Sub-18mm Ultrabooks are on the way, says Intel

Sub-18mm Ultrabooks are on the way, says Intel
"It was this big"

Intel's Mooly Eden has insisted that the company's Ultrabooks are going to get even slimmer - despite some already boasting a thickness of just 18mm.

Speaking at the Intel press conference at CES 2012, Eden spoke at length about Intel's Ultrabook project and the clear impact it has made on this year's offerings at CES.

Eden insisted that the current prices would drop quickly due to economies of scale, making the ultra-thin laptops more attainable, but also insisted that the thickness was "only the beginning".

The beginning

"…the big challenge was that if you want to take a 32 or 40mm [thick] notebook and translate it to 18mm and read my lips, 18mm is only the beginning - there are many components that need to be changed and manufactured in high volume in order to drive the costs down," Eden said.

"The [target price for Ultrabooks has been] $999. Our target is to pull it lower collectively."

Of course, at some point it becomes very difficult to make a computer strong enough when it is so slim, but modern materials have made it more likely.

CES has already seen the Huawei Ascend boast a thickness of just 6.68mm, and the growth of OLED has helped screens get thinner still - so it appears that CES 2012 is very much about putting devices on a diet.

Patrick Goss

Patrick Goss is the ex-Editor in Chief of TechRadar. Patrick was a passionate and experienced journalist, and he has been lucky enough to work on some of the finest online properties on the planet, building audiences everywhere and establishing himself at the forefront of digital content.  After a long stint as the boss at TechRadar, Patrick has now moved on to a role with Apple, where he is the Managing Editor for the App Store in the UK.