INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Intel's Project Athena is an innovation program created by the chipmaker to aid laptop makers build the revolutionary laptops of the
1kg in weight and has a battery life that lasts more than 24 hours on a single charge.It's somewhat akin to what Intel and laptop
manufacturers did with Ultrabooks some years back
By coming up with a list of minimum specifications that laptops would have to meet to be known as Ultrabooks, consumers know they are
handle the demands of modern-day computing
manufacturers to design the next generation of laptopsWhen is it out? Possibly late 2019What will it cost? Project Athena laptops will vary
in price, but don't expect them to be cheapWhat is Intel Project Athena?Intel Project Athena is a laptop design initiative that sees Intel
work even more closely with a number of laptop manufacturers to help reinvent the future of laptops.Many people also consider Project Athena
as Intel's way of battling the growth of Windows 10 on ARM devices, and laptops running on Qualcomm Snapdragon hardware
These devices offer always-on connections and remarkably long battery life, but don't use Intel hardware.While Windows 10 on ARM devices
have excelled at battery life, start-up times and always-on connectivity thanks to built-in 4G LTE support, they have so far been
(Image credit: Intel Corporation)(Image credit: Intel)Project Athena will see Intel offer guidance to equipment and PC component
battery life.Intel has also revealed at the Project Athena Ecosystem Symposium event in Taipei, Taiwan that it will open three global
their laptops to ensure they meet Project Athena's specifications
These labs started operating in June 2019.Josh Newman, Intel vice president and general manager of PC Innovation Segments, Client Computing
Group, said that "Project Athena Open Labs are a critical step in enabling more extensive, day-to-day collaboration with the components
ecosystem to continuously raise the bar for innovation across the platform."Intel has also revealed how Project Athena "creates a path
forward to accelerate laptop innovation" through:An annual spec outlining platform requirementsNew user experience and benchmarking targets
defined by real-world usage modelsExtensive co-engineering support and innovation pathfindingEcosystem collaboration to accelerate key
Project Athena release dateIntel has implied that initial Project Athena laptops could release as early as the second half of 2019
However, if that's the case, then we wouldn't expect to see any Project Athena-certified laptops until very late this year.Since the
reference devices that will offer consumers and manufacturers a taste of what Project Athena laptops will be capable of.According to Intel,
"the next wave of Project Athena designs" will come in "2020 and beyond," so expect to see Project Athena laptops from manufacturers, like
Asus and Acer, next year.Ultrabooks are expensive - so expect Project Athena laptops to be pricey as well (Image credit:
TheIndianSubcontinent)Intel Project Athena priceCurrently, we don't have any information on what sort of prices Project Athena laptops will
laptops (which we'll get to in a moment), it's possible that these are going to be high-priced laptops.Intel's Ultrabook initiative,
which was similar to Project Athena in the fact that it saw Intel working with laptop makers to develop laptops that met clear design and
specification criteria, resulted in high-end machines with premium price tags
It's not too much of a stretch, therefore, to think that Project Athena laptops will be pitched at the high-end in terms of hardware and
hint that the first wave of Project Athena laptops will be quite pricey.However, when third-party Athena laptops launch, prices could
potentially become more affordable, as there will be more competition between the companies.It seems likely that Project Athena laptops will
be pitched as alternatives to Windows on ARM laptops, like the HP Envy x2
as well.Project Athena will compete with Snapdragon-powered laptops like the HP Envy x2 (Image credit: TheIndianSubcontinent)However, before
you get too dismayed about being unable to afford an Intel Project Athena laptop, there are some clues that suggest we may see more
affordable Athena-certified laptops as well.For a start, Intel has talked about how Project Athena will cover a range of laptop types
It's also been announced that some Athena laptops will run Windows 10 and Chrome OS
Coupled with the fact that Google is one of the Project Athena partners, it looks like we'll be getting Project Athena Chromebooks.Since
Chromebooks are generation a lot cheaper than traditional laptops, they may provide a cheaper way to partake in some of that Project Athena
goodness.Intel Project Athena specificationsIntel has recently released the specifications for Project Athena, and it is comprised of 15
responsiveness metrics and 3 battery life metrics
All 23 of these metrics are aimed at creating the next generation of laptops it has envisioned.Based on these specifications, Intel will
determine whether each laptop model is up to snuff
Athena certified device.Ready to go before you are: Project Athena laptops must, first and foremost, boast Modern Connected Standby or Lucid
Sleep, as well as offer either fingerprint scanning or face recognition biometric login
In addition, laptops must wake from sleep in less than one second.Performance - responsiveness: Laptops must have a Core i5 or Core i7
processor with more than 8GB DRAM, and at least 256GB SSD storage space, with Intel Optane memory as an option
In addition, they must have consistent responsiveness on battery.Adaptive intelligence: Laptops that meet Project Athena specifications must
also support Far Field voice service for voice commands, as well as OpenVINO AI on PC WinML.Worry-free battery life: Laptops must also boast
16+ hours of battery life for local video playback or 9 or more hours for real-world use
interaction: Last but not least, these devices must boast an ultra slim 2-in-1 or clamshell for factor touting a 12- to 15-inch touch
display with 1080p or better resolution and 3-side narrow bezel
They must also have a backlit keyboard, precision touchpad and pen support.Intel Project Athena featuresTo release a laptop as part of
Project Athena, manufacturers will have to meet certain features and specifications
connectivity: One of the chief features of Project Athena will be 5G connectivity
This means that every Project Athena laptop will come with the capability to connect to 5G cellular networks (via a SIM card).5G will offer
speeds far in excess of 4G, and 5G-equipped laptops will allow access to the internet without needing to connect to Wi-Fi
use our Athena laptops in exciting new ways like streaming 4K content or playing games on services such as Nvidia GeForce Now and Google
Stadia, which utilize remote PCs to power games that are streamed to your device.Longer battery life: Improving the battery life on laptops
has been a constant struggle for manufacturers
With laptops getting thinner than ever, the space to add batteries is shrinking as well
throttling performance.Project Athena intends to drastically improve battery life of laptops, with times between charges of around 9 hours,
a lot longer than many modern Intel-based laptops.True, Snapdragon-based laptops have seen battery life figures of beyond 24 hours, which
makes the 9 hours aim a bit less impressive
perform well and have long battery life, then Intel could be on to a winner.Instant-on: No one likes waiting around for our laptops and PCs
Smartphones and tablets have spoiled us when it comes to devices that power up almost instantly
So, Project Athena is aiming to bring that to Windows-based laptops and Chromebooks with Intel hardware inside.Again, Windows on ARM devices
already accomplish this, and they also remain connected even in sleep mode
as including SSD storage and support for Wi-Fi 6, the latest wireless networking technology.By setting these minimum specifications, Project
Athena laptops will guarantee some of the latest and most cutting-edge technology available.3TPeuTFpzfqoJ2VTTrxcxW.jpg?#
