Intel has officially introduced its Panther Lake processors — branded as the Intel Core Ultra Series 3 — set to power next-generation Windows laptops and handheld devices in 2026. This marks a major milestone for Intel, as the chip’s Compute tile is built on the company’s cutting-edge 18A process node, a key step in reclaiming semiconductor manufacturing leadership.
Intel Panther Lake (Core Ultra Series 3) Announced
The new Panther Lake lineup will be available in three configurations:
- 8 CPU cores + 4 Xe3 GPU cores
- 16 CPU cores + 4 Xe3 GPU cores
- 16 CPU cores + 12 Xe3 GPU cores
The CPU architecture includes a mix of Cougar Cove P-cores, Darkmont E-cores, and LP E-cores. The 8-core version features 4 P-cores and 4 LP E-cores, while the 16-core variant combines 4 P-cores, 8 E-cores, and 4 LP E-cores.
According to Intel, Panther Lake blends the efficiency of Lunar Lake with the high performance of Arrow Lake-H. It delivers up to 10% better single-threaded performance and over 50% faster multi-threaded performance at the same power levels compared to its predecessors.
The integrated Xe3 GPU offers a 50% performance boost over both Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake, while maintaining 10% lower power consumption, which should translate to improved battery life.
Interestingly, while the Compute tile uses Intel’s 18A process, the 12 Xe3 GPU tile and controller tiles are produced on TSMC’s 3nm (N3E) node, and the 4-core Xe3 GPU tile is made using Intel 3 technology.
For AI capabilities, Panther Lake includes the new NPU 5, capable of up to 50 TOPS (trillion operations per second) — a notable improvement over the NPU 4 found in Lunar Lake. Rounding things out, the platform supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 connectivity.
