We've been hearing rumors for ages, but it's finally official. At CES 2026 in Las Vegas, Intel dropped the curtain on their newest processor lineup: the Intel Core Ultra Series 3 (formerly codenamed Panther Lake).
If you remember my previous article about Intel's reveal of Panther Lake back in September, the applications for this chip are huge. It's phsical shape is the same for a variety of levels of compute power. Meaning the companies that make devices only have to factor in for one size, and then can choose which chip ultimately fits what the customer needs.
The Intel Core Ultra Series 3 is the Goldilocks processor when it comes to the balance of power and efficency.
For us, it means next time you go laptop shopping, you will have better prices for the power and features you need (you won't have to be upsold just because you wanted a certain processor, but didn't need the extras that come with a more expensive laptop).
Here is the lowdown on why this matters for your next laptop upgrade.
What is the "Core Ultra Series 3"?
Generally when it comes to computers we think more about what they can do rather than HOW they can do it. But the HOW is super important for everything from perofrmance, to battery life, to how long this is going to last. Think of the processor as the brain of your computer. But instead of just one brain, it's actually a hivemind of different brains working together to make your laptop run smoother and last longer.
Intel uses a "hybrid" architecture, meaning they mix different types of "cores" (processing units) on a single chip:
- Performance Cores (P-Cores): The heavy lifters. They handle the intense stuff like gaming or editing 4K video.
- Efficient Cores (E-Cores): The multitaskers. They handle background tasks so the heavy lifters don't get bogged down.
- Low Power Efficient Cores (LP E-Cores): The energy savers. These handle the tiny tasks (like playing a video or browsing the web) using barely any power, which is huge for battery life.
Gaming on a Thin Laptop? Yes, Please.
One of the coolest upgrades in this new chip is the graphics. It comes with a built-in Intel Arc GPU.
Usually, if you want to play modern video games, you need a thick, heavy laptop with a separate graphics card. But Intel says this new built-in graphics engine is powerful enough to play games on ultra-thin laptops.
It uses some clever AI tech called XeSS (Super Sampling) to make games look sharper and run smoother without overheating your computer.
The "Intel Evo" Badge: What It Actually Means
When you're shopping for a laptop, no matter who makes it, you're gonna encounter jargon and marketing hype. But in the case of Intel, when you see an Intel Evo Edition sticker on the laptop you're considering buying, that's actually super important.
It's not just marketing fluff. It's actually a seal of approval that means the laptop has passed a rigorous "bootcamp." Intel makes laptop manufacturers (like Dell, HP, Lenovo) pass a 6-month testing process involving hundreds of tests to earn that sticker.
If you buy a laptop with the Intel Evo Edition badge, here is what you are guaranteed to get:
• Instant Wake: The laptop must wake up from sleep in less than 1.5 seconds. No more waiting around.
• Real-World Battery: You are guaranteed at least 13.5 hours of battery life on laptops with standard HD screens.
• Super Fast Charging: If you do run low, a 30-minute charge will give you at least 6 hours of battery life.
• Smart Security: The laptop knows when you leave. It supports "Walk-Away-Lock," which locks your computer automatically when you step away and wakes it up when you return.
• Cool and Quiet: The laptop has been tested to ensure it doesn't sound like a jet engine taking off when you're working.
AI Everywhere (Of Course)
It wouldn't be a 2026 tech launch without AI. These chips have a dedicated "brain" for AI called an NPU (Neural Processing Unit).
The new "NPU 5" architecture is designed to handle AI tasks efficiently. It is capable of 50 TOPS (Trillion Operations Per Second), which is just a nerdy way of saying it's really, really fast at thinking.
This means your laptop is ready for Copilot+ features and can run over 450 different AI-powered apps and features right on the device, without needing to send data to the cloud.
And I really need to stress that for people who think they don't use AI, chances are you likely do, you may just not realize it. So having a dedicated part of the processor to handle AI tasks is actually super important. There's a shift happening for performance and security reasons where more AI processing is happening on your computer, rather than in the cloud.
This means for things like playing video games with buttery smooth graphics, or even down the road maybe running speciazlied apps for whatever your field of expertise is, you're going to need a capable NPU, and the Core Ultra Series 3 has this.
Faster Connections
Finally, laptops with the new chip are built for speed when connecting to other things:
• Wi-Fi 7: This is the new standard for wireless internet. It's up to 4.8x faster than the old Wi-Fi 6, with way less lag.
• Thunderbolt 5: If you transfer huge files (like video editors or photographers do), you'll love this. It moves data twice as fast as the previous version.
• Thunderbolt Share: This is a neat trick where you can easily share screens, keyboards, and mice between two different PCs just by plugging them into each other.
The Bottom Line *Are Intel Core Ultra 3 series PCs worth it?
If you've been holding off on buying a new laptop because you weren't sure if you should prioritize battery life or speed, the Intel Core Ultra Series 3 looks like the answer.
And if you want to be safe, just look for that Intel Evo Edition sticker. It's basically Intel's promise that the laptop isn't just a pretty paperweight—it's a verified workhorse that will last all day.
In the year ahead, you'll be finding more and more devices with this sticker on it. If you want a short bit of guidance, my personal opinion is that the Zenbook Duo from Asus is going to be one of the coolest laptops you can get that's powered by this new chip (it has two screens - how futuristic is that), but Asus has many more practical (or over the top gaming devices) that are coming this year and will be powered by the new chip. You can read more about that here.
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