Intel’s Panther Lake chips redefine laptop efficiency with near-plugged-in battery performance

Say goodbye to performance drops when unplugged. Intel’s latest breakthrough could finally make laptops as powerful on battery as they are on mains power.

, and Administrator

2026 January 10 . 9:27 AM

1 min read

In this image there is a table with many cores, a laptop, a pen and a few things on it.

Intel’s Panther Lake chips redefine laptop efficiency with near-plugged-in battery performance

Intel’s upcoming Panther Lake chips promise a major leap in efficiency for laptops. Early tests show gaming performance on battery is almost the same as when plugged in. The company is also pushing manufacturers to improve power management in their designs.

Intel’s new Panther Lake design focuses on balancing performance and power use. By running minor tasks on low-power E-cores, the chip maintains nearly identical performance whether on battery or mains power. This addresses past criticism, including Qualcomm’s claim that Intel’s chips lost up to 45% performance on battery due to firmware issues in some laptops.

The chip can draw up to 65 watts, matching AMD’s current offerings, but with better efficiency. Intel has also confirmed Panther Lake will outperform its predecessor, Lunar Lake, keeping it ahead in mobile efficiency. While the design suits handheld devices due to its low-power strengths, no specific plans for dedicated handheld chips have been announced.

Intel is placing more responsibility on laptop makers like Dell, Lenovo, and Acer. The company insists that battery life and performance depend heavily on device construction, cooling, and firmware. Manufacturers will now face stricter requirements to ensure battery-powered performance stays close to plugged-in levels.

Panther Lake aims to close the gap between battery and mains performance in laptops. The chip’s efficiency gains could set a new standard for mobile computing. However, its success will partly depend on how well manufacturers optimise their devices.