MSI Claw

Hands on: The MSI Claw looks every bit like it could be a meaningful rival to the AMD-powered gaming handhelds of the world. The core look and feel of the device is spot on, initial performance seems good, and there are some bold claims being made about wider performance and battery life. The MSI Claw price is also competitive, undercutting its most direct rivals by $100. If its performance really is as good as MSI and Intel claim, that’ll make for a very compelling combination.

Hands on: Despite the electricity it’s consuming right now, MSI says we should still see two hours of battery on a charge from demanding games, with four hours from lighter fare and five or more hours of video playback. That’s definitely not more than I expect from the Deck OLED, but it hasn’t been a guarantee for Windows handhelds. One rep says they’re already getting two hours of Forza 5, where they’d see an hour from the Asus ROG Ally.

Hands on: From what I’ve seen, though, I’ve so far been impressed with it. Hopefully, it won’t be too expensive when it eventually hits the shops and the battery life is better than the ROG Ally was able to deliver.

The MSI Claw is the latest of a myriad of Steam Deck rivals, although the unique addition of the new Intel Core Ultra chip may well give it the edge. A large battery capacity and ability to run both PC and Android games help it to stand out that little bit more.