Because of the current tariff situation, I've specifically been keeping tabs on the cost of gaming handhelds in the U.S. to see if they go up from their initial prices.
While checking the best gaming handhelds today, I noticed that MSI's US website currently lists the new MSI Claw 8 AI+ and MSI Claw 7 AI+ gaming handhelds both at $100 higher than their initial MSRP.
For those in the U.S., this brings the Claw 8 AI+ from $899.99 to $999.99 and the price of the Claw 7 AI+ from $799.99 to $899.99 MSRP.
Meanwhile, MSI's U.K. website still shows the Claw 8 AI+ at £899.00 (the Claw 7 AI+ isn't listed and doesn't seem to be coming to the U.K.).
These devices were already pretty expensive before, but now their prices are a little insane.
But this is to be expected given the current high tariffs on China, where most gaming handhelds are made.
MY ADVICE: If you've been thinking about getting a handheld, you might want to grab one before prices continue to go up.
You can keep up with the latest tariff news with our live coverage of the "trade wars" between the USA and China.
Handheld tariffs updates
Since the tariff situation keeps changing in the U.S., I've included this update section to help explain the latest tariff news.
You can skip to the section after this to continue reading the original article.
UPDATE: April 14, 2025 at 9:01am PT
Last Friday, the Trump administration exempted computers, consoles, and electronics from the 145% tariff on China.
However, on Sunday, the U.S. Commerce Secretary clarified that this exemption status is temporary. Tariff rates on laptops, PCs, smartphones, and other devices from China may be imposed in the next 30 to 60 days.
As such, handhelds from China will likely still see price increases in the U.S. if higher rates on tech go into place.
Other price increases are likely coming very soon
Now, at the time of writing, most U.S. retailers, including Newegg, B&H, and Amazon, still show the initial MSRPs for these MSI Claw AI+ handhelds, but this could change in the coming days.
However, it's worth noting that Best Buy previously increased the price of the Claw 7 AI+ from $799.99 to $829.00, and could potentially bring the price up higher to match the MSRP shown at the MSI website.
These price increases aren't just something limited to MSI handhelds.
As I mentioned before, the majority of gaming handhelds sold in the U.S. are manufactured in China, so they're all going to be impacted by the high tariffs (up to an incredibly high 145% at the time of writing).
As such, we're likely to see major price increases for most, if not all, mainline portable gaming devices in the USA unless the current tariff situation changes.
Even before the Trump tariffs started to take effect, I noticed that the starting price of the upcoming Lenovo Legion Go S (SteamOS) had increased by $50 — from $499.99 to $549.99 at Best Buy.
Meanwhile, I also noticed that the starting configuration for the ASUS ROG Ally Z1 (non-Extreme) is no longer listed on Best Buy as of today, aside from open-box options.
Of course, it's possible this last thing could be a coincidence that just happens to line up with the tariff situation.
After all, ASUS has already teased a next-gen ROG Ally for 2025, and my colleague was the one to exclusively break the news that an Xbox handheld (codename "Project Kennan") would be made in partnership with ASUS this year.
So, it could be the ROG Ally Z1 is just getting old and Best Buy is choosing not to restock in order to make room for the next-gen devices.
However, it's also possible that Best Buy has chosen to stop selling this starting handheld because ordering more stock under the new tariffs is too costly.
