Back at CES 2026, Intel teased Panther Lake for handhelds, choosing to hand off the details to its partners rather than reveal what's to come. Dubbed "Core G3" according to leaks, these will be a dedicated series of chips powering next-gen gaming handhelds, meant to succeed Lunar Lake designs. Previously, the launch window for Core G3 was set for the end of Q1 2026, but new reports point to a delay until the second quarter.
Through leaks, rumors, and official confirmations, we know that handhelds featuring PTL silicon will be somewhat custom. The chips won't be 1:1 with off-the-shelf parts; instead, they'll be tweaked variants aimed at competing with AMD's Z2 series. Videocardz has reported that Intel will be using the "484" silicon for at least two SKUs, referred to as midrange offerings.
The first is the base model Core G3 featuring the Arc B360 iGPU with 10 Xe3 cores, then there's the upgraded "Core G3 Extreme" model housing the Arc B380 iGPU with the full-fat 12 Xe3 cores. Either chip will reportedly have 14 CPU cores (2P + 8E + 4LP) and similar base/boost clocks, with only a 100 MHz difference between the two. The power envelope is currently unknown.
Both of the aforementioned B360 and B380 iGPUs haven't been announced yet, so there's speculation that they'll debut alongside the Core G3 series when it launches in Q2 2026. Intel showcased several OEMs, including MSI, Acer, GPD, and OneXPlayer, at its press event at CES, so we should get a wide variety of devices soon. Right now, though, everything is basically subject to change given the volatility of the PC industry.
The main competition for these chips, AMD's Ryzen Z2 series, has been called "ancient silicon" by Intel. AMD's rebuttal pointed out PTL's jack-of-all-trades approach, compared to Team Red's more targeted, segmented mobile lineup, which features Strix Point (now Gorgon Point), Strix Halo, and Fire Range. The Blue Team holds an efficiency advantage but doesn't scale well with power, according to AMD.
So far, Intel's handhelds featuring Lunar Lake and Meteor Lake chips have fared decently well, so Panther Lake's significant graphical leaps should help foster some intense competition. To be clear, Intel has always said Panther Lake for handhelds was coming "later this year," rather than announcing a concrete release date, so this new report is just building on older ones.
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