Intel’s Lunar Lake processors, which are still some way off, will be targeted at ultra-thin laptops, and will hopefully ensure these lean machines have some serious action despite their svelte nature.
This comes from Ian Cutress on Twitter (via VideoCardz (Opens in a new tab)), who got word from Michelle Johnston-Holthus, Intel vice president and general manager of client computing, that Lunar Lake will be an entirely new design from the ground up, with an all-new architecture designed with performance per watt in mind.
From Intel MJHolthaus: Lunar Lake is a fresh from the ground uArch CPU design, built with performance/watts for mobile devices in mind. More information in the Financial Disclosure Report on the 26thJanuary 12, 2023
In other words, efficiency would be king, and the lower wattage would obviously make Lunar Lake chips an ideal choice for laptops, while still offering plenty of grunt (relatively speaking). These processors are expected to arrive in late 2024 or 2025, as we’ve heard on the grapevine.
Cutress confirms that apparently, Intel will have more to share on the matter later this month when the company’s financial results come out on January 26th. So stay tuned, because it won’t be long before we hear more about exactly what processors Lunar Lake will bring to the table.
Analysis: Intel’s focus on efficiency suits mobile devices – but what about desktop CPUs?
The focus on efficiency from Intel isn’t a surprise, because it’s something we’ve already learned is a key factor for the next generation of Meteor Lake.
In fact, with its current Raptor Lake processors, Intel has seriously increased the number of efficiency cores throughout the 13th generation range, and is expected to push even further on that front with the next generation. Rumors of Meteor Lake point to more efficiency cores on board — these are low-power cores, which drink juice, but they can boost multi-core performance, especially in high numbers. On top of that, Meteor Lake will introduce a whole new architecture of efficiency cores on top, which should lead to some big energy efficiency benefits.
Lunar Lake can take bigger steps forward, from what’s been shared here, as the crafting is very strong in that these processors were built with efficiency in mind for mobile devices. Could that mean Lunar Lake will be laptop CPUs only, perhaps? Cutress doesn’t comment on this, but we can theorize it’s a possibility.
After all, next-generation Meteor Lake seems to lean strongly towards mobile performance, with rumors suggesting that due to the big push for more efficiency cores, the maximum number of performance cores may be limited to 6 for the 14th generation. (Remember, the top-tier Raptor Lake Core i9 and i7 CPUs have 8 performance cores, and the same goes for Alder Lake—so throwing out a couple of those cores would be a letdown on the desktop front).
With Meteor Lake and Lunar Lake seemingly focused on the efficiency side of the equation, it’s starting to look like Arrow Lake – which is supposed to be between those two in the 15th generation family – might be the only hope in the near term. The future for those who want a new heavyweight desktop processor (Core i9).
As always, treat this as speculation, and hopefully we’ll find out more about exactly how Lunar Lake plays out on your laptop or desktop when Intel releases its most recent financial results (for the full year) and associated commentary, later in January.