Intel Demos 10nm Cannon Lake Processor, Promises 2017 Delivery Window

krzanich
The reaction to Intel’s latest Kaby Lake processors from the press and enthusiast community have been somewhat mixed (to put it lightly). While overclocking abilities of the architecture are quite apparent and there’s support for technologies like Intel Optane Memory, there’s little clock-for-clock performance differentiation between Kaby Lake and its immediate predecessor, Skylake.

Needless to say, some enthusiasts are sitting out this round when it comes to upgrades and are instead looking forward to the next big leap from Intel: Cannon Lake. Cannon Lake is based on a 10nm process, meaning that Intel will be joining the likes of Qualcomm, which announced that its 10nm Snapdragon 835 will ship during the first half of 2017.

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich stepped out onto the stage at CES 2017 to shows off a 2-in-1 notebook running Cannon Lake. Krzanich didn’t delve much further into specific details about Cannon Lake, but it does mark the first time that Intel has shrunken its process size since Broadwell was introduced in 2014. The move to a 10nm process should allow for smaller chips that provide better performance while also improving battery life and reducing heat.

While increased performance and improved thermals are definitely welcome to desktop gaming enthusiasts who crave insane overclocks, the move to 10nm should be a boon for mobile professionals that want thinner and lighter notebooks with improved battery life.

So, when can we expect to see Cannon Lake? According to Intel, the chip will ship in new PCs before the end of 2017. Hopefully, it won’t end up being delayed again, like its predecessor.