Intel Lakefield is here, powering the future of computing

[Karlston]

Intel Lakefield is here, powering the future of computing

Intel Lakefield may be the future of portable computing

(Image credit: Intel)

 

At CES 2020 it seemed like every laptop manufacturer wanted to show off foldable devices, but wouldn't reveal what was powering them. However, Intel Lakefield processors have now been launched, and will be powering a whole slew of inventive computers.

 

Intel Lakefield will only be behind two announced laptops at first: the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold and the Intel version of the Samsung Galaxy Book S. The former doesn't have an official release date at the time of writing, but Samsung's Lakefield-powered device should be hitting the street this month. 

 

It's important to note that these aren't just another processor refresh – this is a completely new chip design. Intel has clearly taken some inspiration from ARM's big.LITTLE architecture: one 10nm Sunny Cove CPU core will be paired with four lower-power Tremont cores. The bigger Sunny Cove core will tackle heavy workloads that need a lot of power, while the Tremont cores will more efficiently tackle background tasks. 

 

What's even more impressive is the new Foveros 3D stacking technology, which will essentially stack the entire SoC and memory into one tiny package that measures just 12 x 12 x 1mm, which is basically the size of a dime. This will eliminate the need for RAM to be built into motherboards externally, and will lead to much smaller devices.

 

Coupled with the included Intel LTE solution built into the die, Intel Lakefield is going to be behind the most portable devices we've seen, and we can't wait to get our hands on it. 

Don't expect a powerhouse

The two processors announced as part of Intel Lakefield are the Intel Core i5-L16G7 and the Intel Core i3-L13G4. Both of these processors are 5-core chips with no Hyper Threading, and even the Core i5 has a max single-core speed of 3.0 GHz. 

 

Needless to say, hardcore productivity isn't the aim of these processors. In terms of raw performance, these CPUs are almost certainly going to be slower than Intel's Ice Lake processors, and are instead aimed at long battery life and portability. 

 

We obviously haven't had a chance to test any device with one of these processors quite yet, but we imagine that these chips will be ideal for folks who need an always-connected device that they can take with them wherever they go, and who only need something powerful enough to do light office work like checking email and loading up some spreadsheets. 

 

And, because of the smaller board size that will be enabled by these Intel Lakefield processors, this architecture will be the default for foldable devices, where there is less space available. 

 

For instance, when we reviewed the Samsung Galaxy S with the Qualcomm Kryo 495, that laptop weighed in at just 2.12 pounds (0.96kg) and was less than half an inch thick. The obvious benefit with the Intel Lakefield version will be that it will be able to run all Windows apps, as it will support all x64 and x32 programs. 

 

So before you go out and preorder a Lakefield-powered device because it is the future of mobile computing, you should seriously consider if it's right for you. If you're a traveling businessperson, it might just be for you. 

 

 

Intel Lakefield is here, powering the future of computing

 

[Karlston]

Intel’s 3D-stacked Lakefield chips are here to take on ARM in laptops, tablets, and foldables

Intel is ready to take on ARM and Qualcomm

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Intel’s 3D-stacked Lakefield processors are finally getting an official debut after months of previews, promising to bring a smaller, more versatile chipset option to hardware manufacturers for new ultraportable, foldable, and dual-screen devices in what might be Intel’s best answer yet to ARM.

 

The new “Intel Core processors with Intel Hybrid Technology” (an official name that almost guarantees that people will continue to refer to them as Lakefield chips) debuts two major technologies on its chipsets for the first time: hybrid cores and a more compact stacked Foveros 3D design.

 

The new chips are designed to power smaller, ultralight devices, the first three of which have already been announced: the Intel version of the Galaxy Book S (which previously had an ARM model powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx), the foldable Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold, and the dual-screen Surface Neo.

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

The hybrid core setup works by combining a more powerful Core-class Sunny Cove core (the same 10nm architecture the 10th Gen Ice Lake chips are based on) with four low-power Atom-class Tremont cores (for a total of five cores and five threads) on a single die. That arrangement allows for a balance of power, efficiency, and battery life that a purely Core or purely Atom setup could achieve.

 

If that sort of chipset arrangement sounds familiar, that’s because it’s strikingly similar to ARM’s Big.Little architecture, which is used by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon, Samsung’s Exynos, and Huawei’s Kirin chipsets for mobile phones, tablets, and even laptops. In other words, the new Lakefield chips represent Intel’s best efforts to face off against ARM chipsets for ultra-portable laptop and tablet form factors.

 

And that’s where the other big innovation on the Lakefield chips comes in: Intel’s 3D Foveros stacking technology, which allows for a far more compact package than traditional designs. The Lakefield chipsets are broken up into three layers. Two are logic dies, which contain the five CPU cores, Intel’s integrated UHD Graphics GPU, and the various I/O elements needed for a computer to work. The third bundles in DRAM, which helps further cut down on space. All told, Intel says that the new Lakefield chips take up to “56 percent smaller package area for up to 47 smaller board size” compared to an Intel Core i7-8500Y processor.

 

To start, Intel is debuting two 7W Lakefield chips: the Core i5-L16G7 and the Core i3-L13G4. And since they share an architecture with Intel’s latest 10th Gen Ice Lake chips, both of the new chipsets also benefit from common features, like Intel’s Gen11 integrated graphics and support for Wi-Fi 6. The Core i5-L16G7 is obviously clocked faster, with a 1.4GHz base frequency, 3.0GHz single-core turbo boost speed, and 1.8GHz all-core frequency. The Core i3-L13G4 has a base frequency of 0.8GHz, a 2.8GHz single-core turbo boost speed, and 1.3GHz all-core frequency.

 

 

Intel’s 3D-stacked Lakefield chips are here to take on ARM in laptops, tablets, and foldables