The word “vPro” appears in 18 datasheets in our range, for Getac and for Durabook, mostly as an option in the processor line. The word alone says little. Intel offers vPro in two tiers, Essentials and Enterprise, and only the second includes Intel AMT, which manages a device even when Windows does not start or the device is switched off. Anyone running a fleet of rugged laptops or tablets should therefore know which tier a datasheet refers to before ordering. This article summarises what Intel states about vPro, how the tiers differ, what remote management and hardware security offer in the field, and which devices in our datasheets list vPro. The statements about vPro come from intel.com, the device data from the datasheets on this site.
Intel describes vPro as an integrated, validated platform built into the PC. It combines performance, hardware-based security, manageability and stability. According to Intel it requires an eligible Intel processor, a supported operating system, Intel LAN and/or WLAN silicon, matching firmware and further hardware and software. Intel names Core, Core Ultra and Xeon W (for mobile workstations) as the processor families.
For purchasing, this leads to a difference that is easy to miss. On the specification page of each processor, Intel lists a field called “Intel vPro Eligibility”. A processor can therefore be vPro-eligible without every device built around it being a complete vPro system. Intel itself advises asking the device maker for a complete vPro system. When a datasheet says “Core i5-1350P vPro”, that is the commitment for the processor. Whether the ordered configuration meets all other requirements is something we clarify with you before the quote.
Intel positions vPro Essentials for smaller companies with a growing PC fleet. According to Intel, vPro Enterprise is meant to offer more performance, fleet management and data security. Which function sits in which tier can be read from Intel’s documents on the 12th generation and on Core Ultra Series 2:
Two processors from our datasheets show the difference. Intel lists the Core i5-1235U as “Intel vPro Essentials”, with Standard Manageability and Hardware Shield but no AMT entry. The Core i5-1245U is listed as “Intel vPro Enterprise”, with AMT. A datasheet saying “Core i5-1235U with vPro” and one saying “Core i5-1245U vPro” both name vPro. Remote management of a system that does not start exists only with the second.
According to Intel, Intel AMT is included in all vPro Enterprise devices running Windows. The function works independently of the operating system and keeps an encrypted connection over cable or WLAN, inside and outside the firewall. Intel lists the following uses: repairing drivers, applications or the operating system on an unresponsive system, switching the device on or restarting it remotely, recording the inventory, scheduling patches and waking devices for overnight updates. Through KVM, IT sees and controls the user’s screen, even without a running operating system.
The hardware alone manages nothing. As software, Intel names among others Intel EMA (Endpoint Management Assistant), a free download that lets AMT devices be managed through the cloud, including outside the firewall.
The limit is also stated by Intel: management needs a network connection, and over WLAN it works only in a known network. A laptop that lies in a vehicle for days without a network cannot be reached. A fleet that sits on the WLAN at the station or depot in the evening, on the other hand, can be patched overnight and repaired remotely in the morning if something fails. Which devices come into question in practice is shown, for example, on the industry page Public security.
For vPro, Intel states protections that act above and below the operating system. These include Intel Threat Detection Technology: it evaluates CPU telemetry with machine learning to detect malware, and helps security software find attacks that leave no file behind. Control-flow Enforcement Technology is meant to make attacks on memory errors harder. For fleet maintenance, Intel names the Stable IT Platform Program: it keeps the hardware components of a model constant for 15 months from product launch.
These functions replace neither drive encryption nor access protection. Total Memory Encryption protects the main memory, not the SSD. For stored data, TPM 2.0, encryption to OPAL 2.0 and, where needed, a smartcard reader remain responsible. The article Laptop protection: security features covers this and also classes vPro as a management function, not as encryption.
Of 45 datasheets, 18 list vPro: the Durabook models R8, R10, R11, S15 and U11I, and the Getac models A140, B360 G3, F110 EX, F110 G7, K120, K120 EX, S410 G5, S510, UX10, UX10 EX, V110 G7, V120 and X600. The table shows six of them. The column “Intel classification” names only processors whose specification page we retrieved from Intel.
| Device | Display | Processors with vPro per datasheet | Intel classification | Ingress protection | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Getac UX10 | 10.1 inches | Core Ultra 5 236V and 238V, Core Ultra 7 266V and 268V (optional, listed as vPro Enterprise in the datasheet) | Enterprise | IP66 | 1.15 kg (tablet without keyboard dock) |
| Getac B360 G3 | 13.3 inches | Core Ultra 5 235H vPro Enterprise (optional) | Enterprise | IP66 | 2.32 kg |
| Getac S410 G5 | 14 inches | Core i5-1350P vPro and i7-1370P vPro (optional) | i5-1350P: Enterprise | IP53 | 2.38 kg |
| Getac X600 | 15.6 inches | Core i5-11500HE vPro (standard), Core i7-11850HE vPro, Xeon W-11865MRE vPro (optional) | i5-11500HE and i7-11850HE: “Intel vPro Platform”, no tier given | IP66 | 4.41 kg (depending on configuration) |
| Getac A140 | 14 inches | Core i5-10310U vPro and i7-10610U vPro (optional) | i5-10310U: “Intel vPro Platform”, no tier given | IP65 | 2.3 kg |
| Durabook S15 | 15.6 inches | Core i5-1235U with vPro (standard), Core i7-1255U with vPro (optional) | both: Essentials | IP53 (optional) | 2.6 kg |
Three things stand out. First, vPro is an option on the UX10, B360 G3, S410 G5 and A140; the standard processor line there does not mention vPro. Second, the Durabook S15 carries vPro in its standard processor, but in the Essentials tier. Anyone who needs remote management of a system that does not start on this device does not get it from this processor group. Third, the datasheets of the older generations X600 and A140 name vPro without a tier, and the Intel pages likewise list those processors only as “Intel vPro Platform”. According to our datasheet, Getac no longer lists the A140 as a product.
For the Durabook R10, the datasheet says “vPro depending on variant”, without assigning a processor. Here we ask before the quote which variant is meant.
vPro pays off when a central IT team looks after many Windows devices that regularly sit in its own network: workshop fleets, the vehicles of a station, field-service tablets with a fixed home base. The benefit is then measurable, for example as fewer trips to devices that can no longer be started. Anyone renewing the fleet anyway, for instance because Windows 10 support is ending, will find the decision path in our article Windows 10: the first ESU year ends.
In these cases vPro solves nothing. With a few devices and no IT department of your own, the effort for setup and management software is larger than the gain. Devices that see no known network for weeks stay out of reach. And devices without an Intel processor drop out entirely, because Intel requires an eligible Intel processor.
Before ordering, you should clarify four points: Which tier do you need, Essentials or Enterprise? Is the right processor in the ordered configuration? Which management software do you or your IT service provider run? And when is the device in a network that the management can reach?
No. Management outside the operating system with KVM requires Intel AMT, and according to Intel AMT exists only with vPro Enterprise. With vPro Essentials, Standard Manageability remains, without KVM. What matters is the tier that Intel assigns to the processor.
According to the Intel documents we retrieved, they are the Getac UX10 with Core Ultra 5 236V or 238V and Core Ultra 7 266V or 268V, the Getac B360 G3 with Core Ultra 5 235H and the Getac S410 G5 with Core i5-1350P. In every case the vPro processor is an option that belongs in the configuration.
It needs a network connection. Over WLAN, according to Intel, management outside the operating system is possible only in a known network. With Intel EMA, AMT devices can be managed through the cloud, including outside the firewall.
Both sit in the same Core Ultra processors but are independent. According to the datasheet, the Getac UX10 has an integrated NPU with every processor, but vPro only with the optional models. What the NPU does is covered in the article Copilot+ PC and NPU.
Anyone who needs remote management of a system that does not start chooses an Enterprise processor: in a tablet the Getac UX10 with one of the four “V” processors, in a laptop the Getac B360 G3 with Core Ultra 5 235H or the Getac S410 G5 with Core i5-1350P. Anyone who wants vPro only for Hardware Shield and Standard Manageability can manage with the Durabook S15. Anyone who runs a few devices without central IT does not need vPro and can skip the option.
None of the devices named fits these cases: deployments without a regular network, fleets without an Intel processor, and purchases where someone infers AMT from the datasheet alone. For the Getac X600 and the A140, Intel names no tier, so nobody should assume AMT with KVM there. If you want to know whether a Core i5-1235U is enough for your tasks, the comparison Core i5-1235U or i7-1255U in the rugged device helps.
The RobustBook team is happy to help you choose the processor and the vPro option.