IFA REPORT
We sent our CPU specialist to find out what was hot in 2017.
Intel hosted APC throughout the IFA trip, which delivered numerous opportunities including technical briefings directly from the chip-maker itself as well as invitations to launch events and booth tours from Intel partners, interview opportunities with vendor reps, and the always interesting discussions between international media often covering local and/or regional trends.
Also invaluable were open discussions with two of Intel’s top brass: Chris Walker, Vice President in the Client Computing Group and General Manager of Mobility Client Platform Group for Intel Corporation, and Steve Shakespeare, leader of the Retail Sales Team for EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Asia).
A lot was covered during our few days on the ground in Berlin and we’ve rounded up the key product-oriented points for this story.
INTEL’S 8TH-GEN CORE I ARRIVES ON MOBILE
For Intel, the big focus at IFA was its unveiling of its new range of processors, which continues the generational-branding with an 8th-generation of Core i processors.
Unlike previous generational iterations, the 8th-gen Core i release isn’t associated with a new microarchitecture or a step-down in manufacturing process. Instead, Intel’s focus has been refinement. Whether the refinement is in the manufacturing process (which has moved from 14nm to ‘14nm Plus’), the CPU die arrangement (architectural), the chip resource allocation (architecture/ platform) or streamlining through integration of hardware based solutions that were previously software driven (think of the 4K HVEC encode/decode gains made between 6th- and 7th-generation Core i processors through integration of hardware-based processing), there’s been a focus on increasing efficiency and refining existing designs rather than creating cleansheet solutions. The focus has allowed Intel to deliver to market an iterative gain while allowing for innovation within the same generational chain link.
Now, for some purists, this shift in approach will certainly rub against the established grain. Enthusiasts considering 8th-gen Core i will, in the bigger picture of mobile and desktop processor solutions (many yet to be announced or launched), play host to numerous architectures within the generation. For example, Intel is launching the mobile U-series based on Kaby Lake (or specifically, what Intel’s calling ‘Kaby Lake Refresh’) while the upcoming consumer desktop 8th-gen Core i processors will be based on the new Coffee Lake (specifically Coffee Lake-S) and speculated for a Q4 2017 release — though at IFA, Intel was playing coy about specifics on anything beyond the mobile 8th-gen Core i chips.
SO WHO’S 8TH-GEN CORE I FOR?
When it was developing its 8th-gen chips, Intel conducted market research and found that users seeking-out Core i-based PCs were primarily doing so with productivity, entertainment, content creation and online shopping usage in mind. Secondary usage-needs included communication, general web browsing, gaming and storage.
These usage scenarios confirm a fact many PC enthusiasts (and marketers) have always believed, but that there wasn’t much hard data on. Intel itself sees the PC platform as an enduring one, which continues to provide the flexibility required to innovate and adjust to market pressures while also offering the stability of an established platform. Oh, and there’s no forgetting the juggernaut that is PC gaming, especially the drive of the eSports sector.
Intel’s research also lead to the discovery there are more than 450 million PCs in the market that are five years or more old. With that aging mass of devices, Intel believes that continued innovations by devicemakers such as Acer, ASUS, Dell and Lenovo will pave the way for a new era of growth. Naturally, Intel hopes this new era will be driven by its own 8th-gen Core i chips... but what’s the motivator for these end users to upgrade?
8TH-GEN CLAIMS PERFORMANCE LEAPS, NOT STEPS
Intel’s first 8th-gen Core i parts to land are its U-series of mobile processors. These are low-power and low-TDP solutions (15W base, configurable to 25W) designed for thin-and-light laptops, 2-in-1 computers, convertibles and mini PCs. Intel also offers the Y-series (for thin fanless detachables, always connected PCs), H-series
(performance laptops and mobile workstations) and the S-series for desktop use from value-oriented (entry-level parts, such as Pentium chips) to performance chips (high-end, overclockable K SKUs). For all the latter series, 8th-gen Core i will launching in the coming months — for now, it’s just the U chips.
Intel’s made some significant performance claims for this new U-series launch. Starting with up to 40% performance improvement over its predecessor (the Core i7-8550U versus Core i7-7500U are Intel’s specific point of reference), that’s a very sizeable gen-on-gen gain. Additionally, versus the five-year-old install base, Intel is claiming up to 2x better productivity performance and up to 1.9x better web performance from an 8th-gen Core i5 versus a five-year-old PC.
We spoke to Intel’s Chris Walker about this claim, pointing out that this kind of performance gain hasn’t been witnessed since the move from Pentium D to Core 2 Duo on desktop. Walker gave a wry smile and simply replied, “I’m glad you noticed the significance in this generational gain and we look forward to you testing the new processors.” Consider that a challenge accepted. We’ve not yet been able to get our hands on any 8th-generation laptops, but we’re definitely keen to see if the on-paper claims reflect the cold, hard silicon reality.
Like all big corporations, however, Intel can’t just make up a figure and claim it’s valid without proof. And after digging through the fine print of the company’s technical presentations, there appears to be some ambiguity as to what the exact spec of the company’s typical ‘5-year-old system’ is. In the presentation files there is reference to the 5-year-old PC utilising a Core i5-3317U, a CPU which was launched Q2 2012, so that does line up. However,
Intel’s online documentation makes reference to the Core i5-520UM, a CPU launched in Q1 2010 – well out of that 5-year-old band. Also noticeable were some quite-specific workloads used for reference testing.
We appreciate when manufacturers are transparent with technical comparisons, but a lack of clarity in reference documents does lead to an uneasy ambiguity. In short, we’re looking forward to putting the 8th-gen processors and system through their paces in future issues.
ACER DOUBLES DOWN ON PC GAMING
One clear indicator of IFA’s growing cred in the global tech space is that Acer’s launch-event at the show was presented by the PC company’s CEO, Jason Chan, who unveiled a number of new products, alongside revisions and updates to some existing models.
Of course, some of those packed Intel 8th-gen Core i chips, including a new Aspire S 24 all-in-one desktop PC, the Switch 7 Black Edition (a powerful 2-in-1), updates to the Swift product family of sub-1kg ultrabooks (some of which include inbuilt LTE) and the Spin 5 (a 360º 2-in-1 ‘flipbook’).
Acer’s also showed off updates around its collaboration with Microsoft, with the pair working on a range of mixed reality (MR) headsets and the new MR functionality in the Windows 10 Creators Update, called Windows Mixed Reality Portal (and was previously known as Windows Holographic). Unfortunately there were no confirmed technical specs on hand for any of the headsets that Acer demoed — and all we really walked away from this thinking was, “Wow, change the blue to yellow on that Acer MR unit and it could be the headset worn by Cyclops in the X-Men cartoon.”
Acer also used IFA to launch the Predator Orion 9000 desktop PC, an Intel X299-based gaming orientated super-system. The Orion 9000 supports up to the Intel Core i7-7980XE (18-core/36-thread) beast, 128GB of DDR4 RAM, has all-in-one CPU water cooling and case air cooling (all by Cooler Master), and is flush with RGB elements throughout. Buyers have the choice of either four Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti GPUs or three AMD Radeon RX 580. But for those of us that experienced 90s beige box PCs, the best part of the Orion 9000 is that it has a turbo button on the front!
ASUS GETS MIXED (AND MORE)
Like Acer, ASUS was keen to use IFA to highlight its new 8th-gen equipped machines, which, which largely took the form of updates to existing ZenBook laptops and 2-in-1s. That included the ZenBook Flip S, which was first revealed only a couple months ago during Computex with 7th-gen CPU, which will soon sport an updated to 8th-gen chip. (Our condolences to anyone who may have bought one in the interim.) Also announced were 8th-gen updates for the bigger (but still sleek) ZenBook Flip 14, ZenBook Flip 15 and the entry-level VivoBook Flip 14.
Not surprisingly, ASUS is also a partner of Microsoft for the Mixed Reality Portal project, with the Taiwanese device-maker is also making its own MR head-mounted display (HMD). The ASUS HMD for was announced without a specific launch product name, with the company instead simply calling the HMD ‘ASUS Windows Mixed Reality’ – no doubt a working title and a moniker we don’t expect to enter the mainstream market.
Unlike its competitors, ASUS did provide some specifications for its HMD, however. The unit is said to feature 3K 90Hz display and will weigh less than 400g, which should help to avoid ‘ VR face’. Asus also mentioned it was using anti-bacterial fabric
materials to improve hygiene for shared used of the headset. Like all the HMDs in the Microsoft MR project, the unit uses inside-out tracking, with integrated forward-facing sensors.
Of course, ASUS has its fingers in many pies these days, and it also unveiled a range of other devices, including its first 802.11ax Wi-Fi router, the RT-AX88U 802.11ax, two new curved monitors, (the 21:9, 3,840 x 1,600 MX38VQ and 16:9 2,560 x 1,440 MX32VQ), what it claims is the world’s first gaming laptop with a 17.3-inch 144Hz G-Sync display (the RoG Chimera) and a RoG XG35VQ 35-inch 100Hz curved gaming monitor.
DELL REDISCOVERS IFA
After a five-year absence from IFA, Dell returned this year with an interesting message that seemed to be along the lines of, “Even though we haven’t been at IFA, we’ve still been kicking some butt.” At least, that was the visual message we took away from its placement of recent global awards and accolades, which were proudly displayed front and centre.
Dell gave us a tour of its IFA booth and, true to expectations, was also all about Intel’s 8th-gen gear. Starting with the laptop product range, Dell’s popular XPS 13 and Inspiron 5000 and 7000 laptops will receive 8th-gen updates, and the company was keen to highlight the gaming chops of the Inspiron 15 7000, which will get both an 8th-gen update and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q graphics processor, stepping up from the previous-gen’s GTX 1050 Ti.
Dell’s all-in-one (AIO) PC range also saw updates to Intel 8th-gen Core i. This range is headlined by the Dell XPS 27 and features an inbuilt 10-speaker audio system for a fuller desktop audio experience, while maintaining the slim AIO form factor.
As with other large OEM vendors, Dell was front and centre with its contribution to Microsoft’s Mixed Reality Headset initiative, with a product it’s simply calling the ‘Dell Visor’. Unfortunately, no technical specs were provided beyond the ubiquitous statements such as ‘integrated sensors for inside-out tracking’, ‘lightweight’ and a ‘flip-top display’ — the latter of which is intended to allow easy disengagement from the MR experience without needing to fully peel off the headset and any other MR gear you happen to be sporting.
Dell’s Alienware kit was on show too, with the Area 51 desktop PC and its signature triangular-design paired with the new 34-inch, 3,440 x 1,440-pixel 120Hz 1900R curved display, and new Alienware mouse and keyboard peripherals. The new mouse features detachable sides for a customised fit and there’s Cherry MX Brown switches in the keyboard. After the tour we had a quick word with Hendrik Berkhof, Marketing Manager for Alienware, where we asked about the lack of a new gaming headset to join the mouse and keyboard. While nothing was confirmed, it was heavily hinted at that a new headset from the company is in the works to complete that Alienware gaming-peripheral ecosystem.
LENOVO GOES BIG
Lenovo’s big IFA event felt like more of a concert than a product launch, with a large stage, loud PA system and seating for a couple-hundred media and guests. Presenting were a trio of Lenovo top brass alongside Chris Walker of Intel and, a little surprisingly, a VP from one of the divisions at Disney.
Lenovo had four key products at the show. The first — surprise, surprise — was an updated version of Lenovo’s flagship 2-in-1, the Yoga 920, sporting an Intel 8th-gen Core i CPU. For those who want more than just an updated processor, the Yoga 920 Vibes delivers the same internal spec with a stylish cover design by Louis Aymonod, a design student at the IED Milan Design School responsible for the competition-winning design featured on the 920 Vibes. And for those feeling the Force, there are special-edition Yoga 920 Star Wars units, which feature either a white/red Rebel Alliance inspired cover or a black/white Imperial one.
Also new was Lenovo’s Moto X4 Android smartphone. This unit packs a sizeable 3000mAh battery, 16MP front facing camera with adaptive low light mode for a crisp selfie with friends, dual rear facing cameras with 12MP autofocus and 8MP wide angle support, plus IP68 water resistance. To demonstrate the IP68 capability, Lenovo set up multiple stands with Moto X4 units ready to take a swim.
There was also another Microsoft Mixed Reality Headset; Lenovo’s calling its version the Explorer. There was little to differentiate it technically from the other offerings we saw from Acer, ASUS and Dell, with only ASUS providing any significant technical insight during IFA.
Lenovo did offer up one new mixed-reality reveal, however. Disney’s Mike Goslin (who actually wasn’t on stage for the Yoga 920 Star Wars Special Edition 2-in-1s), used the Lenovo MR announcement to reveal the first augmented-reality (AR) Star Wars game, dubbed ‘Jedi Challenges’. This provides a variety of different AR experiences such as lightsaber duels, ‘living space’ RTS gameplay and Holo Chess, aka the chess-like game played by Chewbacca and R2-D2 in A New Hope. Jedi Challenges comes as a US$199 kit which includes a Lenovo Mirage AR headset paired with a tracking beacon and a convincingly-realistic Bluetooth Lightsaber Controller — and you’ll need to BYO fairly recent smartphone to actually power the Mirage.