Intel Project Firefly reimagines affordable computing by using smartphone factory partnerships and mobile memory for entry level notebooks
The constant supply shortages that continue to affect the memory chip industry remain the driving force behind the increasing cost of entry level notebooks across the globe. Though various hardware companies have reacted to this problem by reducing the system memory or using older components Intel has decided to offer its own solution for maintaining portable computing affordability. Today the silicon designer announced an initiative dubbed Project Firefly and it fundamentally reimages how low end laptops are built and supplied.
Intel Senior Director of Client Products Nisha Neelalojanan stated that the initiative was an effort to directly bring mass production strategies used in mobile phones to PC manufacturing. Intel is already working hand in hand with mobile phone factories located in China. Using these facilities allows Intel to cut back on how it integrates internal components as well as time to market and the capital required to produce the hardware.
Intel Senior Director of Client Products Nisha Neelalojanan stated that the initiative was an effort to directly bring mass production strategies used in mobile phones to PC manufacturing.
The base of these upcoming notebooks will be Intel's Wildcat Lake processors. The example is the Intel Core 5 320 which includes 6 processor cores and a 2 Xe3 core graphics subsystem. Also to reduce manufacturing costs Intel engineered an ultra thin copper heat pipe cooling system and highly inexpensive ribbon cabling on the motherboard.
To show its effectiveness Intel already showed off a physical prototype to demonstrate the functionality of Project Firefly. The demo unit had a slim 12.9 mm metal body that still kept physical I/O with 1 USB C 1 USB A and 1 HDMI output so it could still connect to existing accessories.
Another significant cost saver that these low end notebooks will employ will be system memory. These low end laptops will utilize memory produced originally for smartphones which is significantly cheaper than standard RAM found on laptop Motherboards. Pricing for these devices and their actual release date remain under wraps but this strategy could make for a new floor for affordable mobile computing.
