ASUS Comes to the Rescue: Intel Grants License to Continue NUC Innovation
In a recent development, ASUS has been granted a lifeline by Intel for the NUC (Next Unit of Compute) lineup, after the chipmaker announced its decision to halt all “direct investment” into the division. This move by Intel implies that they will now rely on “ecosystem partners to continue NUC innovation and growth.” To this end, ASUS has been awarded a non-exclusive license, allowing them to sell all of Intel’s current NUC designs and even design new ones in the future.
Intel Grants License to Continue NUC Innovation to ASUS
The transition comes with Intel’s commitment to enabling ecosystem partners to continue the product innovation and growth in the ultra-small form factor market. The NUC systems product team at Intel has previously delivered unique and innovative products, sparking significant progress in the field. As ASUS takes over, Intel’s Vice President and General Manager at Intel Client Platform Solutions, Sam Gao, expressed his optimism, stating that ASUS will continue delivering exceptional products while supporting the NUC systems customers.
When asked about the reasons for choosing ASUS, Intel’s official newsletter points out that the company has a proven track record of delivering industry-leading mini PCs to customers. This experience and expertise make ASUS well-suited to drive the NUC product lineup forward. With the granted license, ASUS gains the capability to manufacture and sell 10th to 13th Gen NUC systems, along with all future CPU generations that Intel plans on releasing.
For years, the lineup has been well-known for its compact and versatile barebones systems. These mini PCs are often sold to consumers with just the essentials: a CPU attached to a Compute Element, the chassis, and PSU. Memory, storage, and discrete graphics are optional extras that users can add to customize their units further.
While Intel has been compelled to increase the size of the small PC over the years, the company has strived to minimize their physical expansion. An example of this effort is the NUC 13 Extreme, which made headlines towards the end of last year. Despite being one of the largest units Intel has produced, it impressively accommodated a full-fat NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti from ASUS.
Pokdepinion: The partnership between Intel and ASUS in the NUC space is expected to bring forth exciting innovations, and with ASUS’s expertise, we can anticipate remarkable mini PC solutions in the future. As the tech world continues to evolve, this collaboration could mark the beginning of new possibilities in the ultra-small form factor market.
