Intel unveils Lunar Lake mobile processors with enhanced efficiency and better AI features

At its recent Intel Tech Tour in Taipei, held ahead of Computex, Intel showcased its latest mobile processors, codenamed Lunar Lake. These new chips aim to boost efficiency and enhance on-device AI capabilities.

Intel addressed the growing competition from Arm chips, acknowledging the advancements of Qualcomm's Snapdragon X series and the strong performance of Arm processors in Apple's MacBooks.

Processor details
Lunar Lake will feature a combination of four 'Lion Cove' P-cores and four 'Skymont' E-cores, notably without Hyperthreading. Intel explained that Hyperthreading, originally designed for single-core CPUs, is less necessary with the advent of E-cores introduced in the 12th-gen 'Alder Lake' processors. Additionally, Hyperthreading consumes more power, making it less ideal for laptop processors where efficiency is key.

Lunar Lake prioritizes Skymont E-cores, which can outperform P-cores at specific frequencies. The Thread Director technology will manage task allocation between E-cores and P-cores, optimizing performance and power efficiency.

Enhanced integrated graphics
The new Xe2 integrated graphics in Lunar Lake promise a 50 per cent performance boost over the previous Meteor Lake's Arc graphics. Integrated graphics are increasingly important as dedicated graphics become less common in devices like the MacBook Pro.

AI features
Lunar Lake includes an on-board NPU supporting up to 48 TOPS, aligning with Microsoft's AI PC initiative, Copilot+. However, Copilot+ isn't yet ready for x86 processors. Another notable feature is on-board memory, similar to Apple Silicon. While this may limit upgradeable memory in ultrabooks, it is expected to improve overall performance.

Launch timeline
Lunar Lake processors will start shipping in Q3 and Q4 with a limited launch. Intel also showcased a Lunar Lake Dev Kit, positioned to compete with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite dev box.