During the recent Computex showcase, MSI revealed the Claw 8 EX AI+, an incredible handheld device with an insane amount of power under the hood. It’s fighting for pole position in the handheld space, boasting a whopping 32GB of LPDDR5X memory and the best APU on the market right now.
Unfortunately, all that technology comes at a price, and for what you’d pay for an MSI Claw 8 EX AI+, you could buy a PlayStation 5, an XBOX Series X, and a Nintendo Switch 2.
How is this even possible?
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MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ Price Revealed, and It’s Spicy
If you want to secure the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ at the highest tier, which comes with an Arc G3 Extreme APU and 32GB of memory, you’ll need to pay as much as $1,799.
The handheld gaming space is truly heating up right now, and it seems that with each passing month, another tech titan emerges into the space with a fresh innovation. Right now, it’s MSI’s turn, and the exorbitant price point comes even with the manufacturer trying hell for leather to keep the tag as small as possible.
In a recent interview with FRVR, the company’s product marketing lead, Andy Chu, explained:
All I can say is we have tried every approach to get the memory and also storage at a lower cost. Like, deepen the relationship between us and also those suppliers, like to have some deals… and I think we have done everything we can do to make our system as affordable as possible.
(Thanks to Tom’s Hardware for that spot)
Admittedly, the top-tier MSI handheld isn’t a patch on the Lenovo Legion Go 2 when it comes to the overall price point. In the United States, the Lenovo Legion Go 2 with the Z2 Extreme build and a 2 TB SDD will set you back as much as $2,800 direct from Lenovo. That said, it does have a stunning 8.8-inch OLED screen, so that explains a portion of that price.#
If people were worried about the rising costs of console gaming, they’d probably baulk at the cost of a handheld device, which comes with stacks of limitations. Typically, concerns with battery life, overheating, lack of customization options, size, weight, and performance capabilities all come up in discussion.
I do love my ROG ALLY X, though.
Do you think these handheld gaming solutions are getting too expensive for their own good, or do you fully understand the cost curve these days? Let us know your thoughts on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
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Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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