Athena, the goddess of wisdom in ancient Greek mythology and one of the twelve gods of Olympus, symbolizes wisdom, war and guardianship. Intel used it to name its next-generation notebook computer innovation plan, which is quite meaningful.
what is Athena project? In short, it is version 3. of the notebook computer. Intel tries to point the way for the innovation standard of PC ecosystem. For users, the personal PC purchased in the future may be closely related to this plan.
PC needs a new revolution to meet the future needs. In the data of market research institutions such as IDC and Gartner, the PC market is still declining in Q1 of 219. As one of the core manufacturers in the PC field, Intel hopes that Athena will bring about changes.
previously, in a "Next 5" research report that analyzed 1, consumers, Intel pointed out that 8% people still firmly believe that PC will be one of the most important technologies in the next 5 years. PC is not dead! It just needs to change. Looking back at history, you will find that Intel has been promoting the evolution of PCs, especially notebook computers.
Centrino: the implementation standard to get out of the wild era
Before the notebook computer evolved into today's style, it had a very long development period. After the transistor replaced the electron tube, the appearance of minicomputer became the forerunner of personal computer. With the maturity of integrated circuits and the introduction of microprocessors by enterprises such as Intel in 1971, microcomputers have become possible. Since then, with the development of home computers, portable computers for mobile business office have gradually been put on the agenda, and the form of flip cover and battery has been gradually determined, and finally a notebook computer has been formed.
before the introduction of Centrino platform, the dedicated CPU for notebook computers, such as Pentium 3 and Pentium 4, was modified on the desktop CPU. However, at the Intel Autumn Information Technology Summit in September 22, Intel brought the Banias platform, which was claimed to be specially designed for notebook computers. Its goal was to make notebook computers have higher performance and lower power consumption. Banias platform, in a sense, can be regarded as the predecessor of Centrino platform.
before entering the Centrino platform, we may need to mention more background. In 23, Intel officially announced the brand Intel Centrino Mobile Technology, namely Centrino Mobile Computing Technology, which launched wireless mobile computing technology. From 23 to 29, Intel successively launched Carmel, Sonoma, Napa, Santa Rosa, Montevina and Calpella under the Centrino brand.
Centrino mobile computing technology represents a complete set of solutions, including mobile processor, mobile chipset, wireless network card and so on. Through Centrino mobile computing technology brands, Intel has brought integrated wireless LAN, better mobile computing performance and longer battery life to notebook computers, and enabled it to support various types of notebook computers through low-voltage (LV) and ultra-low-voltage (ULV) technologies. This can be regarded as version 1. of the notebook computer.
With the gradual iteration of platforms, it is difficult to define the differences between the old and new Centrino platforms by Centrino brand, which leads to market confusion. Therefore, Intel plans to dilute its brand position, and then change it to the processor brand "Core" as a selling point. But this does not hinder the fact that during the period from birth to final abandonment, Centrino brand was actually an important reference factor for people to buy notebook computers.
ultrabook: pushing notebook computers to the extreme
after Intel introduced Centrino platform, Wi-Fi wireless technology on notebook computers became popular. Subsequently, people began to pursue thinner, more portable, long-life and high-performance equipment, but the technical development failed to keep up with the demand: notebook computers could not fully meet the above requirements, or were too bulky or had insufficient performance. In addition, the rise and popularity of tablet computers also gives the existence of heavy notebook computers a sense of crisis.
At the 211 Taipei Computer Show, Sean Maloney, the global executive vice president of Intel Corporation and the chairman of Intel China, first put forward the brand-new concept of Ultrabook ultrabook, namely the new ultra-thin mobile computer series. In this way, we try to push heavy notebook computers to ultrabooks with thinner, stronger performance, faster and longer battery life.
at that time, Intel planned to implement its plan in three stages from 211 to 213 * * *, accompanied by updates of different processors, such as Sandy Bridge, Ivy Bridge and Haswell. In the first phase, in 211, it is expected to bring thinner and longer-lasting equipment, equipped with SSD solid state drives; In the second stage, it supports USB 3. and PCIe 3.. In the third stage, it brings a brand-new power-saving system and multi-core technology.
you can simply think of it as version 2. of your laptop. The specific requirements are that the ultrabook's weight should not exceed 3.1 pounds, its thickness should not exceed .71 inch, and its battery life should be at least 5 hours. Intel hopes that manufacturers involved in the ultrabook market can meet these conditions.
in addition, when developing ultrabooks, Intel changed the previous research and development steps, took the lead in exploring the needs of end users and the corresponding software to meet the needs, and designed the CPU according to the final product. This is very different from the previous way of developing CPU first, then developing operating system and adapting applications.
with the popularization of ultrabook concept, the product forms of notebook computers have evolved, including variants, ultra-thin books and two-in-one computers, which can realize the full-function application of traditional PC and the entertainment experience of tablet computers on one device. The manufacturer's follow-up soon made the ultrabooks on the market much more. In the later stage, even the game book began to control the thickness below 2mm, and the concept of ultrabook was retired and was no longer emphasized by Intel.
Athena plan: the future-oriented evolution of PC
There is no end to the development. It is not enough for notebook manufacturers to take a step forward on Ultrabook and get a notebook computer with higher performance, long battery life, being online at any time and being thinner and more fashionable. Athena project came into being when products generally pursue thinness, lack other changes and users lack the motivation to change.
as early as the 219 CES show, Intel announced a brand-new "Project Athena". Intel plans to bring a notebook computer with first-class performance, long battery life, ready connection and fashionable design, and try to use the new generation technology including 5G and artificial intelligence to improve the experience of the device and give the PC more value. According to the plan at that time, the first batch of Athena project devices equipped with Windows and Chrome operating systems will be available in the second half of 219.
on may 8th, Intel launched the plan to establish the Athena project open laboratory. It is planned to support component manufacturers to conduct evaluation, optimization and compliance testing through open laboratories in Taipei, Shanghai and California, so as to help improve the power consumption and performance of various notebook components and peripheral products (such as audio, display screen, embedded controller, touch function, solid state disk and wireless function).
At the Taipei Computer Show, Intel released version 1. of Athena Plan. The key experience indicators (KEI) are used to measure new experiences that reflect the real situation. The first batch of key indicators include:
The specifications for realizing these experiences also include platform-level requirements, such as compatibility of Thunderbolt 3, Intel Wi-Fi 6(Gig+), OpenVINO AI on PC and new-generation networking standby, which involve six aspects: instant operation, performance and response speed, artificial intelligence and battery.
from power consumption to response speed, from battery life to computing performance, from environmental awareness to deep learning, every index of a notebook computer will have an impact on the user experience. The evaluation, tuning and compliance testing of components led by Intel really help to ensure the experience of the next generation PC. Intel expands the scope of PC ecosystem integration, which can help OEMs improve the efficiency of component selection, and support continuous optimization and testing based on real workloads and usage patterns, thus significantly speeding up the development process of advanced notebook devices and functions.
of course, in the process of leading this plan, Intel will also establish de facto standards and higher entry barriers in the entire PC supply chain system, so as to get rid of the competition of individual hardware products and play the role of a complete solution formed by a series of acquisitions, which will also be of great help to Intel in maintaining its market position. A typical example is that introducing AI into PC is really helpful for the future user experience, but the reason why Intel spared no effort to promote this integration is also related to its acquisition of Movidius.
Zero Mirror View
From the first Intel Centrino platform laptop with integrated Wi-Fi function, to the popularization of ultra-thin notebook design, touch screen and 2-in-1 ultrabook, and now to Athena Project, Intel's ambition to become a PC experience leader remains unchanged. Intel is no longer a simple chip provider, but a creator of personal computing terminal products. In fact, Intel has a large number of software engineers, who have been deeply involved in the formulation of personal computing solutions. Intel engineers and anthropologists have carried out extensive research, deeply understanding people's equipment usage and challenges, and based on this, a series of predefined key experience requirements have been formulated, and the next generation technologies (such as 5G and artificial intelligence) have been applied to the entire PC platform.
In this process, we can see that the PC did not die as soon as expected, but still exudes exuberant vitality. With the development of technologies such as 5G and artificial intelligence, and the trend of cloud computing and edge computing becoming clearer, what form will the future PC evolve into? To answer this question, Athena project is only the beginning, and many manufacturers need to explore it together in the future.