Intel bets on fundamentals as rivals push AI in laptop market

Intel took a different path with its newest processors, focusing on basic computer performance instead of the artificial intelligence features that companies have been pushing for more than a year.

The chip maker showed off its Core Ultra Series 3 processors at CES 2026 in Las Vegas last week. Rather than talking up AI, Intel emphasized how fast the chips run and how long batteries last. This breaks from what most tech companies have been doing lately, which is using AI as the main selling point for new laptops.

Battery performance beats Apple’s offerings

These chips matter for Intel because they’re the first built with the company’s 18A technology that took years to develop. Laptops with these processors should run for up to 27 hours on one charge. That’s a big jump from older Intel chips and better than what Apple offers right now. The MacBook Air gets 18 hours, and the MacBook Pro manages up to 24 hours.

Microsoft’s Pavan Davuluri, president of Windows and devices, talked to Yahoo Finance at the show. “I think the fundamental thing is these are going to be faster, more responsive PCs with better value,” he said.

Intel did bring up AI when talking about the new chips, but the company clearly decided to focus on things regular shoppers actually care about when buying a laptop.

Forrester senior analyst Alvin Nguyen explained why this makes sense. “You communicate with what people understand, what they’re familiar with,” he told Yahoo Finance. “You won’t go wrong if you can say it’s … faster, it’s got better battery life, plus it has AI … I think that’d be a great message.”

This launch means a lot for Intel as it tries to turn things around. Jim Johnson is senior vice president and general manager of Intel’s client computing group. He said the company feels good about the manufacturing behind these chips.

“We absolutely have confidence the 18A ramp will prove this,” Johnson said. “But we’re not going to promise it. We’re just going to do it. Just have it happen. Let’s go do it. We’re launching wafers like you wouldn’t believe … we have two [factories] running 18A, and demand is high.”

Gaming performance shows real improvement

These processors are really important for Intel. The company lost customers to Advanced Micro Devices over the past few years because of mistakes Intel made. The Core Ultra Series 3 is Intel’s biggest attempt to win back trust from regular people and businesses by making chips that work well without killing the battery.

Testing out laptops with the new chips at Intel’s booth showed what they can do. Several machines ran big games like “Battlefield 6.” Some laptops had separate Nvidia graphics cards, but others just used the graphics built into the Series 3 chips. Both types handled the games without problems.

This is actually pretty surprising. For years, the graphics built into processors haven’t been good enough for serious gaming. You could start a game, but you’d have to turn down all the settings so much that it looked terrible. The Core Ultra Series 3 ran several games smoothly, which is a real change.

Intel has tough competition though. AMD released new laptop chips at CES too, and Qualcomm showed off a new chip as it tries to get into the PC market.

AMD CEO Lisa Su talked about her plans during the company’s meeting with financial analysts in New York City in November. She said AMD expects to take up to 40% of PC market revenue in the next three to five years. That’s double the 20% revenue share AMD had in 2025.

Intel needs to stop that from happening. The company’s newest chips might be what it takes to hold onto its customers.