MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ looks like the new standard for handheld PCs

At a pre-Computex hands-on, MSI showed the Claw 8 EX AI+, a Panther Lake-powered handheld built around Intel’s Arc G3 Extreme. MSI expects a single model at launch toward the end of June, with a likely price around $1,500, a figure that stood out alongside recent price moves for other handhelds.

The hardware centres on a 14-core G3 Extreme with a 12 Xe-core Arc B390 iGPU, backed by up to 32 GB of LPDDR5x-8533 and a 1 TB M.2 2280 SSD (single-sided). The 8-inch FHD+ touchscreen supports 48–120 Hz VRR, the chassis retains Hall-effect sticks and triggers, and the device includes two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a microSD reader, a fingerprint power button, a 3.5 mm jack, and new HD haptic LRA vibration modules.

The battery remains an 80 Whr pack and the unit weighs 785 g in the Void Purple finish. MSI demonstrated a range of performance modes: an Endurance setting drops the CPU to about 8 W (roughly a 17 W system TDP), while console mode can push the G3 Extreme up to 45 W.

msi claw, claw 8, handheld pc, intel arc, g3 extreme, arc b390, panther lake, lpddr5x, thunderbolt 4, 80whr