Intel NUC 11 Mini-PC in house-shaped packaging
A first look at NUC 11 review unit from Notebookcheck.
Intel is slowly realizing that product packaging does matter. The company has recently sent out review kits featuring an interesting looking box containing the latest NUC 11 mini computers.
Intel NUC 11 Panther Canyon, Source: Notebookcheck
Just two weeks ago Intel launched its (Next Unit of Computing) NUC 11 series featuring Tiger Lake architecture. It is not mentioned if the packaging pictured by Notebookcheck is just for the review marketing or rather a retail packaging that will actually land on the shelves. If this was actually retail packaging, then it wouldn’t have been the most space-saving solution.
In fact, for this very reason, Intel recently changed its Comet Lake-S i9-10900K packaging. Not only it would be cheaper to manufacture but it would also increase shipment volume. One thing is clear though, the new house-shaped packaging is noticeably bigger than last-gen (pictured above).
The global pandemic was the main reason why many people have begun working from home over the past few months. Not to mention the children who were often forced to attend classes remotely. This is clearly where the inspiration for the new packaging came from.
Notebookcheck is already working on a review of the NUC11 unit. These new MiniPCs will feature Core i7-1165G7 CPU and support NVMe PCI Gen 4 storage. Interestingly, this particular model of NUC 11 codenamed Panther Canyon features a QI-compatible wireless charger.
Intel NUC 11 Panther Canyon, Source: Notebookcheck
Update: it appears that only the model with Qi-charging has a house-shaped box. The non-Qi model comes in rectangular packaging (pictured by Robtech):
Intel NUC 11 Performance packaging, Source: @RobtechYT
Source: Notebookcheck
