Intel launches Core Ultra 300 Series: 2nm PC AI chips, significantly increased performance, and up to 27 hours of battery life.

At CES 2026, Intel officially unveiled its Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors, codenamed Panther Lake. This is Intel's first AI PC platform manufactured on the Intel 18A process, equivalent to 2nm, marking a significant step in the company's strategy of high-performance chips combined with artificial intelligence.

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According to Intel, the new processors will appear in laptops from many major manufacturers globally, spanning from high-end to mainstream segments. The company says that more than 200 laptop designs are currently under development around this platform. The new mobile CPU line includes Intel Core Ultra X9 and X7 models, coupled with high-performance Intel Arc graphics, targeting demanding users such as gamers, content creators, and those who need to handle heavy workloads on the go.

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In its highest-end configurations, the Core Ultra Series 3 chip can boast up to 16 CPU cores, 12 Xe-core graphics cores, and AI processing capabilities of up to 50 TOPS via the NPU. Intel claims that multi-threaded performance of the new generation can increase by up to 60%, gaming speeds are up to 77% faster, and battery life can reach 27 hours under suitable usage conditions.

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Alongside high-end models, Intel also introduced Core Ultra processors based on the same Panther Lake architecture but tuned to suit more affordable, mainstream laptops. This shows Intel's intention to expand AI PCs to more segments, rather than limiting them to just the high-end market.

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Beyond focusing on individual users, Intel also announced certified edge processors aimed at embedded and industrial environments. These chips are designed to operate stably across a wide temperature range, ensuring deterministic performance and meeting the demanding requirements of industrial systems. Intel highlighted its competitive advantage in critical AI tasks, with up to 1.9 times higher performance in large-scale language model processing, 2.3 times better video analysis efficiency, and 4.5 times higher throughput for combined vision-language-action models.

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Regarding availability, Intel stated that laptops using Core Ultra Series 3 processors will begin pre-orders on January 6, 2026, before going on sale globally on January 27. Other additional designs will continue to be released in the first half of 2026. Edge systems using Series 3 are expected to appear later, in the second quarter of 2026.