Intel's new Apollo Lake chips could pave the way for very cheap hybrid PCs
2 min. read
Published on
Share this article
Read our disclosure page to find out how can you help Windows Report sustain the editorial team Read more
We all love cheap computers, especially when they are good computers. So upon hearing that Intel’s new Apollo chips could allow for some very cheap hybrid computers, we were unsurprisingly excited.
The Apollo Lake processors are based on the Atom design — processors designed for low-cost PCs — so folks originally expecting something equivalent of an i5 for $100 should step back and reevaluate their overall expectations.
We’ve come to understand that this new chip features a new micro-architecture known as Goldmont along with a new graphics core known as Gen9 for increased performance. Users won’t be able to play advanced video games with Atom’s Apollo Lake hybrids, but watching 4K videos should be a breeze.
When it comes down to memory support, Apollo Lake will support DDR4, DDR3L and LPDDR3/4. Furthermore, SATA drives, PCIe x4 drives and eMMC 5.0 are all supported as well.
[irp posts=”23571″ name=”The Best Windows 10 Hybrids (2-in-1) to Get in 2016″]
We should point out that Intel recommends using USB-C and wireless options when it comes down to connectivity.
One of the many interesting aspects of this new Atom Apollo Lake processor design is its new power management feature. As a result, hybrid Windows 10 computers with this processor inside should have longer battery life. In addition, OEMs can choose to design thinner computers with smaller batteries to boot.
Here’s the thing: these PCs won’t become available until the second half of 2016, and will likely carry the Celeron and Pentium processor brand names instead of Atom. When it comes down to screen size, 11.6-inches should be the smallest, topping off with 14-inches according to Intel’s PDF documents.
The sizes of the display are based on what Intel believes users require in a hybrid computer. As for the pricing, Intel is aiming from between $169 and $269. These are great prices for emerging markets and for those who just want to purchase a computer for their children.
Intel and its partners, along with Microsoft, have all been attempting to grow the lagging PC market but with little success. Windows 10 is a solid experience, but it also requires spectacular hardware to draw attention.
[irp posts=”23497″ name=”Best Windows 10 Tablets to Buy in 2016″]
