Intel has revealed details about its upcoming Panther Lake laptop processor and Clearwater Forest server CPU, the first chips built using its 18A semiconductor tech. The 18A process, manufactured in Arizona's Fab 52, features a new transistor design and efficient power delivery. Panther Lake, part of the Intel Core Ultra series 3, targets high-end, AI-enabled laptops and is slated to begin shipping later this year with broad availability in January 2026. It integrates graphics and central processors, delivering a claimed 50% performance increase over the previous generation.
Clearwater Forest, branded as Intel Xeon 6+, is designed for data centres, cloud providers and telcos. It incorporates up to 288 E-cores, offering a 17% improvement in Instructions Per Cycle (IPC). Compared to Intel 3, 18A provides up to 15% better performance per watt and 30% greater chip density. Intel is banking on 18A to regain its manufacturing edge and build a competitive foundry business.
Panther Lake is expected to be adopted in AI PCs, gaming devices, and edge applications. It will have up to 16 new P-cores and E-cores with 50% faster CPU performance. A new Art GPU will have up to 12 Xe cores for more than 50% faster graphics performance and a balanced XPU design for AI acceleration with up to 180 platform TOPS.
