AMD talks down Intel Panther Lake, claims Core Ultra X9 388H vs Ryzen AI Max+ Strix Halo is not a fair fight

With the exception of the Ryzen 7 9850X3D, we didn’t get any new desktop CPUs at CES 2026. What we did get, however, were new laptops with the Intel Panther Lake Core Ultra 300 series, the AMD Ryzen AI 400 Gorgon Point APUs, and the Snapdragon X2 Plus SoCs. The Intel Panther Lake APUs are particularly interesting, as they are fabbed on the latest Intel 18A process node, promise impressive CPU performance/watt, and amazing iGPU performance.

However, even after seeing performance charts of Intel Core Ultra X9 388H Panther Lake APU, AMD seems not phased at all. In an interview given to Tom’s Hardware, AMD’s Senior Vice President and General Manager of Client Product Group, Rahul Tikoo, said that AMD is not worried, as the Ryzen AI Max+ Strix Halo will “kill” Intel Panther Lake.

Rahul Tikoo claimed that the Core Ultra X9 388H vs Ryzen AI Max Strix Halo is “not even a fair fight at that point, because it's discrete-level graphics.” On the surface, this appears like an accurate assessment, as the Radeon 8060S iGPU of AMD Strix Halo APUs falls between the RTX 4060 laptop and the RTX 4070 laptop GPUs.

However, Intel has not, to our knowledge, claimed RTX 4060 or RTX 4070 laptop-level performance for the Arc B390 iGPU. Instead, the company has only claimed performance similar to the RTX 4050 laptop GPU.

Rahul Tikoo also fired some shots at Intel, targeting Team Blue’s decision to only compare the Core Ultra X9 388H to AMD’s “midpoint” and not the high-end offerings. Here, Rahul Tikoo’s remarks seem a bit disingenuous, as AMD also compared the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 against the 10-core Apple M5 while revealing the Ryzen AI Max+ 392 and Ryzen AI Max+ 388 at CES 2025. A more apt comparison would’ve been against the Apple M4 Pro, a chip that is also aimed at power users like the Strix Halo lineup.

Finally, Rahil Tikoo also commented on the possible price point of the Core Ultra X9 388H, telling Tom’s Hardware to “wait until you see the price point”. So, AMD expects the price of the Core Ultra X9 388H to be quite high, possibly enough to shock consumers. We must remind you here that Strix Halo APUs aren’t exactly cheap either. For instance, the Asus ROG Flow Z13 with the Ryzen AI Max+ 395, which AMD recently used as a comparison device against the Apple MacBook Pro 14, has a list price of $2,299.99 on Amazon.

Long story short, while Intel Panther Lake APUs are impressive on paper, AMD seems to be comfortable with its current lineup. We’ll have to wait and see for ourselves how well the Core Ultra X9 388H stacks up against the Ryzen AI Max+ APUs, and if AMD’s current strategy is a good one.