Computex 2019 | These are all the Athena 1.0 laptops Intel just announced for 2019
As explained in our overview, Project Athena consists of a set of laptop-related guidelines for OEMs to follow on a voluntary basis. Should the laptops meet the requirements, then they can be deemed "Athena certified" laptops.
Senior vice president and general manager of Intel CCG Gregory Bryant went onstage at Taipei tonight to unveil the first generation of Athena laptops all equipped with 10th gen Ice Lake processors. These Athena 1.0 laptops are the Acer Swift 5, Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 7390, HP Envy 13 Wood Series, and the Lenovo Yoga S940. In short, these will be the "super Ultrabooks" with the promise of longer battery life, better Wi-Fi, and/or faster responsiveness than any other ordinary Ultrabook that came before them.
While Intel announced just four Athena laptops today, there will likely be several more before the end of the year with even more models planned for 2020.
Acer Swift 5
Of all the laptops on this list, the Acer Swift 5 is the one we know the least about. Intel says it will feature an "ultralight magnesium alloy design" much like on the existing Swift 5 already in the market. We'll update this page once we learn more about how the Athena certified Swift 5 will differ from the one already available. In the meantime, see our review on the early 2019 15.6-inch model and 2018 14-inch model for more information on the series.
Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 7390
The XPS 13 2-in-1 7390 will directly succeed the last generation XPS 13 2-in-1 launched over two years ago. Of all the Athena laptops on this list, however, the Dell will arguably have the most interesting set of features to offer. Its 16:10 13.4-inch 4K UHD+ touchscreen, MagLev keyboard keys, and GORE insulation can be found on no other subnotebooks at the time of writing.
Configurations start at $1000 when the model launches this July.
HP Envy 13 Wood
The 2019 Envy 13, Envy 15, and Envy 17 family will be refreshed with brand new chassis designs partly composed of authentic and sustainable birch wood. Only the smaller 13.3-inch Envy 13, however, will be Athena certified. The natural texture of the material will give owners a unique feel not found on any other Ultrabook. We're a bit surprised to see an Envy laptop become Athena certified before any Spectre laptops which are typically thinner and pricier.
No word yet on the exact launch times or starting prices of the new Envy 13 Wood model.
Lenovo Yoga S940
First unveiled at CES 2019, the Yoga S940 will be a brand new clamshell design from Lenovo to accompany the existing Yoga C930 convertible. The system is notable for its rounded display corners and lid not unlike on many smartphones today.
Lenovo originally advertised a May launch window for a starting price of $1500. While SKUs with Whiskey Lake-U CPUs are already available, these are not Athena certified since they are not equipped with Wi-Fi 6 or Ice Lake CPUs.
Source(s)
Intel
