We all know very well that when the Meltdown and Spectre flaws surfaced, people had told in specialized forums and sites that they should wait for the next generation of Intel processors to have their computer free of those problems. Except that this group will have to wait a long time, as the company has postponed again the mass production of the Cannon Lake chips.
Intel Delayed Its 10-Nanometer Cannon Lake Processors Again
When the Meltdown and Spectre flaws surfaced, people had told in specialized forums and sites that they should wait for the next generation of Intel processors to have a computer free of those problems. Except that this group will have to wait a long time: the company has postponed again the mass production of the Cannon Lake chips. The forecast is now for 2019.
If the giant chip manufacturer Intel had followed the initial schedule, the Cannon Lake processors would have been released in 2016. But the company postponed its arrival to 2017, then to the end of 2019 and now to 2019 (perhaps in the second half of the year). As if that were not enough, the giant chip manufacturer Intel has made some confusing releases in the meantime.
Just to give you an idea, the company announced in September 2017 the first Coffee Lake chips, which represent its eighth generation of processors. But a month earlier, Intel had introduced CPUs of that same generation, except they correspond to Kaby Lake Refresh models, not to Coffee Lake units.
In practice, the Coffee Lake and Kaby Lake Refresh processors are no more than seventh-generation versions (Kaby Lake). The big update to the Core family will come even with the Cannon Lake chips, which will have a 10-nanometer manufacturing process (Kaby Lake CPUs are 14 nanometers worth, remember), and at least initially they should equip laptops or desktops more basic.
If there are expectations, why so many postponements? Intel does not say precisely, but every implementation of a new miniaturization technology is surrounded by great complexity. Although without going into details, Intel signals that it continues having problems dealing with the high density of transistors in the architecture of the new CPUs.
The Meltdown and Spectre flaws may also be related to the decision. Launching a new family of processors immune to these issues and meeting the expectations of more performance that every release brings can be incredibly challenging.
For now, Intel has just reported that small volumes of its 10-nanometer chips are already being shipped, though it is unclear which organizations. In addition, the company has confirmed that it is already working on the successor generation, Ice Lake chips, which will focus on high-performance PCs and servers.
So, what do you think about this? Simply share all your views and thoughts in the comment section below.