The portable console market, which gained momentum with Steam Deck, is growing day by day. Even after Asus ROG Ally and Lenovo Legion GO, MSI also announced its first handheld console MSI Claw model and managed to stand out from its competitors with its Intel configuration. Now the release date of the second generation MSI Claw 8 AI+ and Claw 7 AI+ models has been announced.
MSI Claw 8 AI+ and 7 AI+ release date announced
For those who missed it, 26 December was pointed out for the recently introduced Claw 8 and 7 AI+ models. However, this date was surprisingly postponed. Now, according to the information received from retail platforms, the release date of both consoles is 15 January 2025. Moreover, this information was also confirmed by MSI.
To recall, MSI’s most powerful handheld console, Claw 8 AI+ and Claw 7 AI+ come with VRR, 120Hz refresh rate, 500 nits brightness and a touch IPS display with 1920×1080 pixel resolution. However, compared to the same screen features, the Claw 7 AI+ model will be offered to users with a 7-inch screen, while the Claw 8 AI+ will be offered to users with an 8-inch screen.
Both devices are powered by Intel’s new Core Ultra 258V APU announced last month and come with an Arc A140V GPU with 8 Xe2 cores. The processor comes with 8 cores – 4 performance and 4 efficiency – and is backed by 32GB of LPDDR5X-8533 MT’s memory. Moreover, it should be noted that the capacity is the same in both versions.
In the battery department, Claw 8 AI+ comes with 80Whr battery life, which is equivalent to ROG Ally X. It will come out of the box with up to 1TB of PCI-E 4.0 M.2 storage capacity and Windows 11 operating system. The Claw 7 AI+ is backed by a 53Whr battery and 512GB PCI-E 4.0 M2. In addition, Claw 8 AI+ has the latest WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 support. The 7-inch model will have WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.
Claw 7 AI+ features
- Intel Core Ultra 258V
- 32GB LPDDR5x-8533
- Intel Arc 140V
- 512GB
- 7‘’ 1080p VRR
- Hall Effect Sensor
- 54.5Whr
- Thunbolt 4×2
- Intel Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3
- $799
Claw 8 AI+ features
- Intel Core Ultra 258V
- 32GB LPDDR5x-8533
- Intel Arc 140V
- 1TB
- 8‘’ 1200p VRR
- Hall Effect Sensor
- 80Whr
- Thunbolt 4×2
- Intel Wi-Fi 7 Bluetooth v5.4
- 899 dollars
