Intel Panther Lake Handheld Gaming Platform Unveiled to Challenge AMD's Grip

AMD currently rules the handheld gaming world, but Intel is no longer content with being an outsider. At CES 2026, the silicon giant announced it's building a dedicated handheld gaming platform featuring a specialized chip to take on the portable market.

Intel Panther Lake Handheld Gaming: The 18A Advantage

According to TechCrunch and IGN, Daniel Rogers, Intel vice president and GM of PC products, revealed the initiative on Monday. This new platform is built upon the Intel Core Series 3 processors, codenamed Panther Lake, which were first announced last year.

Significantly, these chips represent Intel's first products manufactured using the 18A process, which entered production in 2025. While Intel has been a fixture in gaming PCs since the 90s and pushed further with Intel Arc GPUs in 2022, this move marks a strategic shift toward specialized silicon for ultra-portable form factors.

CES 2026: The Clash with AMD

The announcement sets up a direct confrontation with AMD, which has dominated the handheld space through successes like the Steam Deck and ROG Ally. Not to be outdone, AMD also used its CES keynote to announce the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D alongside new ray tracing technologies. Intel plans to share more specific details regarding its handheld-optimized hardware later this year.