Customer Ratings & Reviews

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ Review The MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ is, without question, one of the most powerful handheld gaming PCs available today. The Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip delivers incredible performance, the ergonomics are excellent, battery life is impressive for the hardware inside, and the 8-inch display makes games look fantastic. It feels like a true premium device that's built for enthusiasts who want desktop-class gaming in a handheld form factor. Reviewers have consistently praised its class-leading performance and comfortable design. That said, the biggest obstacle is the price. At around $1,799, it's difficult to recommend to the average gamer. For the same money, you can buy a powerful gaming laptop—or even a gaming desktop and a handheld combined. It's also disappointing that a device at this price doesn't include an OLED display, which many competitors offer at lower prices. If money isn't a concern and you want the absolute best Windows gaming handheld currently available, the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ is an outstanding piece of hardware. But for most buyers, the value proposition simply isn't there. A price closer to $1,299–$1,399 would make it much easier to recommend without hesitation. Rating: 4.5/5 ⭐ Pros: - Outstanding gaming performance - Comfortable ergonomics - Excellent battery life - Large, vibrant 8-inch display - Premium build quality Cons: - Extremely expensive - No OLED display at this price - Better value alternatives exist for most gamers

Absolutely loving the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+! I’ve used several gaming handhelds in the past couple of years, such as the Xbox Ally X and the Legion Go 2. All great devices in their own right but this Claw 8 EX feels like a generational leap. Performance is amazing, games that would struggle to run on another device would perform way better here for me. Games that already performed well on previous devices I could now up settings and still get great performance at higher fidelity. The screen while not a OLED is still stunning to look at, and the size is a good balance between previous devices I’ve used. Now for the very importants part for me, ergonomics & weight. I’d say the new more game controller-like design direction was definitely the way to go, it’s highly comfortable to use for long periods of play. The weight of the whole system is great too, I’ve had trouble in the past with heavy fatigue from the way handhelds are designed. Some extra positives, Xbox mode setup by default works great, the front firing speakers sound wonderfully immersive as well. Oh and I love the purple! If I had any negatives to say it’d be more preference really, I’d have loved an OLED screen, or detachable controllers/kickstand for a tablet mode. Just for versatility reasons. Overall very happy with the Claw 8 EX, I would definitely recommend it.

Price is high, but so is the performance. Ergonomics are solid. The screen is alright, but it should be OLED at this price point. Runs pretty cool and has solid battery performance.

Performance‑wise, this thing blows every other handheld I own out of the water. The screen looks great, plenty bright, and overall the device has made all my other handhelds irrelevant. Battery life has also been surprisingly solid, which just adds to how capable it is. Ergonomics are good—not perfect—and the sticks feel a little loose. Software is definitely lacking compared to competing products, though I expect it’ll improve over time. My unit did arrive with a bad right thumbstick that constantly needed to be reseated. I honestly thought about taking off a star for that, but MSI’s RMA service was so fast and smooth that I decided to stay at 5 stars. They fixed and returned my unit within a week, so their support gets 5 stars from me, but QC seems like it could use some improvement. Overall, you’re getting great performance and solid battery life in a device that looks and feels good. It’s not perfect, but right now it’s the best balance of raw performance and true handheld capability I’ve used so far, and I don't think it's all that close.