The Intel Evo Platform is basically Intel’s way of verifying that laptops offer a certain set of “key experiences.” When the platform first launched in 2020 that meant long battery life, quick resume from sleep, and fast charging, among other things.
Now Intel is introducing the 3rd-gen Intel Evo Platform. Along with those earlier experiences, Intel says that in order to get the new Evo badge, a laptop now needs to include features to help with video conferencing, in keeping with the world we now live in. The company is also adding support for laptops with larger screens, higher-power processors, and outlining specs for devices with foldable displays.
Unsurprisingly, Intel is tying the new spec to the launch of its 12th-gen Intel Core processors, so in order to be considered a 3rd-gen Intel Evo device a laptop needs to have an Intel Alder Lake processor with support for WiFi 6E (even though the company acknowledges that many users won’t be using laptops with WiFi 6E routers, as that technology isn’t widely available yet).
The company also says that Evo-certified notebooks will support Dynamic Background Noise Suppression when using video conferencing and collaboration applications.
For the first time, Intel will grant Evo certification to laptops with 35 watt and 45 watt Intel Core H-Series processors and to models with 15 to 16 inch displays. Some models may also have Intel Arc discrete graphics. Laptops with Intel Core U and P-Series chips and smaller displays will also, of course, earn the Evo badge.
And the chip maker is also expanding the Evo platform to include a laptop/tablet hybrids with large foldable displays that can be used in laptop, tabletop, journal (or book) modes, or other orientations. Intel expects to see more of these come to market in 2022.
