Intel is significantly expanding its desktop Core Ultra 200 "Arrow Lake-S" lineup with new 65 W models along the sidelines of the 2025 International CES, but more importantly, it is bringing the "Arrow Lake" microarchitecture to the mobile space. The company is planning to launch at least 22 processor models this January, but not all of them are based on "Arrow Lake." Tom's Hardware reports that the lineup broadly revolves around the "Core 2-series" processor model numbering.

The Core Ultra 200H series consists of H-segment (conventional thickness notebook) processors in the 28 W to 45 W class, and are based on the "Arrow Lake-H" silicon. The Core Ultra 200HX series targets premium gaming notebooks and portable workstations, and consists of 55 W to 65 W class processors, including CPU overclocking capabilities on certain models. Things get interesting with the Core Ultra 200U series. These chips are based on the "Meteor Lake Refresh" silicon—an older microarchitecture—targeting the 7 W to 28 W segments for ultraportables. Lastly, there's the Core H 200 and Core U 200 series (no "Ultra" in the branding), which are based on the older "Raptor Lake" monolithic silicon, targeting mainstream notebooks.

Laptops powered by Intel's Lunar Lake family of processors have been seeping out slowly but steadily into the market. Samsung has no intention of sitting idle either, and has lifted the curtains on its Galaxy Book 5 Pro with an impressive AMOLED display and a battery life claim of a stupendous 25 hours. The laptop will be launched in South Korea on January 2, and a global rollout should follow thereafter.

Basically, the Book 5 Pro is the more affordable sibling of the Book 5 Pro 360. As the sharp-eyed amongst you may have already guessed, the Book 5 Pro does not feature the 360° hinge, which allowed the Book 5 Pro 360 to function as a convertible. Now, of course, a lot of people simply do not care about having convertible functionality, and the newly announced notebook is likely targeted at them.

HWiNFO has been updated to version v8.16, which brings several new improvements and fixes, as well as adds enhanced support for next-generation AMD CPUs and APUs, as well as next-generation Intel GPUs. While it does not specify any models, it is clear that it gets support for AMD's upcoming Kraken Point and Strix Halo APUs, as well as Intel's upcoming Battlemage GPUs.

In addition, the new HWiNFO v8.16 also improves support for Intel Lunar Lake, adds reporting of number of NPU tiles, adds support for Cybenetics Powenetics PMD (Power Measurements Device), enhances sensor monitoring on MSI's Z890, B860, and H810 series motherboards, enhances reporting of CUDIMM CKD parameters, NGU clock, and drive letter, and improves reporting of V/F curve settings, among other things. You can check out the full release notes below.

MSI previously gave us a teaser of what to expect from its upcoming Claw 8 AI+ gaming handheld with Intel's Lunar Lake Core Ultra CPUs, calling it "the most advanced 8-inch gaming handheld in the market," but a recent CES listing has divulged more details about the upcoming challenger to the likes of the Lenovo Legion Go. For starters, the upgraded battery capacity has been revealed, along with an estimated battery life and performance figures. Supposedly, more information will be revealed about the Claw 8 AI+ at CES 2025, which starts on January 7, 2025.

According to the CES page, the new MSI Claw 8 AI+ will have an 8-inch display and an 82 WHr battery, which will supposedly be able to deliver "4+ hours of gameplay for AAA titles." However, these manufacturer claims are generally to be taken with healthy helpings of salt, especially in when it comes to claims as nebulous as "AAA titles" without any proposed quality settings, specific games, or frame rates. Regarding the display, it wouldn't be surprising to see MSI use the same display as the one found in the Lenovo Legion Go, since there is a somewhat limited selection of 8-inch displays for handheld gaming devices. The MSI Claw 8 AI+ will also use Intel's 2nd-generation ARC iGPUs in conjunction with AI-enhanced graphics, which should provide a healthy uptick in both performance and efficiency, with the CES listing touting 48 TOPS of compute power.

AMD has published a blog post about its latest AMD Ryzen AI 300 series processors, claiming they are changing the game for portable devices. To back these claims, Team Red has compared its Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor to Intel's latest Core Ultra 7 258V, using the following games: Assassin's Creed Mirage, Baldur's Gate 3, Borderlands 3, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Cyberpunk 2077, Doom Eternal, Dying Light 2 Stay Human, F1 24, Far Cry 6, Forza Horizon 5, Ghost of Tsushima, Hitman 3, Hogwarts Legacy, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Spider-Man Remastered, and Tiny Tina's Wonderlands. The conclusion was that AMD's Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, with its integrated Radeon 890M graphics powerhouse, outperformed the Intel "Lunar Lake" Core Ultra 7 258V with Intel Arc Graphics 140V by 75% on average.

To support this performance leap, AMD also relies on software technologies, including FidelityFX Super Resolution 3 (FSR 3) and HYPR-RX, to unlock additional power and gaming efficiency. FSR 3 alone enhances visuals in over 95 games, while HYPR-RX, with features like AMD Fluid Motion Frames 2 (AFMF 2) and Radeon Anti-Lag, provides substantial performance boosts across thousands of games. The company has also compared its FSR/HYPR-RS combination with Intel's XeSS, which is available in around 130 games. AMD claims its broader suite supports 415+ games and is optimized for smoother gameplay. The AFMF 2 claims support with thousands of titles, while Intel's GPU software stack lacks a comparison point. Of course, these marketing claims are to be taken with a grain of salt, so independent testing is always the best to compare the two.

According to Taiwanese media Commercial Times, Intel is significantly increasing its outsourcing of "Arrow Lake" CPU production to TSMC, a strategic move as it grapples with persistent issues in its own foundry division. This decision to outsource a substantial portion of Arrow Lake's production is a significant shift in Intel's strategy, showing the company's rising reliance on external partners to meet quality and performance demands. The Arrow Lake Core Ultra 200 series is Intel's first major outsourcing initiative, in which Intel gave its core IP to third-party foundries, more specifically for a 3 nm node at TSMC. However, it clearly indicates the performance gaps in Intel's own Intel Foundry and the high demand expectations for the new CPUs. Originally intended to use Intel 20A node, Intel shifted focus of 18A node for its products and upcoming foundry customers.

Intel's recent orders with TSMC extend to its upcoming Lunar Lake chips and next-generation Falcon Shores AI GPUs, both of which will use TSMC's 3 nm process. Although Intel's 18A node remains promising, the company relies on current products to sustain its revenue streams, making TSMC's support crucial in ensuring timely shipments. This increased outsourcing reflects Intel's need to maintain competitive performance in the short term. Once its Foundry division meets performance and capacity targets, Intel aims to bring more CPU manufacturing back in-house. However, if anything goes wrong, Intel could face challenges securing sufficient volume from TSMC, as the foundry has longstanding commitments with major clients like Apple, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, and AMD.

Apple's M4-equipped MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and 24" iMac lineups are set to debut next week. The M4 family of desktop-class SoCs, which will soon be joined by the M4 Pro and M4 Max, is likely to bring substantial performance improvements to the aforementioned Mac models. If the recently leaked benchmarks are anything to go by, the M4-powered lineup appears poised to outperform Intel's "Lunar Lake" rather comfortably, while bringing the heat to AMD's "Strix Halo" as well as Intel's upcoming "Arrow Lake-H"-powered notebooks.

For those interested in the thin-and-light segment, the MacBook Air has always presented itself as a very decent option. According to recent reports by Mark Gurman, the M4-equipped MacBook Air is scheduled for launch sometime during January to March of 2025, with mass production set to start soon. The Mac Studio, which was supposedly slated to launch alongside the MacBook Air, is now delayed by a few months and will possibly see the light of day during the second quarter of 2025.

Some of the first die-shots and annotations of the Intel Core Ultra 200V "Lunar Lake" processor surfaced on the web, thanks to die-shots by GeenWens and Kurnalsalts on Twitter. Be sure to check out our Lunar Lake Technical Deep-dive article to learn the basics of how Lunar Lake is different from "Meteor Lake." Both are disaggregated chiplet-based processors, but Lunar Lake remodels things a bit. All the logic engines of the processor—the CPU, the iGPU, and the NPU, are located in a centralized Compute tile that's built on the TSMC 3 nm process, while all the I/O controllers are spun out to the Platform Controller tile built on TSMC 6 nm, which sit on a Foveros base tile that acts as an interposer, facilitating high-density microscopic connections between the two tiles. The base tile sits on the fiberglass substrate, which also has stacked LPDDR5X memory for either 16 GB or 32 GB of on-package system memory.

The Kurnalsalts annotation provides a good lay of the land for the Compute tile. The most striking aspect of it is the CPU. "Lunar Lake" comes with a 4P+4E core hybrid CPU, but the two kinds of cores do not share a last-level cache or sit in a ringbus, unlike in case of the Compute tile of "Meteor Lake." The four "Lion Cove" P-cores each come with 2.5 MB of dedicated L2 caches, and share a 12 MB L3 cache. The four "Skymont" E-cores are not part of the ringbus connecting the four P-cores, rather they are physically separated, much like the low-power island E-cores on "Meteor Lake." The E-core cluster shares a 4 MB L2 cache among the four E-cores. This E-core cluster is directly connected to the switching fabric of the Compute tile.

Intel's future processor microarchitectures and their constituent CPU cores have hit the rumor-mill. The "Lion Cove" P-core is now current-gen, as products based on the Core Ultra 200V "Lunar Lake" processor, which implements it, have been announced. "Lion Cove" will also be the main workhorse of "Arrow Lake," and Intel's Xeon 7 P-core server processors. The core ditches Hyper-Threading, but introduces a double-digit percent IPC gain over "Raptor Cove." The thunder of "Lion Cove" was stolen by the new "Skymont" E-core during the "Lunar Lake" technical presentations, as it offers nearly the same IPC as "Raptor Cove," at much lower power, and is held back by a lack of HTT and its inability to operate at high clock speeds that "Raptor Cove" can. We predict "Skymont" is shaking things up at Intel, and will have an impact on the way the company's future CPU cores are designed—to place greater emphasis on power and die-area to achieve IPC growth targets with each generation.

The successor to "Lion Cove" is codenamed "Royal Core." This would be the first time in over five years (since "Sunny Cove") that Intel's P-core codename doesn't use "Cove," signaling a departure from that naming scheme. The first iteration of "Royal Core" will power Intel's "Nova Lake" microarchitecture that succeeds "Lunar Lake." A slightly updated version of this core, codenamed "Royal Core 1.1," will power the "Beast Lake" microarchitecture, which likely falls in the lineage of "Arrow Lake," if not being a direct successor to it. An alleged Intel employee's work project description revealed "Cobra Core," a CPU core that succeeds "Royal Core," although the codename of its parent microarchitecture hasn't been revealed. Microarchitectures such as "Beast Lake," and its successor implementing "Cobra Core" are slated for much later into the decade, and we don't expect them to see the light of the day till at least 2026-27, if not later.

Details have emerged about Intel's upcoming "Panther Lake" processors, set to be the third generation of Core Ultra mobile chips. Called the Core Ultra 300 series, these CPUs are expected to succeed "Lunar Lake". According to recent leaks, Panther Lake-H will be manufactured using Intel's cutting-edge 18A process node. The chips are said to feature a combination of Cougar Cove P-Cores, Skymont E-Cores, and Xe3 (Celestial) integrated graphics. This architecture builds upon Intel's hybrid core design, refining it for even better performance on mobile devices. The leaked information suggests a range of configurations for Panther Lake-H, the high-perfomance variant of the lineup. These include models with varying core counts and power envelopes, from efficient 25 W parts to more interesting 45 W options. Notably, some SKUs reportedly feature up to 18 cores in total, combining P-cores, E-cores, and LP E-cores in a five-tile package. This is an increase from previously believed 16 cores.

Intel's 13th and 14th generation processors, codenamed "Raptor Lake" and "Raptor Lake Refresh," have been notoriously riddled with stability issues over the past few months, up until Intel shipped the 0x129 microcode update on August 10 to fix these issues. However, the upcoming Intel Core Ultra 200 "Arrow Lake" and 200V series "Lunar Lake" processors will not have these issues as the company confirmed that an all-new design is used, even for the segment of power regulation. The official company note states: "Intel confirms that its next generation of processors, codenamed Arrow Lake and Lunar Lake, are not affected by the Vmin Shift Instability issue due to the new architectures powering both product families. Intel will ensure future product families are protected against the Vmin Shift Instability issue as well."

Originally, Intel's analysis for 13th—and 14th-generation processors indicated that stability issues stemmed from excessive voltage during processor operation. These voltage increases led to degradation, raising the minimum voltage necessary for stable performance, which Intel refers to as "Vmin shift." Given that the design phase of new architectures lasts for years, Intel has surely anticipated that the old power delivery could yield problems, and the upcoming CPU generations are now exempt from these issues, bringing stability once again to Intel's platforms. When these new products launch, all eyes will be on the platform's performance, but with a massive interest in stability testing from enthusiasts.

Demonstrating the depth and breadth of its technologies at Hot Chips 2024, Intel showcased advancements across AI use cases - from the data center, cloud and network to the edge and PC - while covering the industry's most advanced and first-ever fully integrated optical compute interconnect (OCI) chiplet for high-speed AI data processing. The company also unveiled new details about the Intel Xeon 6 SoC (code-named Granite Rapids-D), scheduled to launch during the first half of 2025.

"Across consumer and enterprise AI usages, Intel continuously delivers the platforms, systems and technologies necessary to redefine what's possible. As AI workloads intensify, Intel's broad industry experience enables us to understand what our customers need to drive innovation, creativity and ideal business outcomes. While more performant silicon and increased platform bandwidth are essential, Intel also knows that every workload has unique challenges: A system designed for the data center can no longer simply be repurposed for the edge. With proven expertise in systems architecture across the compute continuum, Intel is well-positioned to power the next generation of AI innovation." -Pere Monclus, chief technology officer, Network and Edge Group at Intel.

Intel may have debuted its Hybrid (heterogeneous multicore) architecture for the desktop with the 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake-S," but the value-ended Core i3 series SKUs throughout the 12th, 13th, and 14th Gen Core processors have remained 4-core/8-thread traditional multicore chips, with just four P-cores. Intel is about to change this with the Core Ultra 200 series "Arrow Lake-S." According to OneRaichu, a reliable source with Intel leaks, the company is giving finishing touches to a pair of Core Ultra 3 series desktop processor SKUs based on the "Arrow Lake" microarchitecture. These will be 8-core chips, a doubling in core-count form the past generations, but the nature of these 8 cores is not yet known.

Among the SKUs in the leak are the Core Ultra 3 205, and the Core Ultra 3 215, both of which are 8-core chips. The two are probably differentiated in a similar manner to past generations of Intel Core i3 desktop did, using cache sizes (eg: Core i3-10100 and i3-10300). The chips probably feature a 4P+4E core configuration, as a "2P+6E" configuration might not be possible, as the E-core clusters are indivisible, although we don't know if the same rule applies to the "Skymont" E-core clusters. The dedicated L2 caches of both the P-cores and E-core clusters could be smaller than on Core Ultra 5 and above SKUs. The Core Ultra 200V "Lunar Lake" processor uses "Lion Cove" P-cores with 2.5 MB of L2 cache per core, while the Core Ultra 9 285K probably has "Lion Cove" P-cores with 3 MB of L2 cache per core.

Intel's ambitious new ultraportable mobile processor series, the Core Ultra 200V series "Lunar Lake," launches on September 3, according to an Acer announcement for a media event covering the launch of its notebooks based on these chips. Acer scheduled this event on September 4, which means Intel to launch these processors no later than September 3. Media events by PC OEMs tend to follow a day after Intel's launch of a new processor generation or platform. A September 3 launch would precede the IFA 2024 Conference in Berlin, which kicks off on September 6, but which is open to press and industry delegates a little sooner, as is the norm for trade shows.

The Core Ultra 200V "Lunar Lake" is Intel's first processor generation to implement MoP (memory on package), eliminating the need for discrete memory modules. This reduces the Z height as well as PCB footprint of the platform, enabling thinner notebooks. MoP also has certain power and latency advantages compared to discrete memory. The compute complex of "Lunar Lake" consists of a 4P+4E CPU with "Lion Cove" P-cores, and "Skymont" E-cores. This is also the first processor to debut Intel's Xe2 "Battlemage" graphics architecture, as it powers its iGPU. It packs a powerful NPU that meets Microsoft Copilot+ AI PC requirements. You can learn all about "Lunar Lake" in our architecture deep-dive.

According to a recent report from Reuters, tech giant Intel is facing a significant legal challenge as shareholders file a lawsuit following a dramatic plunge in the company's stock price. The legal action comes from Intel's recent announcement of dividend suspensions and plans to lay off over 15,000 employees. The semiconductor behemoth saw its market value plummet by a staggering $32 billion in a single day, leaving investors reeling. The Construction Laborers Pension Trust of Greater St. Louis has initiated a proposed class action suit, naming Intel, CEO Pat Gelsinger, and CFO David Zinsner as defendants. The plaintiffs allege that the company made misleading statements about its business operations and manufacturing capabilities, artificially inflating its stock price between January 25 and August 1.

Intel's financial woes stem from underperforming contract foundry operations and 1% drop in revenue during the second quarter of 2024. While it may seem miniscule, declining revenue is paired with a negative 15.3% operating margin, resulting in a net loss of $1.61 billion. The company's August 1 announcement caught many shareholders off guard, prompting accusations of inadequate disclosure and transparency. This lawsuit is just one of several legal battles Intel is currently strangled in. The company is also locked in a patent dispute with R2 Semiconductor across multiple European countries, centering on voltage regulation technology. While Intel has secured a victory in the UK, it faces ongoing litigation in Germany, France, and Italy. Adding to Intel's troubles, a separate class action lawsuit is being explored on behalf of customers who purchased potentially faulty 13th and 14th-generation processors. The company also canceled its September 2024 Innovation event, citing poor financials, without any words on Arrow Lake or Lunar Lake. While the cancelation of events is sad, it is necessary to get financials back on track, and product launches should continue as usual.

The Intel stock on NASDAQ slid 25% as of this writing, on Friday (08/02). This comes in the wake of the company's Q2-2024 quarterly results that held the company's profitability below expectations, leading the company to suspend quarterly dividend payouts starting Q4-2024, and engage a slew of measures to cut cost of revenue by over $10 billion. Among other things, this mainly involves downsizing the company across its various business units. Intel tried to keep investor spirits high by posting updates on how its 5N4Y (five silicon fabrication nodes in four years) plan is nearing completion, and how the company is at the cusp of raking in numbers from the AI PC upswing. To this effect, the company is launching its "Lunar Lake" and "Arrow Lake" processors within 2024, to address the various PC sub-segments. The Intel stock isn't churning in a silo, tech stock prices across the industry are witnessing corrections, although few as remarkable as Intel.

Intel Corporation today reported second-quarter 2024 financial results. "Our Q2 financial performance was disappointing, even as we hit key product and process technology milestones. Second-half trends are more challenging than we previously expected, and we are leveraging our new operating model to take decisive actions that will improve operating and capital efficiencies while accelerating our IDM 2.0 transformation," said Pat Gelsinger, Intel CEO. "These actions, combined with the launch of Intel 18A next year to regain process technology leadership, will strengthen our position in the market, improve our profitability and create shareholder value."

"Second-quarter results were impacted by gross margin headwinds from the accelerated ramp of our AI PC product, higher than typical charges related to non-core businesses and the impact from unused capacity," said David Zinsner, Intel CFO. "By implementing our spending reductions, we are taking proactive steps to improve our profits and strengthen our balance sheet. We expect these actions to meaningfully improve liquidity and reduce our debt balance while enabling us to make the right investments to drive long-term value for shareholders."

Intel has officially confirmed the upcoming Core Ultra 200V "Lunar Lake" CPU generation is arriving on September 3rd. The official media alert states: "Ahead of the IFA 2024 conference, join Michelle Johnston Holthaus, Intel executive vice president and general manager of the Client Computing Group, and Jim Johnson, senior vice president and general manager of the Client Business Group, and Intel partners as they launch the next generation of Intel Core Ultra processors, code-named Lunar Lake. During the livestreamed event, they will reveal details on the new processors' breakthrough x86 power efficiency, exceptional core performance, massive leaps in graphics performance and the unmatched AI computing power that will drive this and future generations of Intel products."

With IFA happening in Berlin from September 6th to 10th, Intel's Lunar Lake launch is also happening in Berlin just a few days before, on September 3rd at 6 p.m. CEST (9 a.m. PDT). We expect to see nine SKUs: Core Ultra 9 288V, Core Ultra 7 268V, Core Ultra 7 266V, Core Ultra 7 258V, Core Ultra 7 256V, Core Ultra 5 238V, Core Ultra 5 236V, Core Ultra 5 228V, and Core Ultra 5 226V. All of the aforementioned models feature four P-cores and four E-cores, with varying Xe2 GPU core counts and clocks. We also expect to see Intel present its design wins and upcoming Lunar Lake devices like laptops during the launch.

The first die shot of AMD's new 4 nm "Strix Point" mobile processor surfaced, thanks to an enthusiast on Chinese social media. "Strix Point" is a significantly larger die than "Phoenix." It measures 12.06 mm x 18.71 mm (L x W), compared to the 9.06 mm x 15.01 mm of "Phoenix." Much of this die size increase comes from the larger CPU, iGPU, and NPU. The process has been improved from TSMC N4 on "Phoenix" and its derivative "Hawk Point," to the newer TSMC N4P node.

Nemez (GPUsAreMagic) annotated the die shot in great detail. The CPU now has 12 cores spread across two CCX, one of which contains four "Zen 5" cores sharing a 16 MB L3 cache; and the other with eight "Zen 5c" cores sharing an 8 MB L3 cache. The two CCXs connect to the rest of the chip over Infinity Fabric. The rather large iGPU takes up the central region of the die. It is based on the RDNA 3.5 graphics architecture, and features 8 workgroup processors (WGPs), or 16 compute units (CU) worth 1,024 stream processors. Other key components include four render backends worth 16 ROPs, and control logic. The GPU has its own 2 MB of L2 cache that cushions transfers to the Infinity Fabric.

A CPU-Z screenshot of an alleged Intel Core Ultra 9 285K "Arrow Lake-S" desktop processor engineering sample is doing rounds on social media, thanks to wxnod. CPU-Z identifies the chip with an Intel Core Ultra case badge with the deep shade of blue associated with the Core Ultra 9 brand extension, which hints at this being the top Core Ultra 9 285K processor model, we know it's the "K" or "KF" SKU looking at its processor base power reading of 125 W. The chip is built in the upcoming Intel Socket LGA1851. CPU-Z displays the process node as 7 nm, which corresponds with the Intel 4 foundry node.

Intel is using the same Intel 4 foundry node for "Arrow Lake-S" as the compute tile of its "Meteor Lake" processor. Intel 4 offers power efficiency and performance comparable to 4 nm nodes from TSMC, although it is physically a 7 nm node. Likewise, the Intel 3 node is physically 5 nm. If you recall, the main logic tile of "Lunar Lake" is being built on the TSMC N3P (3 nm) node. This means that Intel is really gunning for performance/Watt with "Lunar Lake," to get as close to the Apple M3 Pro as possible.

The much-anticipated revolution in AI-powered personal computing seems to be off to a slower start than expected. Qualcomm's Snapdragon X CPUs, touted as game-changers in the AI PC market, have struggled to gain significant traction since their launch. Recent data from PassMark, a popular benchmarking software, reveals that Snapdragon X CPUs account for a mere 0.3% of submissions in the past 30 days. This is a massive contrast to the 99.7% share held by traditional x86 processors from Intel and AMD, which raises questions about the immediate future of ARM-based PCs. The underwhelming adoption comes despite bold predictions from industry leaders. Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon had projected that ARM-based CPUs could capture up to 50% of the Windows PC market by 2029. Similarly, ARM's CEO anticipated a shift away from x86's long-standing dominance.

However, it turns out that these PCs are primarily bought for the battery life, not their AI capabilities. Of course, it's premature to declare Arm's Windows venture a failure. The AI PC market is still in its infancy, and upcoming mid-tier laptops featuring Snapdragon X Elite CPUs could boost adoption rates. A lot of time still needs to pass before the volume of these PCs reaches millions of units shipped by x86 makers. The true test will come with the launch of AMD's Ryzen AI 300 and Intel's Lunar Lake CPUs, providing a clearer picture of how ARM-based options compare in AI performance. As the AI PC landscape evolves, Qualcomm faces mounting pressure. NVIDIA's anticipated entry into the market and significant performance improvements in next-generation x86 processors from Intel and AMD pose a massive challenge. The coming months will be crucial in determining whether Snapdragon X CPUs can live up to their initial hype and carve out a significant place in the AI PC ecosystem.

Intel is preparing to launch its next generation of mobile CPUs with Core Ultra 200 series "Lunar Lake" leading the charge. However, as these processors are about to hit the market, leakers reveal Intel's plans for the next-generation Core Ultra 300 series "Panther Lake". According to rumors, Panther Lake will double the core count of Lunar Lake, which capped out at eight cores. There are several configurations of Panther Lake in the making based on the different combinations of performance (P) "Cougar Cove," efficiency (E) "Skymont," and low power (LP) cores. First is the PTL-U with 4P+0E+4LP cores with four Xe3 "Celestial" GPU cores. This configuration is delivered within a 15 W envelope. Next, we have the PTL-H variant with 4P+8E+4LP cores for a total of 16 cores, with four Xe3 GPU cores, inside a 25 W package. Last but not least, Intel will also make PTL-P SKUs with 4P+8E+4LP cores, with 12 Xe3 cores, to create a potentially decent gaming chip with 25 W of power.

Intel's Panther Lake CPU architecture uses an innovative design approach, utilizing a multi-tile configuration. The processor incorporates five distinct tiles, with three playing active roles in its functionality. The central compute operations are handled by one "Die 4" tile with CPU and NPU, while "Die 1" is dedicated to platform control (PCD). Graphics processing is managed by "Die 5", leveraging Intel's Xe3 technology. Interestingly, two of the five tiles serve a primarily structural purpose. These passive elements are strategically placed to achieve a balanced, rectangular form factor for the chip. This design philosophy echoes a similar strategy employed in Intel's Lunar Lake processors. Panther Lake is poised to offer greater versatility compared to its Lunar Lake counterpart. It's expected to cater to a wider range of market segments and use cases. One notable advancement is the potential for increased memory capacity compared to Lunar Lake, which capped out at 32 GB of LPDDR5X memory running at 8533 MT/s. We can expect to hear more potentially at Intel's upcoming Innovation event in September, while general availability of Panther Lake is expected in late 2025 or early 2026.

Intel is preparing a complete refresh of its desktop platform this year, with the introduction of the Core Ultra 200 series processors based on the "Arrow Lake" microarchitecture. The company skipped a desktop processor based on "Meteor Lake," probably because it didn't meet the desired multithreaded performance targets for Intel as it maxed out at 6P+8E+2LP, forcing Intel to come up with the 14th Gen Core "Raptor Lake Refresh" generation to see it through 2H-2023 and at least three quarters of 2024. The company, in all likelihood, will launch the new "Arrow Lake-S" Core Ultra 200 series toward late-Q3 or early-Q4 2024 (September-October). The first wave will include the overclocker-friendly K- and KF SKUs, alongside motherboards based on the top Intel Z890 chipset. 2025 will see the series ramp to more affordable processor models, and mainstream chipsets, such as the B860. These processors require a new motherboard, as Intel is introducing the new Socket LGA1851 with them.

Core configurations of the "Arrow Lake-S" chip surfaced on the web thanks to Jaykihn, a reliable source with Intel leaks. In its maximum configuration, the chip is confirmed to feature 8 P-cores, and 16 E-cores. There are no low-power island E-cores. Each of the 8 P-cores is a "Lion Cove" featuring 3 MB of dedicated L2 cache; while each the E-cores are "Skymont," arranged in 4-core modules that share 4 MB L2 caches among them. Intel claims that the "Lion Cove" P-core offers a 14% IPC increase over the "Redwood Cove" P-core powering "Meteor Lake," which in turn had either equal or a 1% IPC regression compared to "Raptor Cove." This would put "Lion Cove" at a 13-14% IPC advantage over the "Raptor Cove" cores. It's important to note here, that the "Lion Cove" P-cores lack HyperThreading, so Intel will be banking heavily on the "Skymont" E-cores to shore up generational multithreaded performance increase. "Skymont" was a show-stopper at Intel's Computex event, with a nearly 50% IPC gain over previous generations of Intel E-cores, which puts it at par with the "Raptor Cove" cores in single-thread performance.

ASUS has revealed its upcoming ExpertBook P5 laptop, set to debut alongside Intel's highly anticipated "Lunar Lake" processors. This ultrabook aims to boost AI-capable laptop market, featuring an unspecified Intel Lunar Lake "Core Ultra 200V" CPU at its core. The ExpertBook P5 boasts impressive AI processing capabilities, with over 45 TOPS from its Neural Processing Unit and a combined 100+ TOPS when factoring in the CPU and GPU. The NPU provides efficient processing, with additional power coming from Lunar Lake's GPU with XMX cores, featuring the Xe2 Battlemage architecture. This is more than enough for the Copilot+ certification from Microsoft, making the laptop debut as an "AI PC." The ExpertBook P5 offers up to 32 GB of LPDDR5X memory running at 8333 MT/s, up to 3 TB of PCIe 4.0 SSD storage with two drives, and Wi-Fi 7 support.

The 14-inch anti-glare display features a 2.5K resolution and a smooth 144 Hz refresh rate, ensuring a premium visual experience. Despite its powerful internals, the ExpertBook P5 maintains a solid profile weighing just 1.3 kg. The laptop is housed in an all-metal military-grade aluminium body with a 180-degree lay-flat hinge, making it both portable and versatile. ASUS has also prioritized cooling efficiency with innovative technology that optimizes thermal management, whether the laptop is open or closed. Security hasn't been overlooked either, with the ExpertBook P5 featuring a robust security ecosystem, including Windows 11 secured-core PC framework, NIST-155-ready Commercial-Grade BIOS protection, and biometric login options. While an exact release date hasn't been confirmed, ASUS is preparing ExpertBook P5 and other Lunar Lake-powered laptops to hit the market in the second half of 2024.

The recent launch of Copilot+ PCs, a collaboration between Microsoft and Qualcomm, has taken an unexpected turn in the market. While these devices were promoted for their artificial intelligence capabilities, a Bloomberg report reveals that consumers are primarily drawn to them for their impressive battery life. The Snapdragon X-powered Copilot+ PCs have made a significant impact, securing 20% of global PC sales during their launch week. However, industry analyst Avi Greengart points out that the extended battery life, not the AI features, is driving these sales. Microsoft introduced three AI-powered features exclusive to these PCs: Cocreator, Windows Studio Effects, and Live Captions with Translation. Despite these innovations, many users find these features non-essential for daily use. The delay of the anticipated Recall feature due to privacy concerns has further dampened enthusiasm for the AI aspects of these devices.

The slow reception of on-device AI capabilities extends beyond consumer preferences to the software industry. Major companies like Adobe, Salesforce, and SentinelOne declined Microsoft's request to optimize their apps for the new hardware, citing resource constraints and the limited market share of AI-capable PCs. Gregor Steward, SentinelOne's VP for AI, suggests it could take years before AI PCs are widespread enough to justify app optimization. Analysts project that by 2028, only 40% of new computers will be AI-capable. Despite these challenges, Qualcomm remains optimistic about the future of AI PCs. While the concept may currently be more on the marketing side, the introduction of Arm-based Windows laptops offers a welcome alternative to the Intel-AMD duopoly. As the technology evolves and adoption increases, on-device AI features may become more prevalent and useful. The imminent arrival of AMD Ryzen AI 300 series and Intel Lunar Lake chips promises to expand the Copilot+ PC space further. For now, however, it appears that superior battery life remains the primary selling point for consumers.