Intel's new chip will make laptops and tablets super thin and faster than ever

By Lisa Eadicicco

It's hard to imagine laptops and tablets becoming any slimmer than the ones we have today, but Intel promises we'll be seeing dozens of them next year. That's because many manufacturers will be putting the company's new Core M chips in their new tablets and laptops, which Intel announced on Friday.
The Core M is Intel's newest line of processors aimed at making sleeker, fanless laptops and tablets. These devices will not only be slimmer, but Intel says they'll also offer faster performance and longer battery life than what you'll see on the market today.

Intel unveiled its Core M at this year's Computex conference in Taiwan.

Core M processors use less energy than Intel's current offerings, which means they won't drain your laptop's battery as quickly. To be specific, Core M only needs 4.5 watts of power to work, while its predecessor required 11.5 watts.

Since the new line of processors use less power, they don't heat up as quickly. This is why laptops with Core M won't need fans to cool them down.

Several manufacturers have already announced plans to release Core M-based devices. Lenovo's recently announced ThinkPad Helix is one example, and Asus just unveiled its new Core M-powered Zenbook UX305 laptop.

Take a look at the ThinkPad Helix (bottom) below compared to Lenovo's previous model (top), and notice how much thinner it is.

Lenovo's new ThinkPad Helix (bottom) compared to the previous model (top)

Since Intel's new chip is much smaller than the previous generation processor, computing components take up less space inside tablets and laptops. This is what makes the overall design much thinner.

The image below shows the motherboard for a MacBook Air (top) versus a motherboard using Intel's Core M chip. A motherboard is a circuit board that houses the computing components inside an electronic device. This usually includes processors, sensors, and other parts.

The MacBook Air's motherboard (top) alongside a motherboard with Intel's Core M (bottom)

Hybrid devices, i.e. touch screen devices with detachable keyboards that can serve as tablets or laptops, have been in the market ever since Windows 8 launched in 2012. Those devices aren't considered mainstream just yet, but that could change within the next year thanks to these new chips.

Navin Shenoy, vice president and general manager of Intel's mobile client platforms, said he believes the hybrid market will skyrocket by this time next year. Now that there's more selection and prices are getting cheaper, he believes that hybrid sales will be in the "tens of millions" range, rather than the single-digit millions range like today.