Up to $2,400: High-end Intel Panther Lake laptops are expensive with pricing reportedly comparable to AMD Strix Halo laptops

With the reviews of Intel Panther Lake laptops now online, we now know that Intel has done a pretty good job with the Core Ultra 300 series APUs. The Core Ultra X9/X7 APUs with the Arc B390 iGPU are especially impressive, as these APUs combine super energy efficiency with excellent graphics performance. However, laptops powered by the Panther Lake Core Ultra X9 and X7 will reportedly cost quite a bit of money.

Citing information obtained through retail and OEM sources, Moore’s Law Is Dead claims that the Intel Panther Lake laptops cost betweenm $1,400 and $2,400. The average price seemingly falls around $2,100. Moreover, a “Major OEM” has allegedly told MLID that Panther Lake laptop pricing “for the best models” is near AMD Strix Halo machines. So, while Intel maintains that the Core Ultra 300 and AMD Ryzen AI Max+ Strix Halo APUs are not competitors, the leaked pricing will inevitably pit Team Blue and Team Red against each other.

The same OEM source also claimed that high memory costs are also contributing to the Panther Lake pricing. As a result, the source advised that Lunar Lake laptops “will be the way to go in 2026” for folks who want to save money. Intel Lunar Lake APUs are comparable to Panther Lake APUs in efficiency and single-core performance. So, if you don’t need the graphics and multi-core performance afforded by the Core Ultra X9/X7 APUs, then the laptops based on the Core Ultra 200 should be more than enough (get one on amazon.com).

While MLID’s information regarding the pricing of Panther Lake notebooks might disappoint some fans, the Core Ultra 300 APUs were always expected to cost a lot. The CPU tiles of the Intel Panther Lake APUs are fabbed on the most advanced Intel 18A process node, which is pricey. Intel is also using the TSMC N3E 3 nm node for the Arc B390 iGPU, which has become quite expensive through repeated price increases.

So, if you want an Intel Panther Lake laptop, especially a machine with the Arc B390, be prepared to spend close to $2,000.