MSI has officially entered the AMD-powered handheld gaming market with its new Claw A8 BZ2EM, unveiled at Computex 2025. This strategic move represents a significant shift for MSI, which previously relied exclusively on Intel processors for its gaming handhelds.
The Claw A8 is built around AMD's new Ryzen Z2 Extreme chip, featuring 8 cores (4 Zen 5 and 4 Zen 5c) and 16 threads with a maximum clock speed of 5GHz. This processor is paired with AMD's Radeon 890M graphics featuring 16 RDNA3.5 Compute Units, promising substantially improved gaming performance and power efficiency compared to MSI's previous Intel-based models.
The device sports an 8-inch Full HD (1920×1200) display with a 120Hz refresh rate and 500 nits of brightness. While the 24GB of LPDDR5X-8000 RAM is slightly less than the 32GB found in MSI's Intel Lunar Lake-powered Claw 8 AI+, it still offers ample memory for demanding games. Storage comes via a 1TB M.2 SSD, and connectivity options include dual USB4 ports, a microSD card slot, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.3.
MSI has also redesigned the handheld's ergonomics, making it 30g lighter than its predecessor at 765g (1.6 pounds). The Claw A8 features Hall Effect joysticks to prevent drift issues, and the 80Wh battery should provide extended gaming sessions. The device will be available in both white and lime green color options, running Windows 11 with MSI's custom software for performance tuning.
While MSI hasn't announced pricing or availability details yet, the Claw A8 BZ2EM represents the company's commitment to competing in the increasingly crowded handheld gaming PC market. By adopting AMD's specialized gaming chip, MSI aims to deliver better performance, improved battery life, and enhanced AI capabilities compared to its previous offerings, positioning the Claw A8 as a serious contender against established devices like the Steam Deck and ROG Ally.