At IDF 2016 held in Shenzhen, China, Intel announced the launch of the new Apollo Lake platform architecture processor, which will be produced using 14nm process technology and is expected to be launched as early as the second half of this year.
Intel announced details of its new Apollo Lake platform-based processors at IDF 2016 in Shenzhen, China, earlier this year. The company revealed a release date as early as the second half of this year, targeting 2-in-1 devices, laptops, small desktops, and AIO devices. The market positioning is targeted at low-priced, entry-level devices. In terms of product positioning, Apollo Lake will be the successor to the previously released Braswell platform-based processors and will also become the new Pentium and Celeron series processors, maintaining the same 14nm process design.
The Apollo Lake platform architecture processors switch from the previous Airmont design to the Goldmont one and utilize the same graphics core as Skylake, enabling 4K resolution display output and up to three simultaneous displays (including the device's own screen and two external monitors). Elsewhere, the Apollo Lake platform architecture processors support DDR3L and LPDDR4 memory modules, eMMC 5.0 solid-state storage, and a USB Type-C port.
Because the Apollo Lake platform architecture processor further reduces its size, the size of the motherboard used by hardware devices can be significantly reduced, and the device design volume can also be further reduced, thereby making commercial products smaller and reducing the use of environmentally friendly component materials, while providing higher hardware performance.
The market is currently experiencing increasing demand for 2-in-1 devices. In addition to Microsoft's continued emphasis on the advantages of these products, Intel is also continuously promoting their application. Furthermore, this year, manufacturers including Huawei, Xiaomi, and Alcatel have begun promoting small-sized 2-in-1 devices, presenting Intel with even greater market development opportunities.
Kaby Lake platform processors will be released in the third quarter of this year, and the 10nm process will have to wait.
As for mainstream Core i-series processors, Intel plans to unveil the Broadwell-E series during Computex 2016. It also anticipates launching a transitional product following the Skylake platform in the third quarter of this year. This means that before the 10nm Cannon Lake platform processors, expected to officially launch in the third quarter of 2017, Intel will use the 14nm Kaby Lake platform processors to fill market demand.
Kaby Lake platform processors are also expected to initially be available in the U-series and Y-series versions, primarily for mobile devices, with desktop versions expected to be released in the first quarter of 2017.
