Computer Shopper - UK (2020-03)

ISSUE385|COMPUTER SHOPPER|MARCH

PROJECTWHAT?

Project Athena. It’s
basically astandard Intel
has cooked up forlaptops,
which will be given abadge
certifying that theyreach a
certain standard laid out by
the chip maker.
Take the term ‘ultrabook’,
which was and still is used to
describe ultraportable laptops
with an Intel mobile processor.
That was coined by Intel as away
to describe acertain type of laptop
without digging toomuch intothe
nitty gritty details of the onboard
silicon and other specs.
That’s what Project Athena is
attempting to do forthe very latest
and upcoming laptops; it’s effectively
creating an ‘ultrabook 2.0’.

WHYBOTHER?
These days, buying alaptop can be quitea
complicated task. Where once there were simple
clamshell laptops, now there are thin and light machines, chunkier
mobile workstations, 2-in-1 laptops-cum-tablets, hybrid devices such as
the Surface Pro 7and so on.
Choosing the right laptop forthe right task can be arather arduous
process of poring over specs and cross-
referencing different components against other
electronic innards. Take the Dell XPS 13 range as
an example; there’s asuiteofdifferent
configurations ranging from screen and memory
options to processor models and storage.
And many more laptop makers do the same
as Dell, meaning the market is awash with loads
of laptops to choose from, with all manner of
different spec configurations.
Project Athena aims to simplify that process
by certifying that laptops meet aparticular standard forbalancing
performance and portability.

SOWEWON’TNEEDTOWORRYABOUTSPECSANYMORE?

Not quite. There’ll always be the question of what you plan to use your
laptop for, which will dictatewhat you should get. Apowerful gaming
laptop,for example,isn’t likely to be the slimmest and lightest machine,
while asuper-slimultraportable isn’t going to do agreat job when it
comes to tearing through graphically intensive 4K video editing.
But it should make things easier when it comes to picking an
ultraportable laptop with the Project Athena certification, which will
pop up in the form of an ‘Engineered forMobile Performance’badge
from Intel on approved laptops. The badge will mean the laptop in
question has been put through Intel testing to ensure it delivers a
certain standard of responsiveness, performance,connectivity,battery
life, form factor and built-in artificial intelligence tech.

WHATSPECSMEETTHESTANDARD?
Good question. At its core,aProject Athena machine will need to have
the latest 10th-generation Core i5 or i7 processors to guarantee alevel

of performance set by Intel. The chip will need to be partnered with at

least 8GB of RAM and a256GB NVMe SSD with Intel Optane memory

being an option.

With this specification, the laptop will need to deliver responsive

performance on battery power,not just

plugged in. Speaking of which, battery lifewill

need to clock in at aminimum of 16 hours of

local video playback and nine hours of ‘real-

world use’, whilealso charging up to four hours

of capacity in 30 minutes or less.

Project Athena laptops will also need to

boot up fast, with Intel expecting a‘wake

from sleep’timeofone second or less, and

forcertified machines to have biometric

login options.

Connectivity is also very important to the Project Athena standard,

with laptops needing to have Thunderbolt 3, Wi-Fi 6and the option

forGigabit LTEcellular connectivity.Artificial intelligence features are

also part of the standard, with machines expected to support things

including far-field voice services; think Amazon Alexa support and

voice-command recognition.

Finally,the form factor needs to be either aclamshell or 2-in-1 design

with slim displaybezels, a1080p or better touchscreen display, backlit

keyboard, precision trackpad and pen/stylus support.

ITSEEMSPRETTYCOMPREHENSIVE...

Yes, Intel isn’t messing around here.We’re quiteglad to see the

company trying to set these standards, as missing afew details on a

spec sheet when it comes to getting alaptop can mean you get a

decent core spec but then have amachine with dated connectivity or

poor power management.

Project Athena should go some waytomaking getting alaptop a

doddle.And with Dell’s XPS 13 2-in-1 and the Lenovo Yoga C940 both

meeting the standard, there are Project Athena-certified machines

available right now,with more expected to pop up throughout 2020.

ProjectAthena

Intel’snewstandardforlaptops thataimstomakelifeeasierforconsumers

ProjectAthena laptops will

need todeliver responsive

performanceonbattery

power,not justplugged in

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