Intel’s upcoming CPU, codenamed Kaby Lake, is rumoured to be arriving earlier than expected. According to a leaked Intel mobile CPU roadmap, the company is aiming for a Q3 release for the Skylake successor. It’s worth mentioning that the first wave of Kaby Lake processors will most likely be released for the mobile market first.
Similar to the current generation Intel Skylake processors, Kaby Lake CPUs will be manufactured using the same microarchitecture and fabrication process (14nm). This is due to Intel’s “tick-tock” model, which was introduced back in 2007. According to Intel, Kaby Lake processors will be a “semi-tock”, which indicates a refresh rather than a change in fabrication process.
New features that will come with Intel’s 7th generation processors include: up to 2.5 times better performance, 30 times better graphics improvements and a three fold increase in battery lifespan for notebooks. In addition to that, Kaby Lake processors are also said to include support for Thunderbolt 3 and faster integrated graphics performance.
After Kaby Lake, Intel plans to bring its 8th generation CPU, Cannonlake, sometime in 2017. Cannonlake processors will bear the “tick” model, which means that it will undergo a change in fabrication process (10nm). It’s interesting to see how Kaby Lake will fare against AMD’s upcoming Zen processor, which is also rumoured to launch sometime this year.
