Intel to combat AMD APU dominance with new CPUs: Leak

In the field of APUs, AMD has been reigning supreme – though perhaps not for much longer according to a new leak.

For the most part, the handheld market is dominated by AMD. Its 7840U 780M combo of CPU and GPU has been used in all sorts of devices, from the Steam Deck to the Ayaneo Flip DS. Even the AMD Z1 Extreme that powers the Asus ROG Ally is just a variant of the same AMD APU.

Intel appears to be looking to grab a slice of the handheld market for itself, according to leaks from shipping manifests. This leak seems to confirm that Intel is working on a mobile processor with powerful integrated graphics.

The project Intel is said to be working on is in essence a high-end mobile CPU with a powerful GPU on the same die. This arrangement is broadly similar to the Strix Halo chip that AMD is working on.

A project manager from Lenovo said that a project called Intel Arrow Lake Halo is in progress. It is not confirmed if this product is the same as the APU, but the naming scheme suggests there is some sort of connection.

As reported by Videocardz, the leaked information suggested that the Arrow Lake Halo would feature 6 LNC ‘Lion Cove’ and 8 SKT ‘Skymont’ Cores. Graphics would be at GT3 level. The leaked document from AdoredTV points to this equating to 320 execution units, or 20 Xe-Cores.

Some sources claimed that the Arrow Lake Halo project had been shelved, so its appearance on the shipping manifest, along with claims from a Lenovo representative are curious.

Even if the Arrow Lake Halo project is in progress, it is unlikely to appear in products any time soon. When it does, it will also face stiff competition from AMD, which already has a proven track record in this area.