INTEL CORE ULTRA SERIES 3 UNPACKED: CAN PANTHER LAKE ON INTEL 18A SECURE INTEL'S FUTURE?

This is what you need to know about Intel's next-gen processors that will compete with the best client computing CPUs from the edge to high-performance AI systems in 2026.

- BY VIJAY ANAND

Intel's upcoming rejuvenation of their next-gen processor platform, Panther Lake, is no ordinary update.

It is a pivotal one that packs the industry’s most advanced technologies, culminating in a masterpiece that’s supposed to catapult Intel back to leadership position as it caps off their aggressive plan to deliver five process nodes in four years. Combining the very best of both Lunar Lake’s power efficiency, as well as performance scaling from Arrow Lake, Panther Lake is meant to deliver a wider spectrum of processor models with up to 50% more CPU and integrated GPU performance over both its predecessors through numerous advancements in CPU design, silicon process node design, transistor engineering, advancing the NPU and GPU processing blocks and whole slew of optimizations throughout the processor.

So, yes, the stakes are high for Panther Lake's success to be their pièce de résistance as Intel rides out 2026 and charts its future momentum. We managed to get a detailed look at the Panther Lake at Intel's Tech Tour US 2025 that concluded late last month, and here's what you need to know about the new processing platform.