Summary
- Intel has unveiled the Core Ultra series processors, which are all-new and feature significant architectural changes, including a tile-based design and new low-power E-cores for improved battery life.
- The Intel Core Ultra processors come with integrated Intel Arc graphics with up to eight Xe-cores, AI-based XeSS, and DirectX Ultimate support, promising up to twice the graphics performance of previous generation integrated GPUs.
- The processors also feature an NPU called Intel AI Boost, which provides three different engines for AI workloads and offers up to 2.5 times better power efficiency than the previous generation. The H-series processors are more suited for gaming, while the U-series has lower performance. The Intel Evo certification program ensures a great experience for laptops, including performance, battery life, and connectivity.
Intel has formally unveiled its Core Ultra series processors, the next generation of its laptop processors to follow up the 13th-generation lineup that was available throughout 2023. The first Intel Core Ultra processors are based on the Meteor Lake architecture, which Intel introduced a few months ago, and there are a ton of improvements in tow.
In an unusual move for Intel, not only are these processors being announced earlier compared to previous generations, but they're also available in products starting today, so you can get them right now. You can expect to find these in the best laptops of 2024.
What's new in Intel Core Ultra?
Almost everything has changed
The Intel Core Ultra processors are a big shake-up for Intel's lineup, and they're basically all-new, with Intel calling the "largest architectural shift in 40 years". That's no joke, and it starts with an all-new packaging using the company's Foveros 3D technology, essentially allowing for a design that's tile-based rather than completely integrated.
On the CPU side, the Intel Core Ultra series comes with a new P-core architecture with a higher IPC (instructions per cycle) count, but the efficient cores (E-cores) that have the bigger news. In addition to the E cores we've seen in the past couple of generations, Intel is introducing new low-power E-cores, which are meant to handle the lowest priority tasks and help improve battery life. Intel promises up to 11% faster performance compared to the competition in ultrathin PCs, including the Apple M3. inside the latest Macs.
There's even bigger news on the GPU side, though, with Intel Core Ultra processors now featuring integrated Intel Arc graphics with up to eight Xe-cores, AI-based XeSS (Xe Super Sampling), and DirectX Ultimate support. Intel promises up to twice the graphics performance of previous generation integrated GPUs, and it even supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing, mesh shading, AV1 encoding, and more.
Finally, the big focus is AI, with the processor featuring an NPU called Intel AI Boost. This dedicated AI processor can work alongside the CPU and GPU, which also handle AI tasks, providing three different engines for AI workloads depending on the situation. Intel AI Boost is specifically made for longer-running workloads and it uses less power, enabling up to 2.5 times better power efficiency than the previous generation. We're truly in the age of AI devices, and Intel is going all-in on it.
In terms of features, there's nothing too surprising here. The processors come with up to 16 cores and 22 threads in total, and an upgraded Intel Thread Director to improve how tasks are handled across cores. You can get up to 96GB of DDR5 or 64GB of LPDDR5x RAM with these processors, and they also come with Wi-Fi 6E built-in, with support for discrete Wi-Fi 7 modules also available.
The Intel Core Ultra lineup
Only U- and H-series exist
The Intel Core Ultra lineup is somewhat streamlined compared to previous Intel generations, and it only comes in H-series or U-Series flavors. The P-series that first appeared in 2022 is seemingly no more, and it's seemingly replaced by the H series. Here's the full list of H-series processors:
And for the U series, we have:
You may notice here that the U series appears to be lacking Intel Arc graphics and only have four Xe cores, while the H series goes up to eight. You can expect a big knock in performance from that alone, so the H series is clearly more suited for gaming.
Intel Evo edition
Ensuring a great experience for laptops
Along with the Intel Core Ultra processors, we're also getting updates to the Intel Evo certification program, which is meant to ensure that laptops provide a great experience across the board, including performance, battery life, and connectivity. This year, the Intel Evo program is getting some updates.
Laptops with Evo certification will have a new badge that says "Intel Evo edition", but of course, what matters is what that certification actually means. Intel Evo laptops have to meet certain criteria, including 10+ hours of battery life in real-world scenarios (for Full HD displays), they have to run quietly and cool, instant on and authentication in under 1.5 seconds, and they have to get four hours of use with a 30-minute charge (again, for Full HD panels).
Other key parts of the experience are also targeted by the certification. That includes Wi-Fi 6E support with 160MHz channel support and EPEAT Silver certification, ensuring the laptops are designed and built responsibly and sustainably. The webcams also need to meet a certain level of quality, with a minimum score of 32 (out of 100) on the VCX metric, which measures how accurately cameras can represent real life in different lighting conditions. Previously, the requirements were only to have Full HD resolution and 30 frames per second, but this changes the criteria to be based on the actual results in different kinds of tests. For reference, a smartphone like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra has a VCX score of 70 for the main camera.
Intel Core Ultra is available today
Intel is wasting no time in launching Intel Core Ultra laptops, and a few partners are already kicking things off today. Acer, Asus, MSI, and Lenovo are all announcing new laptops with Intel's latest processors, specifically featuring H-series Core Ultra processors. You can expect a lot more devices to be announced in the coming months, especially with CES coming up in January.