Intel Core Ultra Series 3 'Panther Lake' CPUs With Arc Graphics, 50 TOPS NPU Launched at CES 2026

Intel on Monday unveiled its Core Ultra Series 3 processors at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2026. It is claimed to be the first compute platform built on the Intel 18A semiconductor process, delivering performance, graphics and battery life upgrades over the previous generation. Dubbed Panther Lake, the Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors feature a hybrid CPU architecture with performance and efficiency cores, along with upgraded integrated graphics based on Intel's Xe architecture.

Intel Core Ultra (Series 3) Processors Availability

The company says that laptops powered by Core Ultra Series 3 processors will be available to pre-order in global markets beginning. January 6. General availability will start post January 27, depending on the region. Devices equipped with the new processors are expected to reach markets later this month.

Intel showcased several laptops powered by the Core Ultra Series 3 chip at CES 2026
Photo Credit: Intel

Intel says the Core Ultra (Series 3) CPUs will be available on more than 200 laptop designs from OEM partners worldwide. PC makers have already showcased several upcoming notebooks powered by the new processor, including the new Samsung Galaxy Book 6 series, at CES.

In addition to consumer-grade laptops, Intel also plans to deploy Core Ultra Series 3 processors in commercial, edge, and embedded systems later in 2026.

Intel Core Ultra (Series 3) Processors Specifications

The Intel 18A process used for the fabrication of the Core Ultra Series 3 processors incorporates new RibbonFET gate-all-around transistors and PowerVia backside power delivery. As per the company's claims, this enables better performance per watt compared to the previous generation and is designed to deliver sustained performance while maintaining battery efficiency in thin and light laptops.

The hybrid CPU architecture of the Core Ultra Series 3 processors comprises performance and efficiency cores, along with upgraded integrated Arc Graphics. The top-tier variants in the lineup, such as the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H, include up to 16 CPU cores and 12 Xe graphics cores.

As per the company, the processors feature an enhanced neural processing unit (NPU), which is capable of delivering up to 50 TOPS (trillion operations per second) of AI compute, powering on-device AI capabilities. Intel claims significant gains over the previous Series 2 generation, including 60 percent better multithreaded performance, more than 77 percent faster gaming performance, and up to 27 hours of battery life.

Intel's latest Series 3 family is also said to include Intel Core CPUs, designed for mainstream mobile systems. These processors are aimed at performant and efficient laptop designs at lower price points.

In addition to consumer-grade devices, the Intel Core Series 3 chips are also certified for commercial applications. In critical edge AI workloads, the company claims up to 1.9 times higher large language model (LLM) performance and up to 4.5 times higher throughput on vision language action (VLA).

Compared to traditional multi-chip CPU and GPU architectures, the single system-on-chip (SoC) Core Ultra Series 3 processors are claimed to offer superior total cost of ownership (TCO), leveraging integrated AI acceleration.