Intel's Arrow Lake processors might not arrive until late 2024, if a new rumor is correct.
This one comes from regular hardware leaker HXL, as shared on X in a very brief statement informing us that Arrow Lake sales won't begin until December.
In case you're wondering, ARL-S refers to Arrow Lake-S, with the “S” suffix denoting desktop processors (there will also be mobile Arrow Lake CPUs for laptops, with more powerful high-end models complementing Lunar Lake, the next-generation laptop silicon that emphasizes power efficiency).
We've previously heard that the Arrow Lake desktop will arrive in late 2024, and Intel recently assured us that its next-gen processors will appear in Q4, which could theoretically mean October.
With an announcement expected in September 2024, we had imagined that a launch the following month would seem the most likely scenario. However, if this latest speculation is true (and of course, put your skeptical hat on with this and other previous claims), this is a rather disappointing drop off to the end of the year.
Analysis: Intel is not having a good time
Given Intel's promise of a Q4 launch, a December on-sale date would be the latest Team Blue could leave to launch Arrow Lake and compete for a spot on our list of the best CPUs.
It’s also worth noting that another leaker (Harukaze5719) on X chimed in to point out an earlier rumor from Jaykihn that “QS” for Arrow Lake – i.e. testing and validation of the final qualification sample – is scheduled for week 40 of 2024, which is the first week of October. This would coincide with an expected December on-sale date, so it’s a worrying hint that this new pessimistic prediction could be accurate.
If Arrow Lake does come out in December, what does that mean for Intel? Nothing good, frankly, since AMD has its next-gen CPUs, Ryzen 9000, just about to come out (they’re set to debut in late July). Given that, Intel would be five months behind with Arrow Lake if it doesn’t come out until the end of the year, by which time Ryzen 9000 X3D will likely have already arrived — or may even have been on the market for some time, if another rumor is correct.
On top of all this, Intel is suffering something of a PR nightmare, as the issues with its most recent Core i9 processors remain a thorny and controversial topic. Whether Arrow Lake will fix these nasty issues remains to be seen, of course, but it's a new socket and a different architecture, and it's not as demanding on the power front, so we can certainly be hopeful.
Via Tom's Hardware
