Intel has officially launched its Core Ultra Series 3 (Panther Lake) processors at CES 2026.

Craig McCamley
2026-01-28T08:31:29+00:00

hese chips, built on the new Intel 18A process, are appearing first in high-end ultraportables and creator-focused laptops.

Most major manufacturers began taking pre-orders on January 6, 2026, with global shipping starting on January 27, 2026.

Confirmed Laptop Models

Here are the specific laptop lines confirmed to feature Panther Lake:

What Makes These Laptops Different?

Integrated Gaming: The new Arc B390 graphics (Xe3 architecture) are a major leap. In early benchmarks, they have shown the ability to run titles like Cyberpunk 2077 at 1080p High settings with over 80 FPS using XeSS.

Battery Life: Intel claims these chips can offer up to 27 hours of battery life, though real-world results will vary by manufacturer and battery size.

AI Performance: The NPU 5 architecture delivers up to 50 TOPS, meeting the "Copilot+ PC" requirements for advanced on-device AI tasks.

The "X" Series: You'll notice new branding like the Core Ultra X9 388H. The "X" signifies the high-end tier equipped with the full 12-core Xe3 graphics tile.

Pricing Note

Be prepared for a price hike. Early reports from manufacturers like Samsung suggest that Panther Lake laptops may carry a 20% price premium over last year's Lunar Lake models due to the advanced 1.8nm manufacturing process.