Intel unveils first ultrabook in the NUC family: Tiger Lake-U processor and up to 16 hours of battery life
Intel has expanded its range of branded NUC computers with the introduction of the first slim notebook in the series, the NUC M15. The novelty is a reference platform on the basis of which not the largest manufacturers can produce devices under their own brands and compete more successfully with mastodons like Dell and HP. This approach has worked well with NUC mini-PCs, which are produced not only by Intel but also by other companies.
The reference version of the NUC M15 laptop can use the Intel Core i5-1135G7 or i7-1165G7 generation Tiger Lake-U processors with the integrated graphics subsystem of the next generation Iris X e. The laptop itself can be equipped with a regular or touch 15.6-inch IPS-display with a resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels, as well as 8 or 16 GB of RAM. An unpleasant feature is that the choice of a particular amount of RAM upon purchase will be final – it will be impossible to increase the amount of memory on your own.
Intel points out that a 73 Wh battery can provide up to 16 hours of laptop operation on a single charge. The laptop also includes two Thunderbolt 4 (USB Type-C) connectors that can be used for fast charging, a pair of USB Type-A connectors with a transfer rate of 10 Gb / s, as well as one HDMI, and one combo audio connector.
The model does not have a slot with support for SD memory cards. The Intel NUC M15 laptop weighs 3.64 lbs (1.64 kg) and is 1.5 cm thick.
An interesting decorative element of the portable system is the long LED indicator located near the bottom of the touchpad. It glows blue when using the Windows Alexa app.
The laptop is equipped with four microphones that can pick up the user’s voice commands even in a relatively spacious room. The laptop’s webcam supports Windows Hello, so it can also be used as a system for facial recognition of the user.
The cost of the NUC M15 will depend on the wishes of the Intel partners themselves. Nevertheless, the resource The Verge, which was reviewed by XPG NUC M15 laptop, suggests that the price of the laptop is likely to be in the range of 74,147.50 to 1,11,221.25, and ultimately will depend on the configuration. The portable system will go on sale early next year.
Typically, Intel produces compact portable nettops as part of the NUC platform. However, the NUC M15 model is not the first laptop of this series for the manufacturer: in 2019, Intel released the MAG-15 gaming laptop as part of the same series. But it is difficult to call that launch successful because the manufacturers actually did not show interest in the platform. As The Verge points out, Intel is likely to expand the NUC series with other laptop models in the future.
