Intel’s NUC PCs Enters A New Era With ASUS

gameranx.com:

Intel has now revealed the next big step for their NUC business; a non-exclusive contract with OEM and partner ASUS.

A week ago, Intel revealed plans to exit the hardware industry, one of many painful cuts the company has to make to address slipping revenue. In Intel’s case, the PC hardware they had been making where NUCs, short for Next Unit of Computing.

Intel’s NUC line was launched in 2013, yes, more or less a decade ago. While Intel did not invent the idea of a small form factor PC, they innovated on it greatly. What were once bespoke devices relegated to specific markets and user bases, was rebranded and redesigned to an all-in-one computing solution.

The main idea with the NUC was to get consumers to take their Windows computers out of their offices and finding new solutions and uses. What made them distinct was the 4 x 4 inch motherboards that they employed, making it possible to make computers the size of modems or lunchboxes.

The impossibly tiny computer line found new applications in a variety of situations, from call centers, cube farms, computer based kiosks, digital signage, and others. Most consumers could also just strap them to the back of their home screens as backup PCs or entertainment desktops.

While there was a lot of FUD that Intel was just shuttering the NUC line completely, it seems that it does make enough money to keep going. As reported by Serve The Home, Intel has agreed to a term sheet with ASUS. This term sheet is a contract for ASUS to make the next few lines of Intel NUC computers, from the 10th to 13th generation.

As Serve The Home points out, rumors about this agreement had been going around for some time now, way before Intel decided to exit the business. ASUS now becomes Intel’s