Handheld‑first PC chip verticalization

Chip firms are moving from general‑purpose mobile or laptop dies toward purpose‑built, foundry‑sliced SoCs optimized for handheld gaming and similar edge devices. Intel’s Panther Lake die variants (branded Core G3) and Arc B390 iGPU performance gains plus OEM partnerships (MSI, Acer, Foxconn, Pegatron) show a supplier strategy that bundles process, GPU tuning, and device ecosystem to own that product category. — Verticalizing chips for handhelds changes who captures value in consumer hardware, alters supply‑chain dependencies (foundry capacity, packaging partners), and creates a new battleground for device standards and platform lock‑in.