Intel unveils its most powerful AI PCs yet - new Intel Core Ultra Series 2 processors pack in vPro for lightweight laptops and high-performance workstations alike

The socket interface of the Intel Core Ultra processor

(Image credit: Intel)

Intel unveils Intel Core Ultra Series 2 processors at MWC 2025
Processors offer significant improvements in performance
Intel announces Assured Supply Chain for select OEMs

Intel has lifted the veil on its latest commercial offerings - a range of new Core Ultra processors designed for a range of workstations.

Building on the success of the Lunar Lake Core Ultra 200V, Intel is now adding the Core Ultra 200U, 200H, 200HX, and 200S under the Arrow Lake designation.

Revealed at MWC 2025, the 200U will expand the performance of Intel’s thin and light laptop range, while the 200H and 200HX are built for performance notebooks. The 200S will be the beating heart of a range of desktops and workstations. Arrow Lake devices will start shipping in March 2025.

Better productivity and performance

Digging into the stats, the Intel Core Ultra 7 265U offers superior benchmarking across a range of Cinebench, Geekbench, and Procyon over its 165U counterpart. Most notably, the 265U offers an up to 1.30x boost in performance for Procyon Video Editing.

As for the 265H over the 165H, the stats are just as impressive. Offering between a 1.01x and 1.60x boost in performance across the same benchmarks. Simulating the potential increases in performance an upgrade could provide, Intel also benchmarked the 265H against a 4-year-old Intel Core i7-1185G7, and returned a 2.84x improvement in the Cinebench 2024 benchmark, and a 2.42x improvement for the Geekbench 6.3 Multicore test.

Intel Core Ultra Series 2 performance over Snapdragon and AMD competitors. — (Image credit: Intel)

As for competitor performance, Intel says the Core Ultra 265H edges out past the Snapdragon X Elite-X1E-80-100, and offers a 15% improvement over AMD’s Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 in Cinebench 2024 Single Core testing.

“2025 is a pivotal year for PC refresh,” said David Feng, vice president of the Client Computing Group and general manager of Client Segments at Intel, “and with Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) processors, we’re delivering the most advanced commercial systems to date.”

Intel Core Ultra Series 2 performance in AI workloads vs AMD and Snapdragon — (Image credit: Intel)

Intel Assured Supply Chain

Intel has also announced that select Intel Core Ultra Series 2 products will benefit from Assured Supply Chain, meaning that certain manufacturers will be able to provide a system-on-chip (SoC) that shows a digitally attestable chain in the silicon manufacturing process, allowing greater control over procurement for governments and sensitive data handlers. This program will be available in the second half of 2025.

“Intel has long been a leader in secure, transparent and reliable semiconductor manufacturing, and the Intel Assured Supply Chain program is another step forward in strengthening trust in the technology that powers our customers’ critical operations,” said Jennifer Larson, general manager, Commercial Client Segments, Client Computing Group, Intel.

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Benedict has been writing about security issues for over 7 years, first focusing on geopolitics and international relations while at the University of Buckingham. During this time he studied BA Politics with Journalism, for which he received a second-class honours (upper division), then continuing his studies at a postgraduate level, achieving a distinction in MA Security, Intelligence and Diplomacy. Upon joining TechRadar Pro as a Staff Writer, Benedict transitioned his focus towards cybersecurity, exploring state-sponsored threat actors, malware, social engineering, and national security. Benedict is also an expert on B2B security products, including firewalls, antivirus, endpoint security, and password management.