Intel's 2025 'Arrow Lake' Core Ultra Chips for Laptops Prioritize Power Over AI

PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing.

Intel leveraged CES 2025 to launch its anticipated "Arrow Lake" Core Ultra 200U, 200H, and 200HX chip series for laptops, joining the "Lunar Lake" Core Ultra 200V series.

The 200U series of Core Ultra chips will drive even more efficient (and affordable) systems than 200V, while the 200H and 200HX will fit into higher-performance and max-power laptops, respectively. All of these new chips also prioritize either performance (H and HX series) or efficiency (U series) ahead of AI output, leaving the V series to lead in that specific performance trait with its 48 trillion operations per second (TOPS) rating.

Intel also used the CES stage to launch Lunar Lake and the rest of these Arrow Lake processors for business laptops, under the longtime vPro brand. Here's what we know so far about the new chips and what sort of laptops each tier will appear in this year.

Lunar Lake Brings Top-Tier AI Into the Office: The New Core Ultra 200V vPro Series

Debuting for the first time in work systems, Lunar Lake processors have Intel's second generation of AI-optimized neural processing units (NPU) to execute AI software tasks with enhanced efficiency. These vPro chips come with the same redesigned cores, next-generation Intel Arc graphics, and integrated Intel Wi-Fi 7 (5 Gig) as in consumer-grade systems. The new Wi-Fi is up to five times faster (up to 5.8Gbps) than Wi-Fi 6, with 60% lower latency for better video conferencing. This Wi-Fi chip uses AI-based networking optimization software to maintain uptime while working across the 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz frequencies.

Additionally, the chips support 40Gbps Thunderbolt 4, four times faster than USB 3.2 (10Gbps). This enables Intel Thunderbolt Share for seamless PC-to-PC data-sharing and connecting dual 4K displays or a single 8K display. Intel also added Bluetooth 5.4 with Microsoft Teams Certification over Bluetooth for added security.

More important to security, however, is Intel vPro, the firm's endpoint security solution with AI, MITRE mapping to combat real-world threat tactics, and hardware-based threat detection technology. The last is aptly named Intel Threat Detection Technology (TDT) and the Intel Silicon Security Engine.

Intel's Core Ultra 200-series processors allow third-party security software to use the NPU, making it more effective at detecting threats like ransomware and cryptojacking. Core Ultra 200V also supports the Microsoft Pluton security processor to provide a robust foundation for security aimed at helping businesses operate with greater confidence in their cybersecurity measures.

Intel also promotes a vast ecosystem of more than 200 independent software vendors developing commercial applications and services tailored to its platform. Notable names include Adobe, Citrix, Power BI, Webex, and Microsoft. Additional vendors leverage AI for various business applications, ranging from data visualization and analytics to video editing and media creation.

Note that Intel will offer vPro security measures for several processors across its 2025 stack, from 200V-series chips to options from the U, H, and HX series for general work machines and high-power mobile workstations. These Arrow Lake Core Ultra 200-series chips also have NPU hardware onboard, albeit less potent than what's in the Lunar Lake 200V processors.

Now, the Rest of Intel's Core Ultra 200-Series Chips for 2025

With Intel's introduction of Lunar Lake vPro to the office out of the way, the firm's Lunar Lake and new Arrow Lake Core Ultra 200-series processors will fit into the following subcategories of laptops for consumers:

Thin-and-Light Laptops: Core Ultra 200U Series

These notebooks are designed for on-the-go workers and the mainstream consumer audience. When an OEM opts for Intel, they will most often feature the new Intel Core Ultra 200U chips. or sometimes the beefier 200H processors, when the implementation calls for them. These U-series chips deliver improved processing for everyday tasks and boosted Intel graphics, while driving efficiency with Low-Power Efficient (LPE) cores in addition to Intel's standard split of Performance (P) and Efficient (E) cores.

This amounts to 12 total cores across the lineup, with two P-cores (up to 5.3GHz), eight E-cores, and two LPE-cores. Those will be common traits to each of this processor line's four CPU options, from Core Ultra 5 to Core Ultra 7.

Intel aims to enable PC makers to deliver true full-day battery life with the Core Ultra 200U line of chips. According to Intel's testing using the UL Procyon Battery Life benchmark test and a 3x3 Microsoft Teams meeting scenario, newly equipped laptops report up to 20 hours of use in basic productivity and up to 10 hours in Microsoft Teams meetings.

While you can get some AI work done on these chips, their 13-TOPS NPU isn't quite Copilot+ PC grade, which requires at least a 45 NPU TOPS rating.

Premium Ultraportables: The Original Core Ultra 200V Series

These laptops cater to knowledge workers and prosumers; some have been available to buy since late 2024 with Lunar Lake 200V-series chips inside. On those, you get P-cores capable of achieving up to 5.1GHz of turbo frequency and LPE-cores reaching 3.7GHz. These cores are tailored for even more efficiency in driving low-impact tasks.

Intel also brought its newest Intel Arc integrated graphics to 200V. This integrated graphics processor (IGP) contains eight Xe cores (up to 2.05GHz) with 64 vector engines, 8MB of cache, and the ability to leverage the on-die system memory module as an additional video memory resource. It also has AI upscaling and ray-tracing engines for additional fidelity. (Lots of these graphic features continue to play out and advance through Intel's H- and HX-series Arrow Lake chips, too.)

Finally, these are Intel's most advanced chips in its 2025 stack for local AI work, starting with 48 NPU TOPS. This enables OEMs to designate laptops based on these chips Copilot+ PC-compatible.

High-Performance Laptops: Core Ultra 200H Series

These laptops are designed for power users in and out of the office. Their processors feature more redesigned cores (ranging from 14 to 16), higher-voltage Intel Arc graphics, and optional Thunderbolt 5 connectivity, twice as fast as the previous generation. They provide exceptional performance, enhanced graphics processing, and faster connectivity for demanding tasks. However, like the U series, they're less focused on AI performance, with just 11 TOPS worth of NPU speeds, so laptops with H-series chips will not be included in the Copilot+ PC program.

For these high-speed laptops, the Intel Core Ultra 200H series is the name of the game. This line starts with the Core Ultra 5 225H processor, which contains four P-cores (up to 4.9GHz), eight E-cores, two LPE-cores, and eight Xe graphics cores (up to 2.2GHz). It ends with the powerful Core Ultra 9 285H, which packs six P-cores (up to 5.4GHz), eight E-cores, two LPE-cores, and eight Xe cores (up to 2.35GHz) for high-intensity productivity or gaming.

Finally, these chips specifically feature an Endurance Gaming Mode, which uses Intel's Dynamic Tuning Technology to adjust performance and power draw based on system temperature to maximize gaming battery life.

Content Creator Laptops, Gaming Laptops, and Mobile Workstations: Core Ultra 200HX Series

These ultra-powered laptops cater to technical creators with the heaviest computational demands, as well as to top-tier PC gaming experiences. They feature even more redesigned CPU cores (dropping LPE-cores entirely), support for the absolute best discrete graphics, and Thunderbolt 5, delivering top-tier performance and graphics capabilities for demanding workloads and games.

Rated for up to 55 watts of power, these aren't for slim portability machines but powerful number crunchers needed for engineering and 3D rendering, where thicker designs and higher prices are acceptable trade-offs to get peak processing and graphics power.

This is where Intel's Core Ultra 200HX series is called upon. It ranges from the more basic Core Ultra 5 235HX with six P-cores (up to 5.1GHz), eight E-cores (up to 2.9GHz), and three Xe cores (up to 1.8GHz) to the Core Ultra 9 285HX with its eight P-cores (up to 5.5GHz), 16 E-cores (up to 2.8GHz), and four Xe cores (up to 2GHz).

These chips deliver up to 13 NPU TOPS, more than most of Intel's Arrow Lake lineup, but that's not nearly enough to be considered a Copilot+ PC. Intel's focus is instead on other areas of performance here.

Arrow Lake processors will be available in business-grade and mainstream laptops in all form factors across a range of brands starting this month and will continue to be released through the first quarter of 2025. To learn more, check out our coverage of every laptop announcement from CES 2025.