Intel challenges AMD’s handheld gaming dominance — reportedly refers to its rival’s chips as “ancient silicon”

by

Intel unveiled its newest Core Ultra Series 3 chips (Panther Lake) at CES 2026. The company plans to use these advanced AI chips as the foundation for future laptops, tablets, small desktop computers, and portable gaming devices.

Intel is aiming to compete with AMD in the growing handheld gaming market. They’re using their latest processors, featuring Intel ARC B390 graphics, which Intel claims are more powerful and offer more features than AMD’s. Some people are even calling the rivalry a ‘handheld war’.

According to Intel’s senior director of product management, Nish Neelalojanan, AMD is using older processor technology, while Intel is offering the latest processors built specifically for current needs. He also indicated Intel is focusing again on energy-efficient E-cores, which are well-suited for gaming (as reported by PC World).

Intel is likely to be a bigger player in the high-end handheld market over the next year or two.

I’m really excited to hear Intel is going after AMD in the handheld gaming space! It sounds like they’re teaming up with other companies to actually *make* some handhelds. It makes sense – you can’t compete with a leader like AMD if you don’t have something for people to buy, right?

Companies like Acer, MSI, Compal, Pegatron, GPD, Quanta Computer, Foxconn, Wistron, NexPlayer, and Microsoft are involved.

Just to refresh your memory, the majority of popular handheld gaming devices, like the ASUS ROG Ally X and Legion Go 2, run on AMD Ryzen Z1 and Z2 processors. Even the Steam Deck uses a special AMD processor – it’s essentially an AMD system-on-a-chip.

Currently, MSI is the only major computer manufacturer offering handheld devices powered by Intel processors, with their Claw series. I’ve had the chance to test one, as detailed in my MSI Claw 8 AI+ review, and I was really impressed by how well it performs.

For Intel to become known as the leading maker of chips for handheld devices, they need to get their processors into more products. This likely means we’ll see announcements of new handhelds soon.

Intel and AMD are really competing to power the best handheld gaming devices this year. Which brand would you prefer in your next handheld, and what makes you lean towards Intel or AMD? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Read More

2026-01-09 15:09