PCs Using Intel's Delayed 10nm Chips Won't Ship Until Late 2019
"Intel is currently shipping low-volume 10 nm product and now expects 10 nm volume production to shift to 2019," said Intel in its Q1 2018 earnings report.
Intel reported its Q2 2018 earnings yesterday, and provided another update on the state of 10nm production according to AnandTech. On its earnings call, Intel confirmed that its products will continue to rely heavily on 14nm process technologies well into 2019. In fact, volume shipments of systems using 10nm products won't arrive until the second half of 2019, likely with systems shipping for the 2019 holiday season.
If Intel does intend to hold to this 2H 2019 timeframe for client systems, it means that Intel will likely begin ramping up production of its 10nm processors in Q2 2019 through Q3 2019 -- that is if everything goes according to plan. It should also be noted that 10nm server products will arrive "shortly after" according to commentary by Intel Chief Engineering Officer Murthy Renduchintala.
In case you need a quick refresher course, Intel has been on its 14nm process node since 2014, and has been making refinements to it for the past four years. Current products are shipping use what Intel calls 14nm++. While there's no question that Intel is behind on its shift to 10nm, the company argues that its 10nm tech is a full generation ahead of competing Samsung and TSMC 10nm nodes with respect to density.
Arch-rival AMD has been on a winning streak ever since its debuted its Zen-based Ryzen and EPYC processor families in 2017. The company is looking to further encroach on Intel's market share with its 12nm Zen+ products which hit the mainstream desktop market earlier this year, and will proliferate with Ryzen Threadripper 2000 series HEDT chips later this year.
Looking ahead, AMD will begin sampling 7nm Zen 2 chips this year and is aimed for a volume launch in 2019.
