"This Could Be Interesting" - Intel To Unveil Panther Lake Handhelds With Arc G3 Graphics At Computex In June

Right now AMD processors are the default option for handheld gaming PCs like the Steam Deck and ROG Ally, but that could start to shift in just over a month's time. Intel is set to announce a raft of handhelds at this year's Computex trade show, which kicks off in early June. The new handhelds will reportedly come from a range of vendors and feature Panther Lake-based chipsets with Arc graphics.

Interestingly, these new handheld-optimised chipsets are named after the Arc graphics solution they include, with frequent leakers Videocardz reporting that there will be two options for consumers: Arc G3 and Arc G3 Extreme. It's a little weird to name a chipset after the graphics portion, rather than the processor - it's like seeing AMD launch a Radeon processor or Nvidia ship a GeForce CPU. Still, there are more specific names for the actual graphics portions involved, with the Videocardz report naming the Arc B370 and B390 as the graphics solution for the G3 and G3 Extreme chips respectively.

While Intel's announcement is expected to show off a range of different handheld options powered by the new Arc G3 chips, actual retail availability is likely to fall some distance in the second half of the year - assuming that the ongoing AI-fuelled RAM/SSD pricing crisis doesn't push these newcomers fully into 2027. Previous Intel partners include Acer, GPD, OneXPlayer and MSI, so it's likely that most if not all of these names will be part of the next-gen announcement too.

The G3 and G3 Extreme at least look to be worth the wait, with a mooted 25W base TDP that can turbo up to a mighty 65W on the Arc G3 or 80W on the Arc G3 Extreme. That would make for an extremely potent chip along similar lines to AMD's Strix Halo, though as we've seen many times, we don't expect to see performance that's three times as good as a 25W part even if the wattage triples. Thermals, power limits and diminishing returns always play a role, and it'll be the same here.

Still, continuing development of Windows 11 (and SteamOS!) make any new handheld hardware a tasty proposition, and if Intel is able to deliver the same stellar performance from Panther Lake that it showed off in the laptop space, then Arc G3 and G3 Extreme handhelds could be extremely tantalising.