According to Intel, the Intel Evo branding is the sticker you're going to want to look for when trying to find a truly excellent laptop. Evo systems will meet those standards by complying to the 2nd Gen Project Athena specs and standards, which Intel also just announced.
If you want your laptop to always meet your own high standards, Intel Evo is going to be the "seal of approval" you're going to look for. And these laptops have some really cool tricks gained from Intel's Artificial Intelligence bag of tricks that can help you compute more efficiently.
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Intel Evo specs
You're only going to see the Intel Evo platform branding on systems running 11th Gen Intel Core i7 or i5 processors that have Intel Iris Xe graphics. Those systems will feature Thunderbolt 4 and Intel Wi-Fi 6.
There's also going to to be the Intel Adaptix auto-tuning (for performance, not audio) technology.
Intel Evo laptops
At its event, Intel highlighted 4 (of the more than 20) Intel Evo laptops expected this year. Those models are:
- Acer Swift 5
- Asus Zenbook Flip S
- Lenovo Yoga 9i
- Samsung Galaxy Book Flex 5G
Don't expect Intel Evo to stay inside the walls of Windows, either. Intel Evo systems will be available on both Windows 10 and ChromeOS.
Intel Evo performance
Intel Evo systems are verified against the 2nd Gen Project Athena specs, which include the following "key experience indicator" standards:
- Consistent responsiveness on battery.
- Wake from sleep in less than 1 second.
- 9 or more hours of real-world battery life on laptops with full HD display.
- 4 or more hours of battery life in a 30-minute charge on laptops with full HD display.
Intel highlighted that second edition Project Athena designs focus on performance with cloud-based applications as well as just local programs. Chrome, Zoom, Spotify and Twitter were highlighted as apps that users often have running in the background.
The AI-based intelligence of Intel Evo systems includes tricks for far-field voice tricks, and one use case demoed on the press briefing showed noise cancellation on video calls, so you're clear and background sound is dampened.
Optional Intel Evo perks highlighted emphasize power efficiency based on knowing when you're looking to work. There's a wake-on-approach feature for instant-on computing, and "Gaze-Based Dimming" can lower brightness when you're not looking at your screen. And once your Intel Evo system sees you walking away, it can know to lock for your privacy.
