Sorry MSI, but you blew it – the Claw A8 is overpriced and could struggle to compete against cheaper rivals like the Steam Deck

• New pre-order listings for the MSI Claw A8 have appeared at European retailers online
• The prices suggest the Claw A8 will cost just under $1,000 / £1,000, similar to the Claw 8 AI+
• It may be a tough sell, in the same vein as its Claw 8 AI+ counterpart

The release of AMD’s Ryzen Z2 Extreme chip, which promises improved portable gaming performance, has been highly anticipated by handheld PC gamers. Thankfully, the MSI Claw A8 is the first product to use the potent chip, but early listings show an ugly price tag.

The MSI Claw A8 is available for pre-order from European shops, according to VideoCardz, with listings showing a price tag comparable to that of the MSI Claw 8 AI+. The price on Alza.de is €976 (€820 without tax). It’s unclear what the final price tags will be because there aren’t any listings in the US or the UK yet, but everything suggests that they will be little less than $1,000 or £1,000.

The Claw A8’s performance is comparable to that of the Claw 8 AI+, which is powered by an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V CPU, according to preliminary benchmarks. Shadow of the Tomb Raider runs at an average of 52 frames per second at 1080p on the Claw 8 AI+, compared to 49 frames per second at 1080p on the Claw A8 with the same graphical settings, as can be seen below (courtesy of Lines Tech on YouTube).

• Also Check: Windows 11 could finally get a handy audio sharing feature it should’ve had a decade ago

It’s unclear at this time if this is due to the Claw A8’s Ryzen Z2 Extreme being marginally less powerful than the Core Ultra 7 258V or the former’s 24GB of RAM (which oddly amounts to 16GB in the benchmark video) rather than 32GB. It appears to be priced marginally less than the MSI Claw 8 AI+ ($900 / £899 / AU$1,799), though, which is not a good look.

Analysis: If the MSI Claw 8 AI+ at $899 is a hard sell, then so is the MSI Claw A8

With strong gaming performance, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ is unquestionably one of the greatest handhelds of this generation, as I have finally tested it (review will be coming soon).

Unfortunately, for $899 / £899 / AU $1,799, it’s still a pretty difficult sell. I doubt it will fare well in the handheld market if the Claw A8, which has less RAM and a perhaps worse processor for gaming capabilities, is priced the same or only somewhat less.

I must emphasize once more that the MSI Claw A8 is not listed in the US or the UK, but the prices at European merchants give us a good sense of what they might be. As we’ve already seen with the MSI Claw 8 AI+, tariffs on Chinese goods are likely to have an impact on pricing, which could make the new Claw less competitive.

At $549 / £479 / AU$899, the Steam Deck OLED provides adequate performance for a fantastic portable gaming experience, despite being a weaker handheld. The Asus ROG Ally, which uses the Ryzen Z1 Extreme and costs $649.99 or £599 (now $449.99 on sale), is also in the same price range.

I don’t think the new Claw A8 will outsell its Claw 8 AI+ counterpart if the Z2 Extreme doesn’t show to be a significant improvement over its predecessor, particularly if stock and availability problems occur.