Budget laptops with AMD's Kraken Point APU launching in early 2025, possibly starting at $799

[DragonSlayer101]

In a nutshell: An AMD executive has confirmed that laptops powered by the company's Kraken Point APUs will debut in early 2025. Unlike Strix Point and Strix Halo, Kraken Point is designed for the mass market, enabling manufacturers to offer affordable AMD-powered Copilot+ PCs.

Jack Huynh, AMD's senior VP and GM of computing and graphics, emphasized the need to provide AI-powered PCs at more affordable prices, with Kraken Point targeting the mass market, while Strix Point and Strix Halo cater to the premium segment.

Huynh didn't provide further details on Kraken Point, but reports suggest it will be a scaled-down version of Strix Point and Strix Halo. According to rumors, Kraken Point APUs will feature eight CPU cores, consisting of four Zen 5 and four Zen 5c cores. On the GPU side, Kraken Point is expected to include RDNA 3.5 integrated graphics with up to eight Compute Units. By comparison, the flagship Strix Point chip, the Ryzen AI 9 HX 375, boasts eight Zen 5c cores, four Zen 5 cores, and 16 RDNA 3.5 CUs.

Kraken will also reportedly feature a built-in NPU capable of meeting Microsoft's 40 TOPS requirement for Copilot+ PCs. While the exact NPU performance is still unconfirmed, reports suggest it could be equipped with an XDNA 2 NPU, delivering between 45 and 50 TOPS of AI performance. Additionally, Kraken Point is said to support LPDDRX-8000 memory.

Rumored to start at $799, Kraken Point laptops will compete with not only Intel's Lunar Lake-powered devices but also a range of thin and light notebooks powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus chips. Snapdragon X devices are already available, and Lunar Lake pre-orders began last week with shipping expected to start on September 24.

In addition to Kraken Point for mainstream consumers, AMD plans to target the high-performance APU market with products like Strix Halo, which could feature up to 16 Zen 5 cores and 40 RDNA 3.5 Compute Units. The company is also rumored to be developing Fire Range mobile CPUs, packing 16 Zen 5 cores and RDNA 2 graphics. Devices powered by Strix Halo and Fire Range are expected to launch next year.

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Budget laptops with AMD's Kraken Point APU launching in early 2025, possibly starting at $799

 

[Mihai S]

Since when is $800 (low) budget, even for laptops???

 

[Dreadcthulhu]

Since when is $800 (low) budget, even for laptops???

Its "budget" when you go by initial MSRP many OEMs have as the default price for their laptops; in the actual stores said laptops will commonly be on sale in the $500-$600 range. For example, right now HP has a 16" Ryzen 8540U machine on sale for $499 while its default price is $849. (Not endorsing that particular model, just using as an example).

 

[Mihai S]

I know what you mean, but I would expect a tech writer to see and guide readers past the marketing and MSRP BS—maybe by using quotation marks or something. (No personal digs at the author.)

 

[opckieran]

As long as they ditch their terrible 2022 mobile APU naming scheme, I’m happy.

 

[Win7user]

The majority of end users, could purchase the very cheapest desktop, or laptop, and have twice the computer they will ever need...