The Intel Wildcat Lake processors are quite expensive, yet testing reveals they fall short compared to the MacBook Neo.

      Intel's fanless chips have arrived, but their price may leave you shocked.

      Intel's Wildcat Lake represents the company's effort to compete with the Apple MacBook Neo. These compact chips feature two performance cores, four efficiency cores, and a mini integrated GPU, allowing them to operate completely fanless due to their efficiency.

      This is an appealing option for Windows users who desire a sleek, quiet laptop without changing their operating system. However, there is a major drawback.

      How do these chips perform?

      Let’s focus on performance first. As reported by Notebookcheck, benchmarking results for the Core 5 320 have surfaced on Geekbench, showing decent, though not exceptional, scores.

      - Geekbench 6 (single-core): 2,564

      - Geekbench 6 (multi-core): 8,122

      To put this in perspective:

      - Apple A18 Pro: 3,589 (single-core), 9,140 (multi-core) — better by +40% (single) / +13% (multi)

      - AMD Ryzen 5 7520U: 1,374 (single-core), 4,434 (multi-core) — slower by −46% (single) / −45% (multi)

      The Core 5 320 achieves 2,564 in single-thread and 8,122 in multi-core performance, making it nearly twice as fast as AMD's budget Ryzen 5 7520U, which is a positive outcome. However, it lags significantly behind the A18 Pro in both single and multi-core performance.

      So, what's the catch?

      Intel has discreetly announced the official prices of these chips, which are, to put it mildly, astonishing. The Core 5 320 is priced at $340 and the Core 7 360 at $426.

      For comparison, the MacBook Neo retails for $599 and $499 with a student discount. This means that the starting price of Intel's chip is more than half the price of the standard MacBook Neo.

      By the time these chips are incorporated into laptops, the total price will likely exceed that of the MacBook Neo.

      Is there any advantage?

      The standout feature here is the fanless design. Wildcat Lake operates at up to 11 watts without a fan and can reach 22 watts with one. This provides laptop manufacturers with considerable flexibility, resulting in quieter and slimmer devices for users.

      Currently, no laptops featuring Wildcat Lake are available, and no manufacturer has confirmed pricing. When they do launch, the chip pricing indicates they are unlikely to be budget-friendly options.

      Rachit is an experienced tech journalist with over seven years in the consumer technology field.

      Adobe Firefly AI is now live to the public, with the hope that users will engage with AI to enhance their productivity.

      Firefly AI Assistant can manage your entire creative workflow seamlessly.

      Adobe has introduced the public beta of Firefly AI Assistant, an interactive AI agent that spans your Creative Cloud suite and facilitates complex workflows on your behalf. You simply describe your needs, and the assistant determines which Adobe tools to utilize and their sequence, including Photoshop, Lightroom, Premiere, Firefly, and others.

      Meta has recently made an extraordinary deal to beam solar power from satellites, even during the night.

      Meta's partnership with Overview Energy goes beyond merely sourcing clean energy; it serves as a glimpse into the future of sustaining AI operations on a planetary scale.

      Small thinking has never been a criticism levied against Meta. The owner of major social media and messaging platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp is now exploring the possibility of transmitting solar energy from space to power its AI data centers at night (via TechCrunch).

      A new Chrome extension allows a chubby ginger cat to take over your screen until you take a break.

      Who needs willpower when you can rely on a chubby ginger cat?

      If you struggle with endless scrolling, you've likely experimented with various productivity apps—timers, grayscale modes, even deleting apps, only to reinstall them shortly after. The problem is that relying solely on willpower is not an effective strategy.

      Cat Gatekeeper offers a more engaging solution. Instead of guilt-tripping you, it sends a chubby ginger cat to occupy your screen when you’ve spent too much time on social media, and it's delightful.