The price of this high-end gaming handheld is expected to be around $1,500. A new wave of premium handhelds is on the way, and MSI’s upcoming Claw 8 EX AI+ is leading the charge. The company revealed its latest handheld during a hands-on event at its headquarters in Taipei, Taiwan, ahead of Computex 2026. The Claw 8 EX AI+ will follow MSI’s previous handhelds introduced in 2024, which start at around $800 and are said to cost up to $1,500. It comes out on June 23.
To justify this high cost, MSI’s latest handheld gets a major performance boost thanks to the new Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip. According to ZDNet Korea, the Claw 8 EX AI+ features an updated SSD design that allows owners to upgrade storage via an M.2 2280 slot easily. The handheld still has 32GB of storage, an 80Wh battery, and an 8-inch touchscreen with 1920 x 1200 resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. However, the hands-on event revealed that the Claw 8 EX AI+ will feature improved haptics and a better ergonomic design for its buttons and joysticks.
According to PC Gamer, MSI hasn’t yet set a final price for the Claw 8 EX AI+, but the configuration on display at its event carries that $1,500 price tag. This means we could see more affordable options with less memory and storage, or smaller screens. However, this price estimate isn’t too surprising given the current crisis around component costs. When it comes to potentially cheaper alternatives, MSI’s Claw 8 EX AI+ will face competition from the Acer Predator Atlas 8 and a handheld from OneXPlayer, both of which also feature Arc G3 Extreme chips.
