Intel makes a bid for handheld gaming PCs with new Arc G3 processors

Most Steam Deck imitators use AMD Ryzen Z-series chips designed for compact handheld power profiles. Intel has offered handhelds using Intel silicon, including MSI’s Claw, but has not previously targeted handheld-specific silicon. Intel is now introducing two Arc G-series processors for gaming handhelds, leveraging Arc B-series integrated GPUs. Intel expects multiple Arc G-series handhelds to launch starting in June 2026, with wider availability later in the year. Planned systems include an updated MSI Claw model, an Acer Predator Atlas 8, and a OneXPlayer device. The Arc G-series branding covers the full chip, including CPU, GPU, NPU, and other components. The chips resemble Core Ultra Series 3 (Panther Lake) designs, using the same CPU and GPU architectures and Intel’s 18A process, but with a different CPU/GPU core mix than existing Core Ultra models.

"Most Steam Deck imitators on the market right now use AMD silicon, specifically the Ryzen Z-series chips. These are the same chips AMD makes for regular laptops, but with different power settings better suited to a compact handheld system. There are handhelds based on Intel silicon ( MSI's Claw is the main one), but Intel hasn't yet tried making silicon marketed specifically for that purpose."

"Today, the company is throwing its hat in the ring with two Intel Arc G-series processors, which will allow gaming handhelds to leverage the company's genuinely quite good Arc B-series integrated GPUs. Intel says that several Arc G-series handhelds will arrive "starting in June 2026, with broader availability throughout the year." These systems will include a new MSI Claw model, a Predator Atlas 8 from Acer, and a device from OneXPlayer."

"Intel normally uses its "Arc" branding for integrated and dedicated GPUs, but in this case, the "Arc" brand encompasses the entire chip, including the CPU, GPU, NPU, and other components. The G-series chips are similar in many ways to the Core Ultra Series 3 chips (codenamed Panther Lake) that Intel is currently shipping in high-end thin-and-light laptops."

"They use the same CPU and GPU architectures and make use of Intel's 18A manufacturing process (among others). But they ship with a slightly different combination of CPU and GPU cores that doesn't quite match up with any of the Core Ultra processors."

Read at Ars Technica