– 2026 Blade 16 switches from AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 to Intel Core Ultra 9 386H
– Intel model gains Thunderbolt 4/5 support, faster 9600 MHz RAM
– Brighter OLED panel (DisplayHDR1000) and higher max TGP (165W vs 160W)
– Longer battery life and improved gaming performance
– AMD model slightly faster in multi-threaded workloads
The new 2026 Blade 16 is now shipping to sucessed last year’s 2025 Blade 16. The model carries the same external shape but with an Intel Panther Lake Core Ultra 9 386H CPU across the board to replace the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370.
Advantages of Switching to Intel
Switching to Intel has some immediate benifits. Primarily, the USB-C ports on the Blade 16 now support Thunderbolt 4 and Thunderbolt 5 where the same ports on the AMD-based Blade 16 SKUs are USB4 only. Secondly, onboard memory speeds are faster at 9600 MHz up from 8000 MHz on the 2025 Blade 16.
Enhanced Display and Battery Life
Other benifits with the Intel-based Blade 16 include longer battery life, a much brighter OLED panel (from DisplayHDR500 to DisplayHDR1000) and a slight bump to the maximum TGP boost from 160 W to 165 W. Both changes improve the gaming experience by small but persistent margins.
Performance Trade-offs
Switching to Intel isnt all roses, however. As shown by the benchmark comparisons below, the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 can slightly outperform the Core Ultra 9 386H when it comes to traditional multi-threaded workloads. The Intel Blade 16 is nonethless the faster machine for gaming as our review shows.