A Fallout tie-can can’t save the MSI Claw – but new Intel CPUs might

Bethesda’s Fallout series is having a moment right now. The superb Amazon Prime TV series has fans clamouring for all things Vault Boy and Brotherhood of Steel – and MSI was happy to deliver at this year’s Computex, giving its handheld gaming console the post-apocalyptic treatment. The bigger news, though, is that a second-gen model is on the way.

The limited-run Claw x Fallout has been skinned to match the RPG series’ signature Pip-Boy wrist computer, with a military green finish, Vault-Tek branding and a (non-functioning, unless MSI has really gone all-out) radiation detector next to the D-pad. There’s currently no word on how many will be made, or how much they’ll cost – but given the vanilla MSI Claw wasn’t exactly a slam-dunk gaming handheld, you’ll need to be a Fallout super-fan to buy one.

Instead I suggest waiting for the newly-revealed MSI Claw 8 AI Plus (which MSI has yet to share any official pics of). It swaps the original’s 7in, 1080p/120Hz screen for a larger 8in panel, adds a 80Whr battery (the same size as the Asus ROG Ally X and 30Whr more than a Steam Deck OLED), and greater connectivity. The clunky power brick has been swapped out for a more compact wall charger, storage upgrades made easier with an M.2 2280 SSD, and the trigger buttons improved.

More importantly, it ditches the first Claw’s weak Intel Meteor Lake CPU for newer Lunar Lake silicon, which promises significantly better gaming performance while also drawing less power. That will hopefully help it compete with rivals that use AMD’s processors.

It’ll be launching in September, but pricing is still TBC. Given the first Claw launched at $800/£800 for a top-spec model, I’m expecting the new one to set you back a similar amount.

Lunar Lake CPUs are also making their way into MSI’s latest Prestige laptops. The 13in, 14in and 16in models are ultra-light (less than 1kg for the smallest of the three) but have sizeable batteries for all-day working.

Finally, MSI was among the first in line for AMD’s Ryzen AI 300 series laptop CPUs. They’ll be arriving in the Stealth A16 AI+ & Creator A16 AI+, lightweight 16in machines made from magnesium-aluminum alloy that still find room inside for Nvidia RTX 4000-series graphics.

All the new models will be launching later this year, with pricing TBC.

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