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Something to look forward to: Intel has introduced two Core Ultra 200 CPU lineups across desktops and mainstream laptops this year. That leaves the high-end laptop processors for mobile gaming and content creation devices, about which the company has said little. At the very least, we now know that they won't launch in 2024.
Toward the end of its presentation introducing the Arrow Lake S Core Ultra 200K and KF desktop processors this week, Intel confirmed plans to reveal the H and HX chips for high-end laptops in the first quarter of 2025. Details on the upcoming processors are scarce, but specs for the HX CPUs leaked recently.
The final slide in Intel's Arrow Lake S brief describes Core Ultra 200H and HX as the company's first mobile AI PC for gamers and creators. They aim to offer high-end laptop performance with improved power management, echoing the efficiency gains Intel has touted with Core Ultra 200.
A report from last month indicated that six HX chips align closely with their desktop counterparts' core counts with slightly lower clock speeds. Regarding integrated graphics, most will feature 64 Xe2 Battlemage EU cores at clock speeds ranging between 1.8GHz and 2GHz.
Less is known about the Core Ultra 200H processors, but they might resemble the 14th-generation Raptor Lake 14000H CPUs. Arrow Lake Halo remains another uncertainty on Intel's roadmap. Supposedly positioned against AMD's ultra high-end mobile SoC, Strix Point Halo, Intel's rumored enhanced iGPU features 320 EU cores with a 14-core processor.
With the newly unveiled Core Ultra 200K and KF CPUs, Intel is comprehensively revising its architecture. The new lineup removes hyperthreading, adds an NPU for on-board generative AI, transitions to the company's first multi-tile desktop layout, and is Intel's first desktop chip series manufactured mainly by TSMC. Although the desktop Arrow Lake products might not break performance records, they're more power-efficient and carry reasonable price tags.
Intel's next generation of laptop processors – codenamed Panther Lake (Core Ultra 300) – is expected to follow in the second half of 2025. Early leaks describe five H-class chips with core counts ranging from eight to 18. The lineup marks the debut of the company's Xe3 Celestial graphics architecture and 18A (1.8nm) semiconductor node. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger promised that Panther Lake will also significantly boost AI performance.