Intel Shares Details on New 'Iris' Integrated Graphics for Haswell Chips

As noted by The Verge, Intel late yesterday released details on its next-generation integrated graphics offerings arriving as part of the company's Haswell processor lineup. The new graphics options consist of three primary levels: an Intel HD Graphics 5000 to be packaged as part of 15-watt chips destined for ultrabooks, an Intel "Iris" Graphics 5100 to be paired with 28-watt mid-range chips targeted at larger ultrabooks, and an Intel "Iris Pro" Graphics 5200 for the highest-power chips.

The company claims its new Intel "Iris" Graphics, embedded in upcoming Haswell CPUs, can offer double or triple the performance of the Intel HD Graphics 4000 that comes with current Ivy Bridge processors. That's significant: typically each generation offers only a double-digit percentage boost.

That doesn't mean every new Haswell processor will come with quite that level of graphics performance, though.

haswell_iris_graphics
AnandTech has more, highlighting how ultrabooks, which would include Apple's MacBook Air, will see a lesser but still significant boost in graphics performance with Intel HD Graphics 5000.

Although Ultrabooks (now 15W) won’t get full blown Iris performance, they should still see a healthy increase in GPU performance compared to where they are today (50% improvement in 3DMark) at a lower TDP. The move to a full speed GT3 part (Iris) should more than double performance in 3DMark.

haswell_ultrabook_graphics
Apple is expected to embrace Intel's forthcoming Haswell chips in its next-generation notebook lineup, which may be introduced as soon as next month's Worldwide Developers Conference.

Popular Stories

iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26 Available Tomorrow With These 8 New Features

Sunday September 14, 2025 8:46 am PDT by
Following three months of beta testing, iOS 26 will be released this Monday, September 15. The update is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer, and it will be available to install via the Settings app, under General → Software Update. Below, we have highlighted eight new features included in iOS 26. Even more new features and changes are outlined in Apple's release notes for the...
Tim Cook Rainbow

Apple Reportedly Plans to Launch These 10 Products in 'Coming Months'

Sunday September 14, 2025 8:45 am PDT by
Apple's annual September event is now in the rearview mirror, with the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone Air, Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3, Apple Watch SE 3, and AirPods Pro 3 set to launch this Friday, September 19. As always, there is more to come. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple plans to release many products in the...
apple n1 chip

Apple's New N1 Chip in iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone Air Has a Wi-Fi 7 Limitation

Saturday September 13, 2025 10:01 am PDT by
The latest iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air models are equipped with Apple's all-new N1 chip for Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread connectivity. However, the chip has a Wi-Fi 7 bandwidth limitation. According to FCC documents reviewed by MacRumors, the N1 chip in all of the new iPhone models supports up to 160 MHz channel bandwidth for Wi-Fi 7, short of the...
iPhone 17 Pro Colors

Didn't Pre-Order a New iPhone Yet? Here's How Long the Wait is Now

Friday September 12, 2025 6:11 am PDT by
iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air pre-orders began at 5 a.m. Pacific Time in the U.S. and many other countries today. If you have yet to place a pre-order, you might face a longer wait now, depending on your desired configuration. As of shortly after 6 a.m. Pacific Time today, nearly all iPhone 17 Pro Max configurations on Apple's online store in the U.S. are facing ...
airpods translate

AirPods Live Translation Blocked for EU Users With EU Apple Accounts

Thursday September 11, 2025 4:01 am PDT by
Apple's new Live Translation feature for AirPods will be off-limits to millions of European users when it arrives next week, with strict EU regulations likely holding back its rollout. Apple says on its feature availability webpage that "Apple Intelligence: Live Translation with AirPods" won't be available if both the user is physically in the EU and their Apple Account region is in the EU....
iphone 17 lineup

iPhone 17 Models Launch on September 19 With These New Features

Friday September 12, 2025 7:58 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 lineup and ultra-thin iPhone Air in stores on Friday, September 19, and the company has already shown off the new devices at its fall event, which ran with the the tagline "Awe dropping." The iPhone 17 series brings a host of new features and enhancements. Here's a rundown of the biggest upgrades and changes: iPhone 17 Display Changes The iPhone...
iphone air all colors

iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro Now Facing Extended Delivery Estimates

Saturday September 13, 2025 11:43 am PDT by
iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air pre-orders began on Friday in the U.S. and many other countries. iPhone 17 Pro Max delivery estimates quickly slipped beyond the Friday, September 19 launch day for those who had yet to place an order, and now the rest of the new models have started to follow suit. As of shortly after 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time today, select iPhone 17, ...
iOS 26 on iPhone Feature

Here's When iOS 26 Rolls Out Today in Every Time Zone

Monday September 15, 2025 12:00 am PDT by
Today's the day. Apple is about to release iOS 26, which will deliver the biggest redesign since iOS 7 and bring a range of new features and improvements to iPhones worldwide. It's Apple's biggest software update of the year, and Apple announced at last week's iPhone event that it will be releasing iOS 26 sometime today – Monday, September 15. Based on past releases, the update is likely...
iPhone 17 Pro Colors

iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro Models Are eSIM-Only in These Countries

Tuesday September 9, 2025 12:23 pm PDT by
Apple continues to phase out the physical SIM card tray on iPhones, with the latest models relying solely on eSIM technology in more countries. The new iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max support eSIMs only in these countries and regions, according to Apple: Bahrain Canada Guam Japan Kuwait Mexico Oman Qatar Saudi Arabia United Arab Emirates Un...
iPhone 17 Air Battery

Apple Reveals iPhone Air Battery Replacement and Repair Fees

Friday September 12, 2025 9:33 am PDT by
Apple today disclosed its out-of-warranty repair fees for all of the iPhone 17 and iPhone Air models, ahead of the devices launching next week. First and foremost, Apple's battery replacement fees did not increase for the latest iPhone models in the U.S., with Apple charging a flat $119 to replace the battery inside an iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, or iPhone Air. This is the same fee it...

Top Rated Comments

Kissaragi Avatar
162 months ago
Blah blah blah, every year Intel produces a new CPU that's suppose to be faster and more efficient, as if the previous one was slow as molasses and every year people here fall for it and get in the mood of "Gotta have it, Gotta have it". And people say that Apple is the one trying to make all sorts of profits. ;)

How dare intel make progress! Its just awful, a pentium 4 was fast enough for everyone.
Score: 50 Votes (Like | Disagree)
elpamyelhsa Avatar
162 months ago
Mmm, I would love some Iris in my Retina.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
wildmac Avatar
162 months ago
Looks like a good starting point for the new Mac Pro, or if the Mac Pro has to use Xeon just call the lower end machine a Mac. Either way I would buy a core i7 tower Mac today if it were available.

What?.. a tower using an integrated graphics chip instead of a dedicated video card?

Talk about killing off the MacPro..
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Elijahg Avatar
162 months ago
Oh great, so Intel integrated GPUs will now be just 80% slower than a dedicated AMD/Nvidia one instead of 90%!
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jacquesvw Avatar
162 months ago
.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
keysofanxiety Avatar
162 months ago
Blah blah blah, every year Intel produces a new CPU that's suppose to be faster and more efficient, as if the previous one was slow as molasses and every year people here fall for it and get in the mood of "Gotta have it, Gotta have it". And people say that Apple is the one trying to make all sorts of profits. ;)
Well, they do release faster chips each year, no 'suppose' about it. It's the tick-tock cycle; they're not at all secretive about when they're releasing new chips. Even though the performance of their CPU absolutely blitz the likes of AMD, they continue to release better CPUs as and when they can -- and there's nothing wrong with that IMHO.

Unless you'd prefer they released new chips every 2 years, meaning you're paying 2013 prices for 2011 hardware? Now that's the Apple mentality. ;)
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)