MSI Claw 8 AI+ Promises 20% Performance Boost Over ROG Ally X

MSI's new gaming handheld, featuring Intel's Lunar Lake chip, is set to launch soon with claims of superior performance and advanced features.

MSI's Claw 8 AI+ reportedly outperforms the ASUS ROG Ally X by an average of 20% at the same 17W power level, according to MSI's in-house benchmarks.
The handheld is powered by Intel's Core Ultra 7 258V chip, an 8-core/8-thread APU, marking one of the first major uses of Intel's Lunar Lake architecture in a gaming device.
Benchmarks were conducted across 22 games, including modern titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Far Cry 6, with performance gains ranging from 5% to 113% depending on the game.
The Claw 8 AI+ features 32GB of LPDDR5X memory, Thunderbolt 4 ports, Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth 5.4, with pricing starting at $799 for the 8-inch model and $699 for the 7-inch version.
While MSI's claims are promising, independent validation of the performance benchmarks is pending as the handheld's release approaches in the coming weeks.