Intel Unveils Second-Gen Mobile Core Ultra Chips to Fend Off Qualcomm, AMD (Video)

Intel (INTC) on Tuesday released a new line of Intel Core Ultra 200V processors, trying to fend off the threat of Qualcomm (QCOM) losing market share in the laptop market.

Intel’s second-generation Core Ultra processors, the Ultra 200V series, promise significantly improved performance and power over last year’s Core Ultra line, as well as longer battery life than Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite laptop processors.

The new processors feature an updated design that ditches the previous low-power island architecture that was supposed to handle certain processes and save battery life. That didn’t quite work out the way Intel had hoped, though. The company says the new Core Ultra 200V line is up to the task.

In testing, Intel found that the Core Ultra 200V processor uses 50% less power than its predecessor and delivers 20% better performance per watt than Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chip.

Using the UL Procyon Office Productivity test, which simulates productivity tasks using Microsoft Office apps, Intel found that the battery lasted 20.1 hours, beating Qualcomm’s 18.4 hours. Qualcomm, however, achieved 12.7 hours of battery life while using Microsoft Teams, while Intel lasted 10.7 hours.

Battery life has been one of the biggest problems for Intel chips in laptops. Ever since Apple abandoned Intel and began designing its own chips for its MacBooks with incredible battery life, Intel has been on the defensive.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite chips, which are available in Windows laptops, are putting even more pressure on Intel to improve the power consumption of its processors or risk losing market share. The Core Ultra 200V is designed to address those concerns and more.

Intel says its chips offer better performance than both Qualcomm and AMD’s chips in overall performance using synthetic benchmarks. In other words, the chips have the potential to deliver the kind of power consumers want, along with long-lasting batteries. Although Intel will have to wait until consumers get their hands on laptops with the new chips before it can declare a real victory.

In addition to improving performance and battery life, the Intel Core Ultra 200V is also designed to offer AI PC capabilities thanks to its Neural Processing Unit (NPU), which offers up to 48 trillion operations per second (TOPS) of performance. TOPS is a general way to measure the performance of an AI workload.

Qualcomm’s chips offer 45 TOPS performance, while AMD’s (AMD) Ryzen 300 AI chips deliver 50 TOPS AI performance.

It’s important to note that while chipmakers are promoting Microsoft-branded AI computers or Copilot+ computers, apps that actually take advantage of a laptop’s built-in AI capabilities aren’t the norm yet. Many AI apps that consumers use run on cloud-based systems that bypass the laptop’s NPU.

Think of NPU and AI performance as a kind of future metric, not something you’ll use right away. If and when apps that take advantage of a laptop’s built-in AI become part of most people’s regular workloads, those NPUs will be invaluable.

When it comes to GPUs, Intel has touted its chips’ performance and ability to play some of the hottest PC games on the market. Qualcomm has struggled with gaming on its Snapdragon chips, a missed opportunity to attract gamers willing to pay top dollar for laptops with powerful processors.

Intel’s second-generation Core Ultra line comes as the company faces its biggest challenges in its 56-year history. Nvidia (NVDA) dominates the AI ​​data center industry with its powerful graphics processors, while rival chipmaker TSMC is outpacing the company in chip technology.

Intel is working to reverse that trend, however, by expanding its own manufacturing facilities around the world, creating the Intel Foundry business segment, and preparing a next-generation chip technology it calls Intel 18A. That technology, according to CEO Pat Gelsinger, will restore the company to its rightful place on the semiconductor throne.

By far, the foundry’s largest customer is still Intel, though it has also signed a deal to produce some of Microsoft’s (MSFT) custom chips.

During its latest earnings report, Intel reported lower-than-expected revenue and earnings per share and issued disappointing guidance for the current quarter. In addition, the company said it was laying off 15% of its workforce and suspending its dividend as it focuses on a broader restructuring plan.

Intel shares have fallen as much as 56% since the beginning of the year, falling to $20.56 a share at noon Tuesday. Shares of rival Nvidia are up 131% and AMD is up 2.3% since the beginning of the year. Qualcomm shares are up 19%.

Email Daniel Howley at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley.

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