Intel used CES 2026 to introduce its Panther Lake family of laptop processors, built on the Intel 18A manufacturing process and aimed at delivering major improvements in both performance and battery life compared to the company’s previous generation. More than 200 PC models powered by the new chips are on the way, with devices expected to ship later this month. Panther Lake is designed to counter Advanced Micro Devices in mainstream laptops, but Intel is also positioning the chips as a way to break into the handheld gaming PC market that Advanced Micro Devices currently dominates.
Some Panther Lake models integrate Intel’s latest Arc graphics, and the top-tier configuration includes 12 graphics cores that deliver up to 77% better gaming performance compared to Lunar Lake, Intel’s last-generation chip. In one Engadget test, a reviewer noted that he was able to play Battlefield 6 on a Panther Lake ultraportable at a 1080p resolution at 190 frames per second, aided by Intel’s updated upscaling and frame generation technology. Intel claims that the top-tier Panther Lake chip trounces Advanced Micro Devices’ HX 370 by more than 80% in gaming, and that it can go toe-to-toe with Nvidia’s discrete RTX 4050 mobile graphics chip, although independent benchmarks will be needed to validate these performance assertions.
Power efficiency is a central selling point, as Intel is claiming up to 27 hours of battery life in laptops, helped by the Intel 18A process and its backside power delivery feature that moves power circuitry to the back of the chip to boost efficiency. That efficiency is critical for handheld gaming PCs, a segment that has grown into a multi-billion-dollar market with devices such as Valve’s Steam Deck and models from Asus and Lenovo. At the start of 2025, IDC pegged the cumulative number of handheld PC units shipped at 6 million, with an expected 2 million additional sales in 2025, largely powered by Advanced Micro Devices chips. Intel is reportedly planning Panther Lake variants tuned specifically for handhelds, giving it a realistic opportunity to challenge Advanced Micro Devices’ dominance and open a new revenue stream, although how Panther Lake performs when power usage is scaled down and whether it meets the bar for future devices such as a new Steam Deck may not be clear until around 2027.