Marshaling star power from local tech industry luminaries, international online content creators, and even Olympic medalists, Intel itemized its plans to deliver PC users a significant boost in real-world computer workload performance, beyond standard performance measures of core count and frequency, while touting its latest developments in products and technology.
“No one wants to compromise; people want it all: battery life, performance, responsiveness, connectivity and slick form factors. Our job is to come together as an industry and deliver incredible and differentiated PCs, purpose-built to what real people want. 10th-generation Intel Core processors — our most integrated CPU — and Project Athena are great examples of how our deep investments at a platform level will help fuel innovation across the industry,” said Gregory Bryant, Intel senior vice president and general manager of the Client Computing Group.
After beginning his keynote address with a brief history of Intel’s first microprocessor, the industry-changing 4004, released in 1971, Bryant demonstrated how Intel and its industry partners are transforming intelligent computing for what he described as “our data-centric world,” and the PC’s role in enabling human fulfillment and problem-solving.
Ice Lake CPUs are based on Intel’s Sunny Cove core architecture and are built using a 10nm fabrication process.
For professionals and enterprises, Bryant offered 14 new 9th-generation Core mobile and desktop processors, including a new Core i9 model for vPro, touting its enhanced security for corporate users. Acer and Asus, along with Dell, Lenovo and HP, have pledged to build systems built on the new chips.
Highlighting the security features, Bryant invited onstage Stephen Huang, an associate vice president at embedded computer manufacturer Advantech. Huang said the technology allows employees to share and collaborate seamlessly, while lowering total cost of ownership.
Bryant specified that there are 14 new Xeon E processors for entry desktop and mobile workstations, boasting up to 8 cores and 16 threads, 5GHz single-core turbo boost, 128GB DDR4-2666 ECC memory support.
Bryant said that Intel’s 10th-generation Intel Core processors give manufacturing partners the freedom to innovate on design and aesthetics by reducing the silicon footprint, while still delivering the latest standards and world-class performance. The 10th-generation Intel Core processors are now shipping, with OEM systems expected to be available for this year’s holiday season.
Describing its AI technology, Intel Deep Learning Boost, the company claims 2.5x performance against an equivalent 8th-generation Core U-series processor. The Iris Plus iGPU has 1 Teraflop of bandwidth for inference workloads, as well as graphics processing for gaming and entertainment. Ice Lake also has integrated Wi-Fi 6 and Thunderbolt 3 for faster connectivity with external devices and networks.
Bryant also spoke about Intel’s long history with Taiwanese firms, bringing Acer CEO and chairman Jason Chen on stage to talk about how the company uncovered an underserved user group: artists and creators who buy powerful gaming PC systems, but who do not play video games. Chen said these users needed the power of gaming hardware, so Acer developed its Intel-powered Concept D platforms, powerful workstations with top-notch specs and power for artists and creators.
To demonstrate the power of the quiet Concept D systems, Bryant reintroduced live-looping musician and YouTuber Kawehi, who also performed an intro for the keynote. Bryant then asked Taiwanese singer and actor Jam Hsiao to record a vocal into Kawehi’s Concept D all-in-one PC, which she described as her main instrument.
Dell Client Solutions Group President Sam Burd discussed Alienware’s updated m15 and m17 gaming laptops before introducing Twitch streamer Dr. Lupo, who helped demonstrate the power of Intel’s new Core i9-9900KS processor in a desktop system aimed at streaming gamers. To ease content production, a virtual studio simulation called Holoset can embed multiple video streams in a simulated environment within one piece of software.
The processor powers what Bryant called the “world’s fastest gaming computer.”
Intel Performance Maximizer is a new software tool for simplified overclocking, and will be available as a free download later this summer.
Looking ahead, Bryant revealed the Project Athena 1.0 specification, a design program for next-generation, always-connected laptops that aim to be smart and adaptable. Previously, Intel revealed plans for Project Athena Open Labs in Taipei, Shanghai, and Folsom, California, to support performance and low-power optimization of vendor components for laptops built to Project Athena design specifications and target experiences in 2020.
With more than 100 companies pledging to build systems within the Athena campaign, Bryant brought onstage Lenovo Senior Vice President of Consumer Development Johnson Jia to debut the Athena vanguard Yoga S940, touting long battery life, high performance, and AI-driven Smart Assist features for better user outcomes.
To help clarify how the Ice Lake-powered, Athena-inspired laptop can help highly mobile content creators, Intel enlisted US Olympic ice dancers Maia and Alex Shibutani, who shared their reviews. One feature demonstrated body-tracking for weight training without the use of special cameras or motion-capture suits.
SuperRes offers AI-powered photo and video editing, while smart features in video conferencing apps are among the goals on the horizon for Intel. Touting the firm’s history with Taiwanese production houses, and its commitment to making AI ubiquitous for enterprise and everyday consumers, Bryant urged stakeholders from designers to users to come together.