Intel Confirms Panther Lake Gaming Handhelds, Arrow Lake-H Handhelds Also in the Works

Intel has officially confirmed its plans to bring Panther Lake-based gaming handhelds to the market, along with Arrow Lake-H models, marking a major expansion in the handheld gaming PC industry. This announcement came from Robert Hallock, Intel’s VP and GM, in an exclusive interview with Laptop Mag, where he detailed Intel's roadmap for future gaming handhelds.

Intel’s Growing Handheld Presence

Currently, gaming handhelds using Intel processors rely on Meteor Lake and Lunar Lake CPUs, seen in devices like the MSI Claw series. However, Intel is stepping up its support for handheld manufacturers by expanding its processor lineup, offering more powerful and efficient chips designed to take on AMD's dominance in the handheld APU market.

Panther Lake: The Next Leap in Handheld Performance

Set for launch in late 2025, Panther Lake aims to deliver a significant performance boost over its predecessors. Hallock emphasized that this new architecture will provide more flexibility for handheld manufacturers by removing built-in memory tiles, allowing them to customize memory configurations based on device requirements.

"That makes it really nice for handheld vendors because now they can customize the memory they put in the platform. But we have other technologies that can compensate for the removal of the memory on package, which saves power." — Robert Hallock, Intel

At CES 2025, Intel showcased the Panther Lake CPU package, reinforcing that the chips are already in testing. With this announcement, it’s clear that Intel is committed to providing higher performance and power-efficient solutions for the gaming handheld sector.

Arrow Lake-H: A More Powerful Alternative to Lunar Lake

Alongside Panther Lake, Intel is also working on Arrow Lake-H handhelds, which will match or exceed the performance of Lunar Lake, particularly when paired with discrete GPUs. Hallock highlighted that some handhelds will now push up to 30W power limits, making Arrow Lake-H a strong option for high-performance portable gaming devices.

Intel vs. AMD: The Handheld War Intensifies

Intel’s aggressive push into the handheld gaming market presents a serious challenge to AMD, which has been the leading supplier of custom APUs for handhelds like the Steam Deck, ASUS ROG Ally, and Lenovo Legion Go. With Panther Lake and Arrow Lake-H, Intel aims to disrupt AMD’s dominance by offering competitive alternatives with higher efficiency and scalability.

As handheld gaming devices continue to evolve, the battle between Intel and AMD is heating up, and gamers can expect a new wave of powerful handhelds in the coming years.