The first batch of third-party reviews for laptops powered by Intel's (INTC +3.33%) Panther Lake chips has arrived, and the consensus is that Intel has pulled a rabbit out of its hat. Panther Lake largely delivers on the company's promises, successfully pairing performance and efficiency while delivering unprecedented integrated graphics performance.
Two years ago, with Intel desperately behind TSMC in manufacturing, such a feat would have seemed impossible. But thanks in part to Intel's 18A manufacturing process, Panther Lake looks like a much-needed home run.
Image source: Intel.
The undisputed king of integrated graphics
One of the most notable features of the top-tier Panther Lake CPUs is the incredible graphics performance Intel promised when it unveiled the chips earlier this year. According to reviews, the company has delivered.
The Core Ultra x9 388H chip tested by PCWorld reviewers includes Intel's Arc B390 integrated graphics. In a synthetic graphics benchmark that doesn't benefit from AI frame generation or upscaling, Intel's new chip blew the competition out of the water. The Panther Lake laptop easily beats systems with Intel's last-gen chips as well as currently available laptops with AMD and Qualcomm chips. It's not even close.
In real-world gaming tests, the reviewer was able to ramp up the settings and play many games at acceptable frame rates without any of the aforementioned software features turned on. Once Intel's AI frame generation and upscaling tech are in the mix, Panther Lake really shines. The Panther Lake laptop amazingly holds its own against discrete graphics from Nvidia in cases where these features are supported.
With Panther Lake, Intel has transformed laptops with integrated graphics from passable to a viable alternative to pricier gaming laptops with discrete graphics chips.
A big win for battery life
The laptop PCWorld tested features a large battery, which is one reason it delivered astounding battery life. Reviewers measured a battery life of 22 hours in a test that looped a 4K video. In a real-world test that simulates office work, the battery lasted nearly 14 hours. This was "basically the best results we've ever seen," according to the reviewers.
Outside of the large battery, the Intel 18A process used for Panther Lake's compute tile also contributes to strong battery life. Besides the jump to a more advanced process delivering improved efficiency, Intel 18A is the first in the industry to include backside power delivery. This technology moves power circuitry to the backside of the chip, reducing interference and unlocking performance and/or efficiency gains.
The one caveat is that performance suffers a bit when running on battery for the laptop tested by PCWorld. However, the gap in performance was much smaller than that of Intel's last-generation chips.
A strong start to 2026, but supply could be a problem
Panther Lake is the win that Intel needed in the PC market, especially with both AMD and Qualcomm set to launch new chips soon. However, market share gains for Intel may be somewhat challenging to achieve for two reasons.
First, the Intel 18A process is still ramping, and yields have room to improve. It's not clear how quickly Intel can scale up production. "While yields are in line with our internal plans, they are still below what I want them to be," said Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan during the company's latest earnings call.
Second, Intel is actively shifting manufacturing capacity to server CPUs to take advantage of booming demand from the AI infrastructure build-out. The company doesn't yet have any server CPUs using the Intel 18A process, but that will change later this year with the launch of Clearwater Forest and Diamond Rapids. If Intel prioritizes those high-priced server CPUs, Panther Lake supply could be constrained.
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Key Data Points
AMD and Qualcomm, which use TSMC for manufacturing, are facing their own supply constraints as demand for advanced semiconductor manufacturing capacity outstrips supply, so Intel won't be alone. There's also the issue of memory chip prices, which are soaring thanks to AI demand. IDC expects the PC market to contract by as much as 8.9% in 2026 due to rising prices.
Panther Lake looks like a fantastic product from Intel. However, given the headwinds facing the PC industry and Intel's supply challenges, time will tell whether Panther Lake can drive market share gains this year.
