In the transition to the data-centric era, the PC remains a critical facet of Intel's business, and it is an area where the company believes there are still so many opportunities ahead, according to Gregory Bryant, senior vice president and general manager of the Client Computing Group at Intel.

Bryant was delivering a keynote speech at the onging Computex 2018, where Intel is showcasing how it is powering the future of computing, connectivity and communications through advanced innovations in client computing, artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G network transformation.

Bryant said when people really need to get things done, over 80% turn to their PC. At the same time, users are more distracted than ever. Data shows that on average people are interrupted every three minutes. The nature of where, how and why peoplework is also changing. And the way people connect with one another has changed, with technology being a key driving force.

Against this backdrop, there is an opportunity to fundamentally improve the PC experience to meet today's needs and help people focus on what is most important to them. To help them create and build a sense of community. But to make this leap, there is a need to innovate the PC around five key vectors: performance, connectivity, battery life, adaptability and intelligence, Bryant said.

Ultimate Performance

Intel's commitment to delivering the best performance continued as it announced the latest additions to its mobile lineup of the 8th Gen Intel Core processor family: the Whiskey Lake U-series and Amber Lake Y-series, featuring up to double-digit performance gains and integrated gigabit Wi-Fi. He said users can expect more than 140 new laptops and 2-in-1s from OEMs starting this fall. And for desktop, by the end of this year, Intel is delivering a new X-series release and the next Intel Core S-series processor.

Beyond processing power, Intel also sees the opportunity for even more PC acceleration with the introduction of the Optane SSD 905P, now available in an M.2 form factor, said Bryant. Delivering industry-leading endurance, this new, slim Intel Optane SSD is a high-performance drive that allows the processor to spend less time waiting and more time computing, enabling users to enjoy an amazing computing experience.

Connectivity

At Mobile World Congress, Intel talked about its leadership and the importance of 5G, said Bryant. Sprint is now joining Intel as a partner to sell Intel processor based, 5G-connected PCs in stores around the world. Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Microsoft are working with Intel to deliver the industry's first 5G-connected laptops and 2-in-1s in 2019.

As the world paves the way for 5G, Intel expects to deliver 10 more 4G-connected PCs from partners like Acer, Asus, Dell and HP - on top of the 25 currently in market. These always-connected PCs are not only sleek and beautiful, but packed with performance.

All-Day Battery Life

The display consumes the most battery in a device, and one way Intel is working to enable all-day battery life is by co-engineering the new Intel Low Power Display Technology, featured in a one watt panel manufactured by Sharp and Innolux, which can cut LCD power consumption by half. Through continued innovation with the industry, Bryant said, Intel expects to deliver an additional four to eight hours of local video playback - that means battery life could be up to 28 hours on some devices.

Adaptability

People are looking for PCs that adapt to their lifestyle and location. This can take shape in new form factors like dual screen, along with designing platforms for specific usage scenarios. Intel showed several examples on stage at Bryant's keynote on June 5, including a preview of Yoga Book coming from Lenovo later this year.

Intel also highlighted multiple creator notebooks, desktop towers, all-in-ones and peripherals from Acer, Asus, Corsair, Dell, HP, MSI and Twist. This is a category built specifically for creators that we're enabling with our OEM partners. Creator PCs provide differentiated aesthetics and peripherals, upgradable form factors, and end-to-end technology optimized for the creator workflow, including Intel Core i7 and Intel Core i9 processor performance, Thunderbolt 3 technology and Intel Optane SSDs.

Intelligence

Intelligence will be integral to the modern, adaptable PC experience, said Bryant. Intel's plan to bring AI to the PC is by delivering tools and resources to the developer community and collaborating with OEMs to package the AI capabilities into new devices.

Intel introduced the AI on PC Developer Program to provide tools and training for developers - including the OpenVINO toolkit and Windows ML - to fully utilize hardware capabilities to unlock AI innovation.

Additionally, Asus also showcased a new concept PC called Project Precog, a convertible dual-screen notebook equipped with intelligent features for versatility and productivity. It also showed off a new ZenBook Pro, which allows developers to take advantage of the low-power Intel Movidius VPU to create AI-centric features for both existing and new applications.

There has never been a greater opportunity for Intel and our ecosystem to work together and deliver even more positive change to the PC, said Bryant.