Intel Launches its First “Meteor Lake” Core Ultra Mobile CPUs

Intel is launching today the first generation of Intel Core Ultra mobile CPUs, codenamed “Meteor Lake.” These are the first Intel CPUs to integrate a neural processing unit (NPU) for AI workloads, and the company also promises major power efficiency improvements for ultrathin systems thanks to its new Intel 4 process technology.

The first Core Ultra mobile CPUs Intel announced today include H-Series and U-Series chips, though some of them including the top-of-the-line Core Ultra 9 185H will launch in Q1 2024. The H Series chips include up to 16 cores (6 Performance cores, 8 Efficient cores, and 2 Low Power E-Cores) a new Intel Arc GPU with up to 8 Xe cores.

Intel’s U-Series Core Ultra CPUs, come with up to 12 cores (2 Performance cores, 8 Efficent cores, and 2 Low Power E-cores), but standard integrated Intel graphics with 4 Xe cores. With its H-Series chips, Intel promises up to 2x faster graphics performance than 13th Gen Intel Core i7 CPUs at 1080p, as well as Up to 70% faster generative AI performance with GPU and NPU offload.

Both H-Series and U-Series Core Ultra chips support future-proof technologies such as the upcoming Wi-Fi 7 standard and Bluetooth 5.4. The new CPUs also support AV1 encoding and decoding, HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 2.1, and support for four simultaneous 4K displays.

If AMD also started integrating dedicated NPUs in its latest Ryzen CPUs, Intel promises the best AI experience on a PC with over 100 AI software partners in 2024. As an example, the company says that customers can expect 38% lower power usage in Zoom video calls thanks to NPU offloading.

“The launch of Intel Core Ultra represents the unmatched scale and speed at which Intel is enabling AI on the PC,” said Michelle Johnston Holthaus, Intel executive vice president and general manager of Client Computing Group. “By 2028, AI PCs will comprise 80% of the PC market and together with our vast ecosystem of hardware and software partners, Intel is best positioned to deliver this next generation of computing.”

The first consumer PCs with Intel Core Ultra mobile CPUs are available starting today. You can expect to find the new chips in new devices from Acer, ASUS, Dell, Dynabook, Gigabyte, Google Chromebook, HP, Lenovo, LG, Samsung, and Microsoft soon.