Intel Launches 13th-Gen Core Processors, Unison Software

Intel showcased an array of new hardware and software Tuesday that aim to help its broad ecosystem deliver a new level of innovation.

Outfitted in a “Bringing the geek back” T-shirt and blue jeans, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger Tuesday unveiled new hardware, software, chips , security and developer platforms at the Intel Innovation event in San Jose, Calif.

“In the next decade, we will see the continued digitization of everything,” Gelsinger said, during a broadcast of the event. “Five foundational technology superpowers—compute, connectivity, infrastructure, AI and sensing—will profoundly shape how we experience the world.”

Gelsinger introduced 13th-Gen Intel Core processors, formerly known as Raptor Lake, which he said will deliver the world’s best gaming experience with the strongest content creator performance.

Dubbed the new standard for desktop processor performance, the 13th-Gen family, led by Intel’s flagship i9-13900K, helps users better game, create and work with up to 15 percent improved single-threaded performance and up to 41 percent better multi-threaded performance generation-over-generation, Intel said.

Intel also introduced new Arc GPU A770 GPUs, with Gelsinger noting that the company is committed to bringing back price/performance balance with the Intel Arc graphics family.

The A770 GPU will be available in a variety of designs at retail starting at $329 on Oct. 12, providing content creation and 1440p gaming performance, referring to the family of video display resolutions that have a vertical resolution of 1440 pixels.

One of the most welcome debuts coming later this year, Gelsinger said, is Intel Unison, a software offering that is intended to provide seamless connectivity between phones, Android and iOS, and PCs. It offers the abilty to transfer files, text message, phone calls and phone notifications.

The software is the result of Intel’s acquisition of Israeli-company Screenovate earlier this year. Intel, according to reports at the time, spent $150 million on the acquisition of the startup, which developed a screen duplication technology.

Joshua Newman, vice president at Intel, said in an interview with CRN prior to the event that he learned just how valuable Unison was when his wife called him at a Dallas hotel.

“I set my cell phone on the desk across the room while sitting on the couch catching up on email,” the Intel vice president told CRN. “My wife called, and the call showed up on my PC in a little notification box. I was able to click and accept the call.”

Newman talked to her through the PC without having to pick up the phone at all.

“I didn’t have to make that long arduous move to get my phone,” he said with a laugh. “It was a small thing, right? But it just kept me in the flow, and I was able to keep working … on my comfortable hotel couch.”

It’s something Mac users have been able to do with their iPhones. But now Windows and Chromebook users can connect any phone they prefer.

The goal, Newman said, is to provide laptops that meet the needs of advanced mobile users who work in the office, a cafe, the home office and anywhere in between and “still stay in the flow of everything they’re doing.”

That means a long-lasting battery with a super-fast start up, he added, improved cameras and to meet the needs of videoconferencing via laptops.

“Just fundamental things that make a wonderful laptop experience,” said Newman who has been with Intel for nearly three decades. “Plus fit in a very stylish, lightweight design that you’re proud to carry and be seen with … because that’s an important part of what people need…that extension of themselves out of their technology.”

The impetus to incorporate the new softaware capabilities stemmed from conversations with customers about what they need in a laptop, he said.

“The basic thing we were hearing from customers was, ‘I want to be able to respond to text messages from my laptop,’ ‘I want to be able to transfer files’ easily and quickly, he said.

In addition, he said, customers want to be able to take a picture on my phone and have it instantly show up on a Windows desktop.

“So I can just drag it … versus having to go through multiple steps to upload to the cloud download from the cloud and so forth,” he said. “People just really wanted that seamless interaction like that almost the two devices were extensions of each other.”

Intel said Unison will launch on select Intel Evo laptops based on 12th-Gen Intel Core processors from Acer, HP and Lenovo this year, and will scale to 13th-Gen Intel Core-based designs starting early in 2023.