Intel is about to enter the best gaming handheld ring again, as Arc G3 and G3 Extreme portable PCs are apparently on the way. That's according to insider information acquired by Videocardz that suggests the Pather Lake devices will debut at Computex, but I'm not holding my breath for approachable price points.
I don't want to be a premium portable party pooper, especially since the MSI Claw 8 AI+ gave Intel a handheld scene second wind. Plus, if the Pather Lake models are packing Arc B380 and B360 graphics, they could take the fight to the likes of the ROG Xbox Ally X and its non-X sibling, all while offering better efficiency.
The new handheld chipset duo is expected to also represent a generation that will last until Q2 2027, suggesting Intel's already planning for a successor next year. That fuels my fears that the handheld scene will switch to a laptop-style life cycle, and it begs the question whether players will be put off investing in a portable PC if it will be outpaced by a new chip the following year.
As for power, the G3 handhelds will allegedly aim for 25W base TDP that ramps up to 65W and 80W in turbo mode, respectively. That latter figure sounds wild given that the max for the Ryzen Z2 Extreme is 60W, but it makes sense given the chip is expected to end up in premium MSI and OneXPlayer handhelds.
Perhaps I'm being cynical, and it's hard not to be when the Steam Deck OLED is AWOL, and rivals are trying to offer elevated performance for the same price range. However, it feels like handheld makers in the scene are trudging on without the majority of players who'd buy the devices if they were under $1,000. Just last week, the Lenovo Legion Go 2 jumped up to nearly $3,000, and it's starting to feel like the industry simply can't produce devices at around the same price as a Switch 2.
The saving grace here is that there are quite a few brands that could make use of Intel Arc G3 chipsets. Some of the additional names previously highlighted as partners by the tech giant include Acer, GPD, and even Microsoft, despite already being proverbially in bed with Asus, and that leaves some scope for different SKUs targeting affordable price points.
Out of the three, Acer feels more likely to try to make an "affordable" handheld, rivalling MSI's likely more lavish successor to the Claw 8 AI+. All we can really do is hope Computex spits out a handheld most players can realistically invest in, as the realm of portable PCs will otherwise be perpetually trapped at a premium party where few can afford to have fun.
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