Intel NUC M15 laptop kit launched with 11th-generation Core i5 and i7 processors

Intel’s NUC M15 productivity laptop will give smaller brands new impetus to take on the likes of Dell and HP. It’s part of Intel’s ‘Next Unit of Computing’ or NUC line (pronounced “Knuck”) that had so far been focussing on mini desktop PCs, especially compact gaming rigs. The NUC M15, codenamed ‘Bishop Country’, is a customisable base unit or a laptop kit that can be retrofitted with different storage options. Intel doesn’t sell its NUC line of products directly to consumers but partners with brands that customise and sell these products under their own names.

The Intel NUC M15 is a 15.6-inch laptop that weighs under 1.7 kg. It has a CNC anodised aluminium chassis that is 14.9mm (0.59 in) thick, and comes in two colour options: Shadow Grey and Black. The NUC M15 has been built to support Intel’s new 10nm, 11th-generation Tiger Lake processors. The options are between Core i5-1135G7 and Core i7-1165G7 quad-core processors. The laptop will also feature Intel’s new Iris Xe integrated graphics announced last month.

Intel claims that the NUC M15’s 73 Whr battery can deliver up to 16 hours of video playback on a full charge. The laptop also supports fast charging and is claimed to give a four-hour video playback with 30 minutes of charging. The laptop also comes with Wi-Fi 6.

Intel says the new laptop is built on the lines of its Project Athena — an initiative the company said will focus on fine-tuning performance and experience on ultraportable laptops. Although the NUC M15 does not fall in the ultraportable category, Intel says that the NUC M15 can get the Intel ‘Evo’ branding — introduced by Intel earlier this year for premium ultraportables that have undergone extensive testing and validation at the design stage — depending on the final customisations included by the brands that sell it.

Intel hasn’t mentioned what brands will sell customisations based on the NUC M15 ‘Bishop County’ but has said that the laptop will become available starting January 2021. And while the final price of the product will depend on its configuration as well as on the pricing strategy of brands that customise and sell it, Intel says that it expects the NUC M15-based laptops to be priced somewhere between $999 and $1,499 (roughly Rs. 74,000 and Rs. 104,000).