Intel's 13th Gen chips bring 24-core processors to laptops

Intel has announced a massive list of new chips for all sorts of tablets, laptops, and other mobile computers. The 13th Gen Intel Core mobile processor family marks the first CPU generation to feature up to 24 cores in a single chip, something Intel calls the "world's fastest mobile processor." The new lineup consists of Core H, P, and U models, plus there are several fresh Intel Processor N chips for entry-level devices.

Intel's 13th Gen Core H series aims at workstations and gaming laptops with frequencies up to 5.6GHz and up to 24 cores (8 performance and 16 efficiency cores). According to Intel, the 13th generation offers about an 11% uplift in single-thread performance and up to 49% in multi-core tasks. Like its predecessor, the Intel Core 13th Gen supports up to 128GB of DDR5-5600 or DDR4-3200 memory. There is also Bluetooth 5.2, Thunderbolt 4, and Wi-Fi 6E support.

The Core U series trades raw horsepower for better battery life and energy efficiency, enabling long-standing, thin, and sleek laptops and tablets. Still, the 13th Gen U chips have up to 14 cores (6 performance and 8 efficiency cores), improved Intel Xe graphics, DDR5 and DDR4 memory support, up to four Thunderbolt 4 ports, and Wi-Fi 6E support.

Another notable change is the Intel Movidius vision processing unit (VPU) co-engineered with Microsoft to enable the new Windows Studio Effects, a feature previously exclusive to Surface devices. If you want an ultrabook with a 13th Gen Intel processor, expect to have a hard time picking among more than 300 unique models from Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, MSI, and others.

As for those who cannot afford a computer with more expensive Intel Core H or U chips, Intel has a bunch of new CPUs under the N series, which replaced the Intel Pentium and Celeron brands. The N series focuses on the education segment, entry-level computing, and IoT. It features models with four or eight efficient cores built upon the new Gracemont architecture and the Intel 7 process technology.

The company claims new chips deliver 28% "application" and 64% graphics improvements compared to the previous generation. Besides, the series now features the Intel Core i3 N series with an extra 42% application performance and 56% graphics boosts.

According to Intel, its entry-level processors can deliver up to 10 hours of HD video playback on a single charge. The processors also support AV1 decode, 4K HDR display output, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, and LPDDR5, DDR5, and DDR4 memory coupled with UFS, SSD, or eMMC storage. Customers can expect up to 50 different designs from mainstream manufacturers in 2023.