Intel's Panther Lake might be a "great ballpark estimate" for how PS6 handhelds perform leaker claims

Intel's Panther Lake chipsets are expected to be a generational leap for handheld gaming consoles. It's something AMD, which powers machines like the MSI Claw A8 and the rumored PlayStation 6 handheld, should potentially be worried about.

Surprisingly, a new leak from regular gaming tipster Kepler_L2 shared a comparison of the Panther Lake and the rumored AMD codenamed 'Canis' custom chip.

Rumors have asserted that Canis will come with 4 Zen 6C cores based on 15W power. According to Kepler, Panther Lake will hit 30W.

The PS6 handheld is supposed to be capable of running PS5 games natively, with a slightly lower fidelity. Kepler claims that Panther Lake will offer similar performance to the Canis chip, but with double the power consumption.

He also said that the AMD's Ryzen Z2 Extreme is too slow, while the Strix Halo is too fast. Panther Lake, meanwhile, would hit the middle ground between those poles.

Panther Lake won't be a slouch

On one level, Panther Lake offering similar peformance as Canis with double the power consumption sounds bad. However, AMD gets to optimize its chip for Sony's proprietary PlayStation OS.

Panther Lake handhelds will handle a bigger range of games, programs and beefier operating systems, so a higher power consumption makes sense. Plus, a report from VideoCardz leaked a new Intel Core G3 chip based on Panther Lake that will be made exclusively for handheld consoles. Those will likely be more optimized with lower power draw.

Panther Lake based handhelds will likely launch before the end of 2026, so we'll see how they truly perform before the year is out. Our initial testing at CES 2026, shows these chips will be powerful.

Meanwhile, the earliest we expect to see the PS6 handheld and the main PS6 console is in the fall of 2027, possibly early 2028, which would mark the traditional seven-year cycle Sony has stuck to for its previous consoles.

Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds.

More from Tom's Guide

• I tried gaming on an Intel Core Ultra Series 3 chip — and it kicks off a new era of PC gaming
• Intel at CES 2026: How to watch the Core Ultra Series 3 keynote and what to expect
• Apple’s M-series chip 5 years later: How ditching Intel revolutionized computing — and what’s next