Intel has certainly been busy at Computex 2019, and while many companies have been showing off their latest gadgets at the event in Taiwan, Intel has its eyes firmly fixed on the future.
At its Technology Open House event at Computex, the company highlighted its top five innovations which it says will drive “the next wave of computing,” and have the potential to radically change the way we use our PCs and laptops.
- Our pick of the best Intel processors of 2019
- Intel Skylake-X release date, news and features
- Intel Comet Lake release date, news and features
According to Jim Johnson, Intel corporate vice president and general manager of Client Engineering, “At Computex, Intel is demonstrating its ability to create the platform of the future, with key initiatives such as Project Athena bringing AI to the PC and continuing to lead the way in transforming the PC ecosystem.”
Honeycomb Glacier brings multiple screens to future laptops
The way laptops look and behave hasn’t changed much in their 40-year history, but Intel is looking to radically change that with its new form factor concept, code-named “Honeycomb Glacier”. According to Intel, this will give “new experiences for gamers and creators.”
Honeycomb Glacier laptops will achieve this thanks to a built-in second screen that will offer extra space to play and create with. According to Intel, this will offer “more immersive gaming experiences by making key information persistent on the companion screen to access things like level maps, inventories, status and more with no applications overlapping your game play or switching between applications.”
Creators who like to stream their gameplay on Twitch can use the second screen to interact with their audience in real-time.
Intel is working with laptop manufacturers to bring laptops with dual screens and Intel 9th generation Core processors to the market – and we’ve already got a glimpse of one with the Asus ZenBook Pro Duo, which was also shown off at Computex 2019.
Honeycomb Glacier laptops will also feature new Wi-Fi 6 technology for improved network speeds.
Mohawk River is the first ambient compute concept PC
Intel also showed off its ambient PC prototype (code-named "Mohawk River"), which shows how the company is aiming to make computers that are more immersive, connected and intelligent.
This means they will always be on and ready to use, will be able to intelligently anticipate the needs of its users with various sensors that can detect when their users are nearby (using technology such as Windows Hello), as well using 180-degree cameras, exterior secondary displays and Intel local voice ID.
Ambient compute laptops will also remain active and connected when their lids are closed and will offer a seamless transition when they are opened and closed, and they will also offer advanced video conferencing features.
The first ever AI on PC Development kit
At Computex 2019, Intel announced a collaboration with Microsoft and Asus to launch the world's first AI on PC Development Kit, which will bring another new laptop form factor that focuses on Artificial Intelligence aimed at helping developers create AI applications.
They’ll be released in July 2019, and will feature Intel processors and integrated graphics, as well as an Intel Movidius Myriad X VPU that specialises in high-performance, low-power AI workloads. Intel states that the “three hardware engines will run a diverse range of AI workloads to deliver a comprehensive breadth of raw AI capability for laptops today.”
The AI on PC Development Kit laptops will have pre-installed software that will make it quick and easy to develop and deploy AI apps.
The next generation Intel NUC
Intel also unveiled the Intel NUC Compute Element, which is a barebones modular PC that comes with Intel hardware and can be configured to run mini PCs, set top boxes, kiosks and more.
We’re big fans of Intel’s previous NUC devices, and the NUC Compute Element will offer a big leap in performance, while remaining relatively low cost and easy to upgrade.
The NUC Compute Element will come with a choice of Intel processors and will be available in the first half of 2020.
New Intel Optane memory announced
Finally, Intel showed off its Intel Optane memory M15, which is the next generation of its Optane memory, offering higher performance and lower power consumption than previous generations.
Available in the third quarter of 2019, Intel Optane M15 has been designed to work especially well with 9th generation Intel Core processors for short boot times and fast performance when loading apps and games.
So, it looks like Intel has big plans for the future. That’s just as well, as in our view it’s Intel’s rival, AMD, that’s dominating Computex 2019 so far.
Image credits: Intel Corporation
- Check out all of TechRadar's Computex 2019 coverage. We're live in Taipei to bring you all the breaking computing news and launches, plus hands-on reviews of everything from fresh laptops and desktops to powerful new components and wild overclocking demonstrations.
