Samsung, Intel partner on Athena, Lakefield laptops

Samsung has become the latest vendor to partner with Intel on its Project Athena programme, announcing three co-engineered laptops - one of which includes Intel's Lakefield processor.

Intel unveiled Project Athena back in January as a means for manufacturers to produce hardware which adhere to a set of Intel-prescribed standards - including the promise of annual specification updates as well as user experience and benchmarking targets based on real-world usage. Partners can run their designs through the Athena Open Labs programme and receive a 'visual identifier' which Intel is very clear is definitely not a badge to indicate their adherence to the requirements of Project Athena.

Now, Samsung has announced it is the latest laptop maker to sign up to the programme with two devices to launch by year's end: The Galaxy Book Flex and Galaxy Book Ion, both available in 13.3- and 15.6-inch variants and with QLED displays. With their launch the total number of Project Athena devices in the market will rise to 17, Intel has confirmed.

'Our partnership with Samsung opens the door to bring PC and mobile innovation together in entirely new ways,' claims Intel's Gregory Bryant on the partnership. 'Samsung’s first Project Athena-verified laptops and the new Galaxy Book S with our Lakefield processor are great examples of the work we are doing together, but they are only the first of many achievements yet to come.'

At the same time, Samsung teased a Galaxy Book S device which is to include Intel's Lakefield processor. Announced by Intel back in February and based on the company's Foveros packaging technology, the three-dimensional Lakefield combines package, 22nm P1222 interposer and system-on-chip die, and P1274 10nm-based compute die with package-on-package (POP) memory into a low-footprint 12mmx12mmx1mm device.

While the companies have indicated that the Galaxy Book S will be the first Lakefield-based device to hit the market, neither has committed to a firm launch date.

'Consumers often have to choose between mobility and high-performance hardware when choosing a laptop, but Intel’s breadth of industry-leading platform solutions enables us to bring the new mobile computing experiences of the future to life,' claims YoungGyoo Choi, senior vice president of the Mobile Communication Business at Samsung Electronics. 'We’re proud to launch our first Project Athena-based laptops and to bring Intel’s Lakefield technology to consumers.'

The Galaxy Book Flex and Galaxy Book Ion are to launch this December, Samsung has confirmed, at an as-yet unannounced price point.