It’s virtually lined in ports—two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C, a microSD slot, and even a 3.5-mm audio jack. It’s comparatively future-proof, permitting you to improve the SSD (in the event that they’re ever reasonably priced once more), with Wi-Fi 7 assist.
It’s all crammed right into a “Void Purple” shell that impresses with a premium really feel. An etched micro-texture provides a safe grip, whereas the Xbox-standard management structure is inside straightforward attain for many gamers, though the 4 menu and system buttons flanking the display screen could require a stretch. Analog sticks (encircled with LED gentle halos, naturally) and shoulder triggers are constructed with Corridor impact sensors for improved accuracy and long-term resilience and supply a pleasant diploma of resistance when pressed. The chunky, angular D-pad feels nice too, though its concave form could take a second to get used to, and its shiny plastic picks up microscratches simply.
Though it’s working Home windows 11 underneath the hood, the full-screen Xbox Mode takes the lead, giving a unified view of video games put in from any storefront. The Claw lacks a devoted Xbox system button, however with two mappable rear grip buttons, it’s straightforward sufficient to assign one. Given which you can set up every other consumer, I set the opposite as a Steam menu button, helpful for shortcuts when working Steam’s Large Image Mode.
Regardless of the Claw’s 785-gram heft, its ergonomics and weight distribution compensate splendidly. It outweighs each the Steam Deck and the ROG Xbox Ally X, however I discovered it rather more snug to make use of, even for protracted play periods. Superior haptics additionally impress, with a pleasant sense of suggestions precisely representing on-screen motion.
The display screen is nice, however not wonderful. The IPS panel delivers a crisp, clear picture with brightness as much as 500 nits, however at this value, I’d hope for an OLED panel to make colours actually pop. That 120-Hz VRR ensures a easy picture not less than, and the 16:10 facet ratio offers a refined however noticeable bit extra actual property to your video games.
I wasn’t initially a fan of the display screen extending beneath the “shell” of the unit, however it’s a intelligent design, serving as a kickstand to let the hand-held stand vertically. That is surprisingly helpful if you wish to join the system to an output dock for TV play. I used an OWC Thunderbolt Go dock, and whereas it isn’t as elegant or safe as sliding a Nintendo Swap 2 into its caddy, it means the Claw can match neatly right into a media unit. Simply pair a recreation controller and also you’re good for big-screen gaming.
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{Photograph}: Matt Kamen
The true star of the Claw is Intel’s new Arc chipset, which delivers phenomenal outcomes. The Arc G3 Excessive is constructed round Intel’s Panther Lake structure, which provides a large efficiency improve over the previous Lunar Lake chips. It’s considerably quicker than just about every other chip in a PC handheld, and Intel’s XeSS—Xe Tremendous Sampling, its reply to Nvidia’s DLSS or AMD’s FSR—can enhance efficiency additional with good upscaling and body technology.
