+ has the latest WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4, but the 7-inch model will have WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. Packed with dual 2W speakers and DTS sound effective that support Hi-Res Audio, the consoles also improve on their peripheral connectivity features, which now include dual Thunderbolt 4 ports.