Intel’s First Iris Xe Max Graphics Laptops Now Available to Order

Earlier this month, the public got their first glimpse of Iris Xe Max, Intel’s new low-profile GPU for thin and light notebooks, at an Acer press event. Today, Intel revealed the first full wave of laptops that will include this GPU, some of which are available for purchase now in select countries.

Laptops include the Acer Swift 3X, Dell Inspiron 15 7000 2-in-1, and Asus VivoBook Flip TP470. The Inspiron 15 is available in the US at Best Buy; Acer has previously said that it expects the 3X in the US in December. Both the Swift 3X and the Inspiron 15 are also available in China via JD.com. Intel says the Asus VivoBook will arrive “shortly” in both the United States and China.

Photo by Monica Chin / The Verge

Intel’s Iris Xe Max graphics are primarily intended for portable systems for content creators. “We set out to redefine the role of discrete graphics in thin and light laptops and to address a growing segment of creators who want greater portability,” said Roger Chandler, Intel vice president and general manager, XPU Client Products and Solutions, in a statement.

The three new laptops also feature Intel’s 11th generation “Tiger Lake” mobile processors, as well as Intel’s Deep Link technology, which enables certain applications to take advantage of discrete and integrated graphics for creative work. Intel claims that Tiger Lake systems combined with Iris Xe Max graphics can provide “seven times faster AI-based creation” than similar notebooks with third-party GPUs.

The company also claims that its GPU can deliver “excellent thin and light 1080p games in popular games.” We shouldn’t get too excited about this until the benchmarks come out; it would certainly be surprising to see laptops of this size up and running Microsoft Flight Simulator. But the integrated Iris Xe graphics do a decent job with things like Supervision, so it’s quite possible that it could run lighter rates if Acer, Dell, and Asus can keep cooling in check.

Photo by Monica Chin / The Verge

I had some hands-on time with the Acer Swift 3X, which starts at $ 899.99. It’s a slim, portable machine, with a decent port selection and an attractive display. But our test unit wasn’t finished, so I couldn’t put the graphics to the test. Much of whether that system (and others like it) are worth their price to creators will depend on GPU performance, battery life, and screen quality, so stay tuned for our upcoming reviews.