Handheld gaming PCs like the Steam Deck, Lenovo Legion Go, and Asus ROG Ally have become the hottest new gaming gear, and in a lot of ways they’re similar to laptops. Whether your handheld is running SteamOS or Windows, you can use it for general laptop tasks like web browsing or email, or even for running a local LLM.
While some handheld makers lean into the computing aspects of their devices more than others, all handhelds can theoretically be used in place of a laptop or a miniPC. So I decided to put that to the test by using my MSI Claw 7 AI+ in place of my laptop for three days, and here’s what happened.
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It works well as a miniPC
Just add a monitor, keyboard, and mouse.
While you can definitely use your laptop to power a monitor, keyboard, and mouse setup, this is traditionally the realm of the miniPC. And with all the extra hardware, the MSI Claw 7 AI+ is more than sufficient for web surfing, email management, the occasional virtual meeting, or video streaming.
Adding a keyboard, mouse, and monitor mitigates some of the key handheld pain-points for non-gaming tasks, as you can just use them like you would a normal computer. No need to worry about difficult touch-screen controls or customizing the control scheme to work with the handheld’s existing buttons. It’s pretty much a straight plug-and-play.
I personally didn’t use my Claw for gaming while hooked up to a keyboard, mouse, and monitor, but you can do so if you like. I’d just recommend sticking to 1080p resolution and medium graphics settings.
Windows 11 is still a problem
Touch-screen controls on Windows are still awful.
While I’m resistant to installing SteamOS on my Claw due to some app support issues with my favorite games, SteamOS is the superior handheld operating system. It’s clean, it’s smooth, and it can easily be controlled by the built-in joysticks, D-pad, and buttons when searching through your games library.
Windows 11 just can’t compete.
MSI has added a default Desktop control scheme to use the Claw as a computer, which does take some of the sting out. However, you’ll still need to use the onboard keyboard which takes up an absurd amount of screen space on the Claw’s 7-inch display. While it is usable, it does make it tricky to log in to various game launchers and accounts.
Additionally, I can’t type in my favorite MMO Final Fantasy XIV. I have to use the auto-translate text to communicate in game, because the Windows touchscreen keyboard won’t work with the game application. So I’m stuck with canned phrases unless I want to connect a keyboard, which defeats the purpose of using the handheld on the go.
Battery life is still a hamstring
Handhelds just don’t last as long as a laptop.
I initially purchased the MSI Claw 7 AI+ because of its small size and battery-efficient Intel Lunar Lake processor. While the Lunar Lake Claw handhelds do last longer in web surfing tests than some of the AMD-powered competition, any increased usage like photo editing or jumping on a video call will quickly drop that battery life down. Especially on the Claw 7 which has a smaller battery than the larger Claw 8 models.
Using the Claw as a proper laptop, that is, unplugged and without any added accessories, was something of a trial. But my main issue, once I got used to the Claw’s desktop mode controls, was battery life. Using the Claw as a proper laptop, without any external accessories, was an utter pain in general. The on-screen keyboard takes up a good half of the display, which makes any typing a nightmare.
But the real drawback was the battery life. The Claw obviously loses the most battery when gaming, but its battery life when surfing the web or scrolling through social media was also just a handful of hours. My laptop has better battery life than that, and comes with a built-in keyboard.
I am going back to my laptop
Some things just don’t need to be fixed.
While I could have extended my experiment in using a handheld as my laptop, the lack of a full keyboard and touchpad meant I was really only using the handheld to mindlessly surf the web or doomscrolling my social media feed. Which isn’t my main laptop usage, to be quite honest. I tend to keep that kind of internet activity on my phone.
My laptop is mostly a work device. Between writing, email management, and tracking test data, I don’t really use my laptop for much else. Unless, of course, I end up using it as a gaming device, which the Claw is primarily designed for. So while this experiment was a fun chance to use a piece of hardware in a new way, it hasn’t convinced me to permanently change the way I use my handheld.
However, for people who only have room for one computing device, you can use your Claw, Legion Go, or Steam Deck as a miniPC or laptop with a little bit of work and the right accessories.
