I held the next-gen handheld

The Verge spent two hours with MSI’s upcoming Claw 8 EX AI Plus handheld, powered by Intel’s new Arc G3 Extreme graphics. The early hands-on suggests Intel’s Panther Lake platform may deliver the performance and battery-life jump portable PC gaming has been waiting for.

If Intel can turn this demo into shipping products, it could regain credibility with gamers after recent CPU issues and competitive losses. The bigger trend is that gaming handhelds are becoming a key battleground for chipmakers, where efficiency may matter as much as raw performance.

The new MSI Claw with Intel Arc G3 Extreme. | Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge

Intel couldn't catch a break. Layoffs. Shakedowns. Crashing CPUs torpedoing its reputation, sending desktop gamers fleeing to AMD. Apple and Qualcomm pushing Intel out of multiple flagship laptops. A gaming graphics card going MIA. But its Panther Lake laptop chip, the first on its all-important 18A process, turned out excellent - and a handheld version might make Intel the leader in portable gaming chips. On Monday, I spent two hours with an MSI Claw 8 EX AI Plus handheld atop Intel's new Arc G3 Extreme. I walked away thinking that next-gen handhelds have finally arrived. The true leap in performance and battery life we've been waiting for … Read the full story at The Verge.