Intel 7th Generation Core Series on Track for 2016

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Intel's 6th Generatoin Core Series "Skylake" processors just launched last fall, but the chipmaker is already close to releasing their successors. At the company's Computex keynote today, Intel VP and GM for Client Computing Navin Shenoy announced that 7th Generation Core Series processors will start shipping later this year, along with a new low-power CPU platform named "Apollo Lake." 

Shenoy didn't offer many details about the 7th Generation Core Series platform on stage, but he said that it would suport Thunderbolt 3, IR cameras and a range of new features. We also know from Intel's roadmap that these chips are codenamed "Kaby Lake" and will continue to use the same 14nm process that the company introduced on its 5th Generation Core Series "Broadwell" chips and continues to use on its 6th Gen "Skylake" processors today.  While Intel normally shrinks its die size every other generation, we won't see a 10nm chip until the 8th Generation "Cannon Lake" in 2017 or later.

According to Motley Fool, Kaby Lake will also feature a brand new graphics architecture that can decode 10-bit HEVC video in hardware. Though he didn't demonstrate the 7th Generation Core Series' performance capabilities, Shenoy did show off a 2-in-1 reference design from Compal that was running on the new CPU platform. We also know that Asus's just-announced Transformer 3 detachable 2-in-1 will feature one of the new CPUs.

Announced at Intel's Developer Forum in April, Apollo Lake chips are designed to replace the company's current value lineup of Celeron, Pentium and Atom "Cherry Trail" CPUs. At IDF, Shenoy said that there are already 100 systems being developed with the new platform. 

We expect to learn more about both Apollo Lake and Intel 7th Generation Core Series at Intel's next Developer Forum in August.

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Avram Piltch
Avram Piltch
Online Editorial Director
The official Geeks Geek, as his weekly column is titled, Avram Piltch has guided the editorial and production of Laptopmag.com since 2007. With his technical knowledge and passion for testing, Avram programmed several of LAPTOP's real-world benchmarks, including the LAPTOP Battery Test. He holds a master's degree in English from NYU.