Intel's Skylake chip promises visual logins, wireless charging

Elizabeth Weise | USA TODAY

Intel introduced its new sixth-generation Core processor Tuesday, which some analysts say could revitalize the PC industry.

The new Skylake processor will double the battery life of a PC, double its graphics performance and boost its web application performance by 50% compared to PCs of three years ago, Intel said. It's also capable of starting in about half a second.

Plus, you can log in by just looking a Skylake-powered PC in the eye.

“It allows you to log in securely, with just your face,” said Kirk Skaugen, senior vice president of Intel's client computing group.

The three-dimensional camera views look at the user's face from two angles, so it can't be faked with a picture, said Patrick Moorhead president of Moor Insights and Strategy in Austin.

"I think people are underestimating just how powerful that is," he said.

The new processors launched Tuesday at IFA, Europe's largest consumer electronic fair, which takes place in Berlin.

Intel is hoping the new chip will revitalize demand for PCs, which have lost ground to tablets, smartphones and Apple laptops.

Worldwide PC shipments declined 11.8% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2015, the International Data Corp. estimated. Apple had 7.8% of global PC market share in the second quarter of 2015.

Moorhead said he thinks the PC market lacks confidence in itself. "This is the greatest time to be in PCs, he said. "Tablets have found their stasis point and they didn’t kill the PC," it's still an enormous market, he said.

Intel's betting the functionalities available with the new processor will help consumers realize that as well. "Simply put, we think there's no better time to buy a PC than now," Skaugen said.

The new Core processor makes some fairly major changes to PCs possible.

Think "a fanless, convertible notebook as thin as a tablet and with as much battery life, but with the performance to run full PC applications," Moorhead said.

WELL, HELLO

The ability to log in just by looking at the PC is courtesy of Windows 10's Hello feature, which requires the new Core processor and a computer with Intel's RealSense 3-D camera installed. Walk up to it and it logs you in, no password required.

Another innovation that's coming to PCs using the new Core processors is wireless charging, via a device that can fit under a desk or table. It turns any flat surface into a charger.

"It can go through 2 inches of wood or Corian countertop," Intel's Skaugen said.

Currently there are five-watt chargers and "we're inventing the 20-watt charging right now," Skaugen said. "We're about a year away from the reality of wireless charging."

Intel is working with other companies to build the charging systems. It expects vendors to ship five-watt charging mats for phones in the last quarter of 2015. Some are being tested in pilot programs at hotels such as Marriott and Hilton, the company said.

A TAD LATE

Overall, Skylake is impressive — but late, said Mark Hung, a senior analyst with the Gartner Group.

"What's been a negative is it's coming a little later than people expected," Hung said. "It probably should have been on the shelf already for back-to-school shopping."

Instead the first iterations for desktop machines are just appearing and the rest are promised for later in the year.

"If it comes out too late, it may miss the whole Christmas shopping season," Hung said.