Intel launches Project Athena, certification initiative for advancing laptop design

The battery life of laptop products has caused headaches for many users. Of course, Intel, the processor manufacturer, naturally knows this problem. Qualcomm is now launching an ARM-based notebook, and the biggest highlight of this type of device is its ability to maintain long-term battery life. Of course, there are also many users who expect laptops to last as long as mobile phones, so Intel is now launching the Project Athena for this issue.

The goal of the Intel Athena program is 16 hours or greater of battery life with local video playback, or at least 9 hours in a mixed-use “real world performance condition”. At present, participants in the Athena program involve almost all supply chain vendors, including Acer, Asus, Dell, Google, HP, Lenovo, Microsoft, Samsung, and Xiaomi.

Intel’s plan is not to improve the release of these processor products, nor to extend the life of the additional software or driver classes. Project Athena is actually a high-end laptop certification program. These laptops are relatively expensive but may have better hardware configurations. For example, Intel requires these notebook products to use the 10th generation i5 or higher processor, memory greater than 8GB, 256G or more NVMe SSD. The company said that the high-end notebook products in the Athena program are priced at no less than $1,200.

Intel said that Athena-certified notebook products will have longer battery life, such as the real environment listed above for nine hours. In addition, Intel also hopes that these devices can be charged quickly, but this is not mandatory. Other options include support for Gigabit LTE mobile network connectivity, sixth-generation WiFi, and Thunder 3 interface, with optional options including Intel Proton technology.

At present, the first laptops that meet the requirements of the Athena program may be Lenovo’s YOGAS940, because Intel mentioned this device during the speech. The high-end notebooks that have been specifically certified by Project Athena are expected to be available in the fourth quarter.

Via: Eurogamer