Battery life
Haswell is the code name of the fourth generation of Intel Core processors. Those. Processors will have all the same names - Intel Core i7, i3, i5 and use all the same architecture of 22 nm, as well as their predecessor Ivy Bridge. Nevertheless, according to Intel, the Haswell processors will bring the most significant increase in energy efficiency in the entire history of X86 processors.Thus, the battery life of laptops and ultrabooks based on Haswell should be 8-9 hours in video playback mode, and the lifetime in sleep mode is about a week. Also stumbled upon the information that if the ultrabook manufacturer can provide 6 hours of operation of the device in video playback mode, it will not be able to get the name Ultrabook (this sign belongs to Intel).
If we talk about today, ultrabooks based on Ivy Bridge processors live, on average, about 5 hours with usual use. Thus, if the Haswell processors will meet expectations, very portable devices will soon appear, which can be operated during the entire working day without recharging.
How to achieve such a significant increase in battery life? - Major merit in this in more efficient processor power management capable of switching power supply for nanoseconds. For example, if I gained this text on a laptop with Haswell, then power consumption at the moment of pressing the key with the desired letter and between these presses would differ. In any case, so they write. The vice-president of the Navin Shemoy Architecture Group (Navin Shemoy) says: "This type of granulated power management at the microcircuit level, which we have never had before," whatever we mean.
Powerful graphics
Despite significant improvements in the battery life, Haswell boasts not only to this - the built-in video chip significantly increases the level of integrated graphics.
If the previous line of "built-in video cards" from Intel was called HD 4000, the Haswell index updated to HD 5000, and, as we promise, the productivity increase will reach two times. Intel say that this will be enough to play games like Skyrim or Bioshok Infinite. Despite the fact that the gamers of this will be not enough, nevertheless, ordinary users will be able to play their usual laptops in modern games.
Performance in games is not the only advantage of integrated graphics. Intel Haswell processors will support 4K video playback (about 4K permits on Wikipedia) - so if in the future you will have such a TV and you will be able to find content with such a resolution, the picture promises to be impressive.
Tablets and laptops transformers with Intel Haswell on Window 8 will be a good acquisition
Haswell will seriously increase the competitiveness not only ultrabooks. According to Intel, 19 mobile processors with Haswell architecture will be released, which will be used not only in PCs, laptops and ultrabooks, but also in tablets and hybrid devices on Windows 8, while the battery life must be 8-10 hours. It is worth noting that it is not about Windows 8 RT, but about the most ordinary Windows 8 for X86 processors - i.e. About a full-fledged operating system.
Thus, for Microsoft and Intel, it can mean a serious jerk forward and improving competitive positions in the tablet market, where the main share belongs to Google Android and Apple iOS. Now, with analogous time of autonomous work (and it was a weak place of Windows tablets), the buyer will be able to get a full-fledged OS on its device. For some reason, forgot to mention another shortcoming of the X86 tablets - their price.
Less noise and heat
Haswell processors benefit from the processors of the previous generation not only in performance. Also, as promised, they will work with less heat release, which means less laptop heating, and, as a result, less noise from the cooling system. Moreover, at Computex Intel event, Haswell chips for tablets and hybrids at all without a fan.By the way, the recently presented the thinnest gaming laptop Razor Blade, about which it was in the review the best game laptop 2013 (there is a video), it can serve as a demonstration that due to smaller heating, even a very powerful iron can now be made quite compact. True, if everything is so good, it is not sure that this gaming laptop will remain the thinnest. He is just the first on the basis of Haswell.
Improved technical characteristics of ultrabooks
The most notable improvements will be expecting us in the popularity of ultrabooks. With the output of Intel Haswell, the requirements for technical specifications for entering this category have changed. Now, to stick the Ultrabook sticker to your computer, the manufacturer must, as already noted above, provide 6 hours of autonomous playback of HD video, and additionally to this - to provide the device with a touch screen and WIDI (Intel Wireless Display - Wireless Image Transfer to the Outer screen).
With such characteristics as battery life and the touch screen, everything is clear - devices need to be made more mobile, and Windows 8 - promote. But Widi technology has existed for two years already, while not gaining special popularity. Now, as far as you can judge, Intel plans to make it an integral part of modern devices. Intel Widi now supports Miracast - Wireless HD video and audio without loss technology alternative to Apple Airplay. Finally, Intel reports that gesture management, recognition of persons and speech recognition - will be the mandatory function of ultrabooks on Haswell since 2014.
Is it really so good? disadvantages
Despite the fact that judging by the description, the new Haswell processor is simply stuffed with advantages, it has not cost and without flaws. First of all, taking into account the fact that the main direction of the development of the Haswell platform is mobile devices, with spurry it can be noted that the user will not receive some significant advantages compared to the processors of the previous generation in conventional desktop computers.
Another important point is the price of Haswell processors. Intel prices announced - $ 345 and $ 454 for Haswell Core i5 and Haswell Core i7 processors, respectively, which is 100 dollars higher than the price of Ivy Bridge processors similar performance.
Contrary to the wishes of Intel to reduce prices for ultrabooks and make them a mass product, the price of ultrabooks will most likely grow up, rather than will decrease. Thus, it is likely that a high-quality ultrabook with Windows 8 will cost analogously to the MacBook Air, however, it is now so. By the way, it is interesting which price for Apple MacBook Air 2013 with the transition to Haswell.