Intel introduces Apollo Lake chip for affordable PCs

Intel formally introduced their new Apollo Lake SoC (system-on-chip) design, aimed at affordable tablets, laptops and 2-in-1s.

Apollo Lake is based on 14nm process technology and features a new x86 micro-architecture named Goldmonth, that promises improved CPU performance. It will have up to four CPU cores and Intel's ninth-generation GPU currently used in Skylake processor for hardware-accelerated 4K video playback from hardware decoding of HEVC and VP9 codecs.

It will support dual-channel DDR4, DDR3L and LPDDR3/4 memory, and support SATA drives, PCIe x4 and eMMC 5.0 options for different form factors. Intel also recommends to use USB Type-C for data transferring and charging and wireless for connectivity. Improved power management promises better battery life and could allow for smaller and cheaper batteries, resulting in thinner and lighter systems.

Intel is specifically targeting at the entry-level Windows 10 based Cloud Book product category (Example: HP Stream 11, Dell Inspiron 11 3000, Acer Aspire One Cloudbook). These laptops usually packs 11.6-inch 1366 x 768 display, 2GB RAM and 32GB storage. They are priced at $170-$270. But with Apollo Lake, OEMs will be able to double/increase the amount of RAM and storage capacity and make the systems generally thinner, but maintain the $169 - $270 price tag.

Intel says that PCs based on Apollo Lake will start shipping in the second half of 2016.

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