Intel details Panther Lake, its new notebook processor
Table of Contents
At a special event for journalists and influencers, Intel gave details of its new AI-focused notebook processor: the Intel Core Ultra 3 Series Panther Lake. Developed with the new architecture 18A, it will hit the market starting in January 2026, offering significant performance and energy efficiency gains. Learn the first details below.
Architecture 18A
O Panther Lake, scheduled to arrive between the end of 2025 and January 2026, is the first processor to take advantage of the new architecture 18A Intel's manufacturing plant. It represents the cutting edge of semiconductor technology, surpassing competitors like TSMC and Samsung.
Lip-Bu Tan, CEO of Intel, shows excitement when explaining the potential of the new architecture 18A. He points to the combination of positive factors for the company, such as the development of new technologies, the start of operations of newly built factories, and agreements signed with the US government and industry giants, like NVIDIA, bring good winds for the future of semiconductor manufacturing in the United States.
"We are entering an exciting new era of computing, enabled by major advances in semiconductor technology that will shape the future for decades to come. Our next-generation computing platforms, combined with our cutting-edge process technology, manufacturing, and advanced packaging capabilities, are catalysts for innovation across our business as we build a new Intel. The United States has always been home to Intel's most advanced research and development, product design, and manufacturing—and we are proud to build on this legacy as we expand our domestic operations and bring innovations to market."
Intel Lip-Bu Tan
Examples of advances in architecture 18A are in technologies such as Ribbon FET, responsible for increasing performance, and PowerVia, designed to reduce energy loss during operations.
The technology Ribbon FET is the transistor architecture that replaces the FinFET design. It uses stacked horizontal nanoribbons instead of vertical "fins." This structure allows the control gate to surround the channel on all sides. This control results in processors with higher processing speeds and lower energy consumption.
Another evolution, technology PowerVia, redefines processor construction by moving power wiring to the back of the chip. This "rear-feed" approach completely separates power circuits from data paths, freeing up the front face for faster, more direct information flow. The change results in a cleaner design that enables a significant leap in performance, with energy efficiency of up to 40%.
In this architecture, technology is also present Foveros 3D from Intel, which is an advanced packaging method that allows processing components (like CPUs and GPUs) to be stacked in three dimensions instead of just two. This means that different “chiplets” or parts of a SoC can be stacked vertically on a base, creating denser integration and allowing modular design and diversification of functions.
CPU
In terms of CPU, the A18 architecture 10% more performance single-threaded (single tasks, such as writing in a text editor), compared to the Arrow Lake generation for desktops and 50% more performance multi-threaded (multitasking, like a web browser that loads images, text, videos and links to display a page) compared to Arrow Lake (desktops) and even Lunar Lake (notebooks).
In terms of energy efficiency, the Panther Lake CPU is up to 10% to 40% more economical in single thread, and 30% to 50% more economical in multi-threaded (compared to the Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake generations), meaning hours more away from the outlet.
To provide manufacturers with options with varied performance, 3 versions of Panther Lake, which vary according to the total number of CPU cores (P-Cores/E-Cores) and GPU (Xe cores), with no defined names yet:
Basic: 8 CPU cores + 4 Xe GPU cores: the entry-level version, which combines up to 8 CPU cores with a GPU of up to 4 Xe cores.
Intermediary: 16 CPU cores + 4 Xe GPU cores: the intermediate version, which increases processing power to up to 16 CPU cores, while maintaining the GPU with up to 4 Xe cores.
Premium: 16 CPU cores + 12 Xe GPU cores: the high-performance version, also with 16 CPU cores, but with 12 Xe GPU cores.
These 3 versions feature an “enhanced power management” platform, which will aim to ensure a consistent experience both when plugged in (AC) and on battery power (DC).
RAM memory
Adopting an architecture focused on flexibility and scalability, the Panther Lake gave up on the printed circuit board memory present in Lunar Lake, which limited the Setups with a maximum of 32GB of RAM.
In this regard, Intel decided to give greater freedom of choice to manufacturers, with support for significantly larger memory capacities and different speeds, such as up to 96GB of LPDDR5 RAM up to 9600 MT/s, or up to 128GB of DDR5 RAM at up to 7200 MT/s.
Xe3 GPU
The integrated GPU in the series Panther Lake is based on new Xe3 architecture, which was designed to increase performance without sacrificing energy efficiency. The company reports a gain in 50% higher GPU performance compared to generations Lunar Lake e Arrow Lake.
Another fundamental change of the new GPU architecture is the “U” construction is built as a “chiplet" or "tile“, that is, on a chip separate from the rest of the chip, a design decision that offers greater flexibility to scale graphics power across different segments.
For this reason, it will be possible for Panther Lake processors to have two possible configurations: one with up to 4 GPU cores (4Xe) e 4 Ray Tracing units, and another high-performance version with up to 12 GPU cores (12Xe) and 12 Ray Tracing units. In the latter, the GPU can reach a computational power of up to 120 TOPS (trillions of operations per second).
Another technology present in the new architecture Xe3 is multi-frame generation XeSS (XeSS Multi-Frame Generation, which works similarly to NVIDIA DLSS. In practice, the GPU It can generate new frames in games without requiring too much system effort, allowing components to focus on other tasks. On average, 10% more frames will be generated, supported by artificial intelligence.
NPU WITH 50 TOPS
The Neural Processing Unit (NPU) of the Panther Lake is the new NPU 5, designed to deliver a huge leap in performance in artificial intelligence tasks while consuming less power. Total performance reaches 50 TOPS (trillions of operations per second).
The focus on efficiency is most noticeable when compared to Lunar Lake, with the new NPU boasting over a 40% increase in TOPS per area, delivering more performance in a smaller footprint.
Additionally, NPU 5 introduces support for FP8 format, a technology that significantly improves the training and inference of AI models, with lower memory and energy consumption.
The new NPU was designed to support the next generation of AI applications, such as agentic artificial intelligence. This name refers to "agents," which are AIs capable of performing tasks autonomously on behalf of the user, functioning as interactive assistants.
The objective of the Intel to Panther Lake is to allow these agents to run locally on the PC, rather than relying on the cloud. The NPU is optimized to run continuous and background AI workloads with maximum power efficiency, crucial for always-on assistants without draining the battery.
IPU 7.5
the new processor Intel for notebook has an improved image processing unit, the IPU 7.5With it, webcam images will receive treatment similar to what is seen in smartphone cameras, where camera data is analyzed with AI to reduce image noise, correct colors and apply HDR, among other effects.
A IPU 7.5 will allow notebooks to have 4K quality cameras, with up to 3 webcams used simultaneously on a single system.
Xe Media Engine
O Xe Media Engine, responsible for playing videos on the Panther Lake, has also been updated to support decoding and encoding a wider set of video codecs, such as AVC 10-bit e AV1, essential for improving the quality of videos from streaming services and YouTube, while using less energy during playback.
It is also responsible for the maximum resolution of the video, which can reach 8K 12-Bit HDR in decode e 8K 1-Bit HDR encoded.
Connectivity and Ports
As these processors are also responsible for the computer's wired and wireless connection technologies, notebooks with Panther Lake will be able to have up to 4 Thunderbolt 4 or 5 inputs, 2 USB 3.2 inputs, 8 USB 2.0 and the latest internet standards Wi-Fi 7 R2 e Bluetooth 6.0 LE Audio.
O Wi-Fi 7 R2 translates into wireless connections with much higher speeds, drastically reduced latency and greater stability, ideal for online gaming, 8K streaming and using multiple peripherals.
O Bluetooth 6.0 with LE Audio (Low Energy Audio) is designed to operate with much lower power consumption, which helps extend the battery life of both the laptop and the headphones. Additionally, LE Audio introduces LC3 codec, which offers perceived higher audio quality than the standard SBC codec, even at a lower bit rate, resulting in clearer, more stable sound.
Connection support Thunderbolt 5 doubles the bandwidth of the previous generation, enabling ultra-fast data transfers and the connection of multiple high-resolution displays over a single cable.
PCIe Gen5
The platform's internal connectivity has also been improved to ensure maximum performance. The series Panther Lake supports the standard PCIe Gen5, with up to 12 lanes dedicated to this high-speed generation. This ensures that internal components, such as next-generation GPUs and SSDs, can communicate with the processor at maximum possible speed, eliminating bottlenecks and ensuring overall system responsiveness.
Availability
The first notebooks with processors Panther Lake are scheduled to be launched in January 2026, at the same time as CES – Consumer Electronics Show, the largest electronics fair in the world, which takes place in Las Vegas (USA).
Companies such as ASUS, Lenovo, Microsoft, Dell and Samsung should be the first to launch models with this new platform, with them arriving in Brazil during the first half of the new year.
Technical specifications
|
Number |
8 Core |
16 Core |
16 Core 12X |
|
CPU |
8 nuclei |
16 nuclei |
16 nuclei |
|
4 nuclei |
12 nuclei |
GPU (Xe3) |
4 nuclei |
|
NPU |
NPU 5 with up to 50 TOPS | ||
|
IPU |
IPU 7.5 | ||
|
PCIe Slots, Thunderbolt Ports and Wi-Fi |
4 PCIe Ge5 + 4 PCIe Gen
Bluetooth 6.0 LE Audio
Up to 2x USB 3.2
Up to 8x USB 2.0 | ||
|
memory capacity |
Up to 96GB of LPDDR5 at speeds up to 9600 MT/s
Up to 128GB of DDR5 memory with speeds up to 7200 MT/s | ||
|
Availability |
January 2026 | ||
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With some info: Intel Newsrooms.
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