Panther Lake handhelds could put AMD on notice, but there’s a big hurdle to overcome

Intel’s Arc G3 and Arc G3 Extreme handheld chips are expected for a Computex reveal, and I couldn’t be more excited. AMD has dominated this space, with its processors powering the best handheld consoles like the Steam Deck OLED, Asus ROG Ally, Lenovo Legion Go 2, and more. While handhelds like the MSI Claw 8 AI+ have used Intel chips, they’re still behind their AMD-powered counterparts. But with Panther Lake-driven handhelds, we could finally see the balance of power shift.

I’ve tested many Panther Lake laptops, including the Dell XPS 14, Samsung Galaxy Book 6 Pro, and MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+, and I’ve never failed to be impressed by their gaming performance—especially since these aren’t gaming machines. That experience has led me to wonder what Panther Lake could do for handhelds. If the leap between Intel Core Ultra Series 1 and Series 2 in handhelds is any indication, Series 3 should deliver significant performance and efficiency gains.

Nothing is official yet, but since Intel already announced custom chips for handhelds are coming, it’s not unreasonable to expect we’ll hear something soon, especially with Computex just around the corner. While the prospect of Panther Lake handhelds is exciting, there is one thing that concerns me.

Panther Lake power

To be fair, there will be performance differences between a laptop and a gaming handheld. While both prioritize energy efficiency, handhelds have to nail it so folks can play games for more than a few minutes. I wanted to make that clear before moving on, as I’m not expecting a 1:1 experience from a Panther Lake handheld. That said, my experience with laptops running Intel’s latest chipsets sets expectations for what we could see.

The three laptops I mentioned in the intro all have the Intel Core Ultra X7 358H CPU, an upper-mid-range chip in the Panther Lake lineup. In our gaming performance test, which uses the built-in benchmark tool with the game’s graphics settings set to high and the resolution set to 1080p, we recorded impressive results across the games we tested.

The key here is that we enabled Intel XeSS 3.0, which is the company’s version of the upscaling tech Nvidia and AMD use to boost performance. For example, Cyberpunk 2077’s performance went from an abysmal 19 frames per second to a comparatively ultra-smooth 80 fps on the Galaxy Book 6 Pro. XeSS, like Nvidia DLSS and AMD FSR, is a literal game-changer and is vital for smoother performance.

Rumors suggest that the Panther Lake handheld chips are stripped-down versions of the Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, with fewer P-cores to improve power management. This makes sense for the reason I stated at the start of this section — you don’t want a chip that’s so powerful it drains the battery too quickly.

If the rumored Arc G3 and Arc G3 Extreme chips can match the performance we’ve seen in Panther Lake laptops, handhelds are about to get a whole lot more interesting.

Intel Arc G3 chips

Speaking of the Arc G3 chips, here’s what we’ve heard so far. According to VideoCardz, Intel could debut two handheld chips at Computex 2026. The Arc G3 and Arc G3 Extreme are reportedly tied to a Q2 2026 window and are expected to have a lifecycle through Q2 2027.

On X, a leaker named @9550Pro posted what is reportedly a CPU-Z screenshot of the Intel Core G3 Extreme (via Notebookcheck). However, another insider, Jaykihn, claims the listing is false and that the Core G3 Extreme will be renamed the Intel Arc G3 Extreme. Regardless, the chip appears to be a stripped-down version of the Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, as I mentioned earlier.

According to VideoCardz, the chips have reportedly undergone internal testing, and MSI and OneXPlayer are expected to be the first to use Intel’s handheld processor. MSI is a logical choice, as the company has used Intel chips in its MSI Claw handhelds. There’s no evidence that Asus or Lenovo will update their handhelds with Intel’s chip, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility.

The big catch

While I’m certainly looking forward to handhelds powered by Intel’s Panther Lake chip, that enthusiasm is tempered by the issue that’s plagued consumer tech since late last year. Thanks to RAMageddon, handheld gaming prices are out of control.

The most extreme example of handheld price hikes is the Legion Go 2 with 2TB of storage, which now costs $2,849 (up from $1,479). The original asking price was already steep, but paying nearly $3,000 for a gaming handheld is wild, given that most of these devices used to hover around $600-$900. Those days are very much over.

Given these conditions, I’m scared to even think about how much any handheld with an Intel Panther Lake chip will cost. I doubt a Legion Go 2 variant with these chips would have radically different pricing. Maybe it costs less, maybe a little more, but either way, we have a good (or bad) idea of what to expect in terms of cost.

Outlook

With no official word on Panther Lake handhelds, we’ll have to wait for Intel to finally reveal what it has cooking. As I said, with Computex starting on June 2, it might not be long before we get to see something.

We should also keep in mind that the AMD Ryzen Z2 and Z2 Extreme are out there to ensure Intel doesn’t have an easy time of it. And this is perhaps wishful thinking on my part, but it would also be interesting if Qualcomm decided to put its Snapdragon X2 chips in handhelds.

Regardless, the handheld market should experience a significant shake-up sooner rather than later. Can Intel gain a firm foothold in this space? We’ll just have to wait and see.

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