- Technology
- Americas
I held the next-gen handheld
- Sean Hollister
- June 2, 2026 at 7:56 PM
- 4 views
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 …
Originally published at The Verge