MSI has officially entered the gaming handheld segment with its first console called Claw. Unlike the Asus ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go and Valve Steam Deck, all of which are powered by AMD chips, MSI Claw is the first gaming handheld to pack an Intel Core Ultra processor. Similar to Nvidia DLSS and AMD FSR, it also features Intel XeSS, the company's upscaling technology that offers increased performance when gaming. MSI says this allows Claw to run the latest AAA titles at medium setting at FullHD resolution. The highest variant is powered by the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, a processor with six power cores alongside eight e-cores and two low-power e-cores, which help the gaming handheld last longer than its competition. MSI has also packed a 53Wh battery, which it says is the largest in any handheld gaming console, offering up to two hours of non-stop gameplay on full load. The back of the device also has a cooling system with air vents which, according to the company are 50 per cent larger than the likes of ROG Ally, Steam Deck and Legion Go. The front of the device packs a seven-inch 120Hz 1080p LCD screen that supports a variable refresh rate, with the screen capable of going up to 500 nits. The screen sits somewhere between the Steam Deck's 800p resolution and the Legion Go's 1600p display. The most expensive variant comes with 1TB SSD and 16GB RAM along with a microSD card slot, Thunderbolt 4 port, a 3.5mm headphone jack and two 2W speakers. It also packs two macro buttons that can be assigned for custom actions. While the device weighs 675 grams, a bit heavier than the Steam Deck, MSI claims the Claw's design is tuned for comfortable long gaming sessions. It also features tactile buttons and Hall effect triggers that help extend the button and joystick life. On the software front, MSI Claw runs on a customised version of Windows 11 with the company's MSI Center M software which offers quick access to your games. Compared to its competitors, the Claw has another trick up its sleeve. Apart from PC games, it can also run Android titles via the App Player. Also, the Claw is the first gaming handheld to come with a fingerprint power button. While we already know how the AMD Ryzen-powered gaming handhelds like ROG Ally, Legion Go and Steam Deck perform, the MSI Claw is the first Intel-powered device in the niche, so we will have to wait and see if the Claw will have an actual advantage over the competition when it comes to performance and visual fidelity. MSI Claw will launch sometime in the first half of 2024 and have three models. The base variant, which comes with a Core Ultra 5 processor and 512GB storage will be available for $699 (approx Rs 58,000), whereas the highest-end model will cost $799 (Rs 66,400). In terms of price, the Lenovo Legion Go, Asus ROG Ally and MSI Claw are in the same price segment, with the Steam Deck being the cheapest of them all with its $399 starting price tag.
