Forget Snapdragon X or AMD Ryzen AI 300 CPUs for laptops – Intel’s big Lunar Lake reveal on September 3 promises ‘unparalleled AI computing power’
Intel will officially launch its Lunar Lake processors for laptops on September 3, just ahead of the IFA 2024 trade show in Berlin.
The Core Ultra 200V series of mobile CPUs, which will run alongside the Core Ultra 200 or Arrow Lake on desktop computers (and also on more expensive notebooks), is a long-awaited series that will really liven up thin and light laptops.
Intel informs us: “During the livestream event, [Intel execs] will reveal details about the new processors’ breakthrough x86 power efficiency, exceptional core performance, massive leaps in graphics performance, and the unparalleled AI computing power that will power this and future generations of Intel products.”
AI is one of the most important developments in this area, as you may know. Lunar Lake is a major step forward in this, with a much more powerful NPU than the current Meteor Lake laptop chips.
Analysis: TOPS trumps
Lunar Lake is a significant achievement for Intel, as it qualifies as the powerhouse of a Copilot+ PC with an NPU that surpasses 40 TOPs (a measure of AI processing speed). This puts Intel on par in that department with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X chips and also AMD’s Ryzen AI 300 series (which literally just launched).
Lunar Lake, however, won’t be announced and detailed until the September 3 livestream (note: a Q3 launch was previously promised by Intel). Laptops that actually go on sale with the chips inside will likely be a while yet – and mass production of notebooks likely won’t start until early 2025. (That said, the same goes for the recently launched Ryzen AI 300 chips, which will still be a while yet – but should happen in late 2024.)
So Intel will be last to the Copilot+ PC party, but Team Blue is certainly making a big play for the impact Lunar Lake is going to make. Intel has previously claimed that Core Ultra 200V processors will not only have a powerful NPU, but also a beefy GPU that will contribute 60 TOPS, so the chip will be capable of well over 100 TOPS total, which should really shift things up for AI workloads.
A high TOPS rating means that heavy AI workloads will complete faster. This is crucial for some of the more in-depth features in Windows 11, particularly the controversial (and temporarily suspended) Recall capability, to ensure they run responsively and don’t slow down your computing experience.
