Intel has released its vPro platform for business PCs to complement its 14th-gen mobile processors for consumers. Unlike the consumer laptop market, Intel is only offering one mobile processor platform for vPro, consisting of nearly a dozen Core Ultra processors for business laptops.
Intel has categorized the vPro platform into Intel vPro Essentials for small businesses and vPro Enterprise for larger enterprises. These platforms offer enhanced security and manageability solutions, such as Intel Hardware Shield, that are typically managed by IT departments.
The new 14th-gen Core Ultra vPro platform includes improved security features like Intel Threat Detection Technology and an Intel Silicon Security Engine. These platforms can also provide more detailed information about the PCs they run on.
Intel plans to ship over 100 designs based on the vPro-class Core and Core Ultra chips to various brands. The vPro chips include the Core Ultra 9 185H, Core Ultra 7 164U, and Core Ultra 5 134U.
For desktop vPro chips, Intel is utilizing select processors from the 14th-gen desktop Core architecture and additional 35W and 65W desktop Core chips introduced in January 2024.
The latest vPro chips offer significant power efficiency improvements, increased productivity, and enhanced AI performance compared to previous generations. Features like WiFi 7 support and AV1 encoding/decoding are also included.
Intel highlights the NPU as a key component for AI processing, particularly in corporate PC environments. Microsoft’s AI efforts in Teams, powered by the NPU, demonstrate the effectiveness of AI in meeting-driven scenarios.
David Feng, Intel’s Vice President of the Client Computing Group, predicts that 2024 will be a groundbreaking year for IT with the introduction of AI-ready technologies from Intel and Microsoft. Overall, Intel’s latest vPro chips promise to deliver superior performance and efficiency for corporate PCs.
