IFA 2024 has brought with it a lot of tech and gaming news, and MSI has dropped its own bombshell by confirming the specs of its upcoming PC gaming laptop, the MSI Claw 8 AI+.
It turns out that MSI will continue to use an Intel CPU to power its system, specifically the Intel Core Ultra 200V Lunar Lake SoC. MSI is also increasing the memory speed, battery life, and display size compared to its predecessor.
Maximum system memory will increase to 32GB, and it will jump from LPDDR5-6400 to LPDDR5x-8533. Battery capacity will increase to 80Wh (nearly double the original system’s 53Wh), and there will be two Thunderbolt 4 ports. The new model will support the M.2 2280 SSD form factor, and the display size will increase to eight inches, though it will not upgrade to an OLED display.
The MSI Claw 8 AI+ is the official follow-up to the original Claw 8 A1M model, which received many scathing reviews and poor reception upon its launch. Since then, MSI has released multitude of BIOS updates This has greatly improved performance, but it's still not on par with other top-of-the-line laptops like the Steam Deck, Asus ROG Ally X, and Lenovo Legion GO.
Will MSI succeed this time?
While I agree with MSI's decision to start fresh with the MSI Claw 8 AI+ as the A1M simply wasn't up to par even with all the performance upgrades, it's always hard to regain lost trust when it comes to releasing a flawed product.
The new Intel CPU it is equipped with sounds impressive, as Lunar Lake Architecture It's potentially capable of outperforming AMD's mobile CPUs in terms of performance, so in theory it makes sense for MSI to stick with Intel – that and it makes the MSI Claw stand out more in the growing sea of gaming handhelds.
However, given all the significant issues the original model had, I find it hard to trust that the next Intel-powered version won't be without consequences. Technically, we never received official confirmation as to what part of the manufacturing process went wrong, but many of the laptop's problems stemmed from constant issues with Intel drivers and subsequent downloads to fix them.
Personally, I hope MSI scores a win here, as I’m always a supporter of healthy competition in any market. Having another viable gaming laptop option to choose from is a win in my book, as it will motivate the other tech giants to keep innovating. It also seems like MSI is listening to buyer feedback and incorporating it into its final product, much like how almost all of the ROG Ally X’s improvements can be directly attributed to community feedback.
