Steam Deck’s new opponent has made hand warfare interesting

At Computex 2026, MSI announced the Claw 8 Ex AI Plus powered by the Intel Arc G3 Extreme processor, which promises exceptional AAA gaming on handheld devices while maintaining strong power efficiency for long gaming sessions. There is support for up to 32 GB of LPDDR5X dual-channel RAM and one PCIe Gen 4 x4 NVMe M.2 2280 SSD.

The handset features an 8-inch FHD+ (1920 x 1200) IPS-level touchscreen with 48-120Hz VRR. Thankfully, the handheld features ergonomic grips and hall-effect triggers and sticks combined with the D-pad. There’s a claimed high-end linear motor on board for refined haptic feedback.

For ports, we get two Thunderbolt 4 (with DisplayPort and Power Delivery 3.0 capabilities), a microSD card reader, and an audio combo jack. There are also two 2W speakers on board with DTS Audio Processing and Hi-Res Audio support. There’s also Intel Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 on board, and there’s a fingerprint sensor on the power button. Rounding out the package is an 80Whr battery to power the Windows 11 Home experience.

The MSI Claw 8 Ex AI Plus handheld features Xbox Mode, which allows you to launch games quickly and continue smoothly. A redesigned Quick Settings is also available, allowing users to easily adjust features such as Multi-Frame Generation and in-game frame control.

The MSI Claw 8 Ex AI Plus comes in a distinctive Void Purple color. The company has not yet shared any pricing and availability details. We expect to hear more about this handset in the coming days, but don’t expect it to be cheap.