I'm really like the idea of making fast charge on laptops a thing now. It's been a thing on phones now for a few generations but laptops have remained charging well below 1C for quite a while. I like the wake up from sleep in <1Sec as well, although my current laptop is pretty close, it only takes a few seconds.
I am actually quite happy about this. I think overall the Ultrabook moniker has been good for forcing makers away from a race to the bottom. Hopefully this will do the same. I am not super happy about touch being included a cellular modem not being included, but overall I suspect the results of this effort will be positive.
Required to have backlit keyboards, precision touchpad, fast wake, type-C fast-charging, TB3, required i5/i7, 9+ hours browsing on battery-hog Chrome: PA laptops are what the Windows ecosystem should be.
Is there some sort of Athena badge? Can I tell my mom to go to Best Buy and buy something Athena-certified, and know that will meet some sort of standard?
I imagine so as it's a good way for Intel to try and lock people into the Intel ecosystem as they have done in the past with Centrino and Ultrabook. I think there were Centrino stickers but probably not Ultrabook!
With Intel still failing to move beyond 14nm on desktop/server it makes sense to push laptops where they have less pressing competition. So the timing is good for them.
One of the first "prototype Project Athena" laptops was the Latitude 7400 2-in-1.
What I loved: Dell has an optional a 74 WHr battery in this thin-bezel 14" laptop (via shingled/stacked battery cells). Enough with 30-50WHr laptops. 60WHr used to be common.
Project Athena sounds different than what I heard about Lakefield implementation which I like. Smaller but dual screen system always connected long battery life and always connected.
How effective are these initiatives in general? I remember a few years ago there was a similar initiative to improve laptop PC sound (speakers and mics) and that didn’t seem to have any lasting effects. (But maybe I’m unfamiliar with the high end, and at the high end it did set a permanent new standard? Certainly there does NOT seem to be a trickle-down affect, which is disappointing.)
Were they? From what I've seen Intel had very little to do with the ultrabook trend that wouldn't have happened naturally anyways. I'd say mobile had a far greater influence then Intel.
Ugh, non-features that are a natural evolution of the PC industry losing sales to smartphones under an umbrella of marketing terminology no one cares about. How about a REMOVABLE battery so I can just turn the thing off, flip it over, and replace it when its dead? How about a fanless cooling system that doesn't cook my legs or throttle under full load (HP was already doing it pretty well with my Bay Trail Stream 11)? How about a camera and fingerprint scanner with a physical covering so I can stop using tape to keep my computer from creeping on me?
Intel OpenVINO seems to be a computer vision framework. It includes gaze recognition... so maybe it will be used to monitor what the user does. For data collection purposes probably... (or am I being too cynical?)
We’ve updated our terms. By continuing to use the site and/or by logging into your account, you agree to the Site’s updated Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
19 Comments
Back to Article
extide - Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - link
I'm really like the idea of making fast charge on laptops a thing now. It's been a thing on phones now for a few generations but laptops have remained charging well below 1C for quite a while. I like the wake up from sleep in <1Sec as well, although my current laptop is pretty close, it only takes a few seconds.ingwe - Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - link
I am actually quite happy about this. I think overall the Ultrabook moniker has been good for forcing makers away from a race to the bottom. Hopefully this will do the same. I am not super happy about touch being included a cellular modem not being included, but overall I suspect the results of this effort will be positive.ikjadoon - Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - link
A few key Project Athena specifications you should add to this article:- PA laptops must use type-C charging and must allow fast-charging over type-C
Source: https://newsroom.intel.com/wp-content/uploads/site...
Required to have backlit keyboards, precision touchpad, fast wake, type-C fast-charging, TB3, required i5/i7, 9+ hours browsing on battery-hog Chrome: PA laptops are what the Windows ecosystem should be.
And this is just the 1.0 target!
schizoide - Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - link
Is there some sort of Athena badge? Can I tell my mom to go to Best Buy and buy something Athena-certified, and know that will meet some sort of standard?smilingcrow - Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - link
I imagine so as it's a good way for Intel to try and lock people into the Intel ecosystem as they have done in the past with Centrino and Ultrabook.I think there were Centrino stickers but probably not Ultrabook!
With Intel still failing to move beyond 14nm on desktop/server it makes sense to push laptops where they have less pressing competition. So the timing is good for them.
ridic987 - Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - link
I can confirm there are stickers on every ultrabook.skavi - Thursday, May 30, 2019 - link
No. Unlike the Ultrabook program, Athena will not have stickers.ikjadoon - Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - link
One of the first "prototype Project Athena" laptops was the Latitude 7400 2-in-1.What I loved: Dell has an optional a 74 WHr battery in this thin-bezel 14" laptop (via shingled/stacked battery cells). Enough with 30-50WHr laptops. 60WHr used to be common.
Source: https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/dell-latitude-7...
MrSpadge - Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - link
> 60WHr used to be common.And laptops used to be a lot heavier!
ikjadoon - Thursday, May 30, 2019 - link
People who can't deal with an extra half pound never deserved all-day battery life. 😆HStewart - Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - link
Project Athena sounds different than what I heard about Lakefield implementation which I like. Smaller but dual screen system always connected long battery life and always connected.Also I am curious why WiFi 6 is required.
nico_mach - Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - link
Intel's WiFi module is included by default, so it must be on the WiFi 6 standard.ToTTenTranz - Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - link
That blue face in the promo material is giving me lots of Voodoo Graphics box art vibes.name99 - Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - link
How effective are these initiatives in general?I remember a few years ago there was a similar initiative to improve laptop PC sound (speakers and mics) and that didn’t seem to have any lasting effects. (But maybe I’m unfamiliar with the high end, and at the high end it did set a permanent new standard? Certainly there does NOT seem to be a trickle-down affect, which is disappointing.)
GL1zdA - Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - link
Centrino and Ultrabook mentioned in the article were extremely effective.evernessince - Thursday, May 30, 2019 - link
Were they? From what I've seen Intel had very little to do with the ultrabook trend that wouldn't have happened naturally anyways. I'd say mobile had a far greater influence then Intel.PeachNCream - Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - link
Ugh, non-features that are a natural evolution of the PC industry losing sales to smartphones under an umbrella of marketing terminology no one cares about. How about a REMOVABLE battery so I can just turn the thing off, flip it over, and replace it when its dead? How about a fanless cooling system that doesn't cook my legs or throttle under full load (HP was already doing it pretty well with my Bay Trail Stream 11)? How about a camera and fingerprint scanner with a physical covering so I can stop using tape to keep my computer from creeping on me?boozed - Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - link
do they have an idea yet what the "AI" is supposed to be doing in there?Findecanor - Wednesday, May 29, 2019 - link
Intel OpenVINO seems to be a computer vision framework.It includes gaze recognition... so maybe it will be used to monitor what the user does. For data collection purposes probably... (or am I being too cynical?)