Intel Launches 11th Gen CPU, New Evo Logo for Premium Laptops

OEMs are readying the channel for laptops based on the new Intel 11th Gen CPU integrated with Iris Xe graphics. Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung and other PC makers plan to ship laptops based on Intel’s new mobile processor.

Intel formally launched its next-gen mobile CPU this week, along with the Evo platform, a new brand for premium laptops. The first Evo logoed laptops are those based on the new Intel 11^th Gen mobile CPU (code-named Tiger Lake). Intel’s new 11^th Gen mobile processor also includes a new CPU architecture, codenamed Willow Cove. Intel claims it offers 20% better performance for office tasks and graphics rendering that is twice as fast.

Only the highest-end laptops rolling out this fall will carry the Evo logo. Evo is the brand for devices certified by Intel that meet the second version of its Project Athena design framework. Laptops that can carry the Evo logo must be certified by Intel, that they meet design and engineering criteria. Laptops based on the Evo platform meet Intel’s advanced connectivity, battery life, built-in intelligence and performance metrics. The laptops, which include Windows PCs and Chromebooks, must also meet specific form factor, feature and UI requirements.

Intel started priming its huge ecosystem for the new platform during January’s Consumer Electronics (CES) show. Building on last year’s long delayed 10nm processors, Intel’s 11^th Gen CPUs are based on its new 10nm SuperFin technology. Described as “the largest single, intranode enhancement in the company’s history,” Intel said SuperFin will deliver a performance improvement comparable to a full-node transition. A full node infers the transition from 14nm to 10nm or Intel’s pending 7nm designs.

Thinnest and Lightest Laptops

Besides offering higher performance, Intel claims the new crop of laptops will be the thinnest and lightest to date. During an online launch event this week, the company released its first 9 Evo SKUs ranging from i3s to i7s.

Intel’s Gregory Bryant

“It’s the best processor on the market,” said Gregory Bryant, EVP and GM of Intel’s client computing group. “The 11th Gen Intel Core processor brings together a new CPU that delivers industry leading performance.”

Bryant emphasized the new Evo CPUs scales to frequencies up to 4.8 Ghz. The new CPUs also have a new integrated system on a chip (SoC) GPU designed with Intel’s Xe graphics architecture. The new CPUs will offer improved AI performance and enhanced Thunderbolt 4 and Wi-Fi 6 integration, he added.

In the coming months leading into the peak fourth quarter selling season, OEMs partners will launch 50 new designs. Among them, 20 are set to carry the Evo logo. Overall, 150 based on Intel’s 11^th Gen CPU platform are in the pipeline, the company said.

Bryant called out two of the new laptops during the launch presentations. One was Samsung’s Galaxy Book Flex 5G, a 2-in-1 laptop with a 13.3-inch display. Among several new laptops with the Intel 11th Gen CPU from Asus, Bryant pointed to its ExpertBook B9 (B9400).

“With super slim bezels, you get a 14-inch display, and it’s feather light, only 870 grams (1.9 lbs), making this one of the world’s lightest business notebooks.

While Intel is by far the predominant supplier of CPUs for PCs, it has lost ground to longtime rival AMD. Specifically, an increasing number of PCs of choice now offer the Ryzen processor line. Intel has signaled it will push back. Apple this summer also announced it is shifting from Intel CPUs to power its Macs to its own processors.

Among the 50 new laptops with 11^th Gen CPUs in the pipeline: