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Intel launches Wildcat Lake as Core Series 3 for value laptops and edge systems — six consumer SKUs built on 18A promise 'all-day' battery life

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Why This Matters

Intel's launch of the Wildcat Lake-based Core Series 3 processors marks a significant step in delivering affordable, energy-efficient laptops and edge devices with all-day battery life. Built on Intel's 18A process, these chips aim to provide solid performance for everyday computing and AI-ready features, expanding Intel's presence in the value segment. The new lineup supports a broad ecosystem of manufacturers, promising more accessible and capable devices for consumers and industries alike.

Key Takeaways

Intel has today launched its Core Series 3 mobile processors, confirming the official branding for the silicon tracked under the Wildcat Lake codename since late 2024.

The lineup covers six consumer SKUs plus an edge-only variant, all fabbed on Intel 18A, with more than 70 laptop designs scheduled from Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, MSI, Samsung, and others through the rest of 2026. Intel is positioning this family as the value-segment counterpart to Panther Lake, which shipped as Core Ultra Series 3 following its debut at CES in January.

Swipe to scroll horizontally Processor Cores/Threads P-core Turbo NPU TOPS GPU (Xe-cores / freq / TOPS) Core 7 360 6 4.8 GHz 17 2 / 2.6 GHz / 21 Core 7 350 6 4.8 GHz 17 2 / 2.6 GHz / 21 Core 5 330 6 4.6 GHz 16 2 / 2.5 GHz / 20 Core 5 320 6 4.6 GHz 16 2 / 2.5 GHz / 20 Core 5 315 6 4.4 GHz 15 2 / 2.3 GHz / 18 Core 5 305 (edge only) 6 4.3 GHz N/A 1 / 2.3 GHz / 9 Core 3 304 5 4.3 GHz 15 1 / 2.3 GHz / 9

The silicon uses a two-tile package with a compute die and an external platform controller tile. The compute die carries up to two Cougar Cove P-cores, four Darkmont low-power E-cores, an NPU 5 block, and an Xe3 integrated GPU with up to two Xe-cores, while the platform controller tile delivers six PCIe 4.0 lanes, up to two Thunderbolt 4 ports, Intel Wi-Fi 7 (R2), and Bluetooth Core 6.0.

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Memory tops out at LPDDR5x-7467 or DDR5-6400 in a single-channel configuration, with a 4MB memory-side cache. That sits well short of Panther Lake's 4P+8E+4LPE top configuration with 12 Xe3 cores and dual-channel memory.

Intel describes the family as "hybrid AI-ready" with up to 40 platform TOPS. The NPU alone hits 17 TOPS on the Core 7 360 and 350, below the 40 TOPS Microsoft requires on the NPU for Copilot+ PC certification. Intel's performance figures compare the Core 7 360 to its previous-generation Core 7 150U on Raptor Lake Refresh, claiming up to 64% lower processor power during 4K YouTube streaming, up to 2.1 times faster productivity, and up to 2.7 times GPU AI performance.

Image 1 of 3 (Image credit: Intel) (Image credit: Intel) (Image credit: Intel)

For battery life, Intel claims the Core 7 350 inside a reference platform can achieve up to 9.6 hours of battery life in a Zoom call with AI effects, up to 12.5 hours in office apps as measured by Procyon, and up to 18.5 hours of video playback via Netflix streaming.

(Image credit: Intel)

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