Meet Intel Panther Lake: The Core Ultra Series 3 Revolution – First on 18A Process

Intel Panther Lake, officially branded as Intel Core Ultra Series 3 mobile processors, launched at CES 2026 on January 5, 2026, marking a major milestone as the first high-volume client platform built on Intel's advanced 18A process node (≈1.8nm-class). This node introduces RibbonFET gate-all-around transistors and PowerVia backside power delivery, delivering significant efficiency, density, and performance improvements.

Panther Lake succeeds Lunar Lake (Core Ultra Series 2) with a tile-based, disaggregated architecture. Key highlights include:
- Hybrid CPU designs with up to 16 cores (e.g., 4 P-cores + 8 E-cores + 4 low-power E-cores in flagship models like Core Ultra X9 388H).
- Peak P-core turbo up to 5.1 GHz, strong multithreaded gains (up to ~60% better than Lunar Lake equivalents).
- Integrated graphics on Xe3 (Celestial) architecture, with top-tier Arc B390 featuring 12 Xe3 cores (up to 2.5 GHz, 122 GPU TOPS), claiming up to 76-77% faster gaming performance vs. prior gen and rivaling entry-level discrete GPUs like mobile RTX 4050 in select titles.
- Optimized NPU for efficient AI workloads (Copilot+ PC ready), Wi-Fi 7 R2, Thunderbolt 5 support.
- Exceptional battery life in thin-and-light designs (some claims up to 27+ hours in light use).

Availability kicked off with pre-orders on January 6, 2026, and global systems shipping from January 27 onward, across 200+ laptop models from ASUS (Zenbook DUO/S14, ROG Zephyrus), Lenovo, MSI, and others. Panther Lake proves Intel 18A's readiness, bolstering the company's client roadmap and positioning x86 strongly in the AI PC and gaming handheld era.