Intel launches Project Athena certification as successor to ultrabook program
Intel is working on Project Athena, a certification program for future laptops. Unlike ultrabooks, Project Athena laptops are not about making them thinner, but about response times and battery life, among other things.
Similar to its ultrabook concept for thin laptops, which Intel unveiled in 2011, the chip maker for Project Athena has partnered with many companies in the laptop industry, including Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Huawei, as well as Microsoft and Google for respectively Windows and Chrome OS support. The goal is to jointly innovate in the various parts of systems, so that the entire user experience is better.
Intel is talking about an annual update of specifications requirements that companies must meet with their models in order to qualify for a certificate. The certification is not about design guidelines and Intel does not mention any concrete requirements. The company mentions ‘focus’, ‘always ready’ and ‘adaptive’ as key points.
The company only clarifies that laptops must, for example, be ready faster after opening, that performance and response times must be increased and that connections must be established immediately, automatically and securely. This will be possible via Wi-Fi 6, or 802.11ax, and in the future 5g. Intel also mentions the use of artificial intelligence for “optimizing” systems and assisting users. Intel also wants to improve the battery life, but it does not mention specific properties.
Intel reports to PCWorld that the 2019 Project Athena laptops support USB-C charging, fast charging, Thunderbolt 3 and gigabit WiFi. An lte modem is not required. The company claims to the site that laptops thinner than 9mm are not to be expected, because then not enough battery capacity is possible.
It seems that Intel is responding to the Always Connected PC with Project Athena by re-entering the laptop industry. ARM and Qualcomm in particular have the laptop in their sights as a growth market for ARM chips. These laptops should distinguish themselves with a long battery life and continuous connectivity due to the presence of an LTE modem.