Asus and Dell have signed up to use Intel's 22nm Bay Trail processor in 2-in-1s and tablets and next-generation Google Chromebooks will also ship with Haswell Core processors.
Jerry Shen, CEO of Asus gave a sneak peek of the firm's forthcoming T100 2-in-1 device on-stage at IDF. The convertible will be powered by a Bay Trail quad-core processor and provide up to 11 hours of battery life, he claimed.
Shen also revealed the Windows 8 device will have an IPS display and a detachable keyboard dock, which will make it "perfect for productivity."
Dell revealed the first Windows 8 tablet to use the Bay Trail architecture, and plans to officially launch it on the 2 October in New York. Neil Hand VP of tablets and performance PCs at Dell previewed the 8in device on-stage at IDF and noted that it will be part of the resurrected Venue product range.
Chromebooks
Meanwhile Google's Chromebooks will start shipping with Intel's Core Haswell architecture in Q4. Acer, Asus, HP and Toshiba all have plans to launch devices running the Chrome OS and promise up to nine hours of battery life (2x the previous generation).
Sundar Pichai, SVP of Android and Chrome at Google, took the stage claiming that the 15 per cent better performance and 2x battery life in Chromebooks provided by the Haswell chips will be "hugely disruptive" in the sub-$300 market segments.
Chromebooks already account for up to 25 per cent of this sub-$300 market, and have proven hugely popular in schools, with Google stating they are used in 5,000 educational institutions in the US. With the inclusion of Haswell, Google will be in a strong position to increase market share.
