Intel has been issuing processors with the Core “i” branding for a very long time, i.e. the Core i3, i5, i7, and i9, but according to the company, its upcoming Meteor Lake chips will abandon this naming scheme. Intel has announced that future chips will forsake the Core “i” moniker in favor of Core Ultra.
At the time of writing, it is unclear how Intel will differentiate between various chips within the Core Ultra context. It is possible that we will continue to see i3, i5, i7, and i9 processors with Core Ultra instead of Core “i”; however, it is also possible that Intel will adopt an entirely different nomenclature scheme for Core Ultra. This year, however, we will learn more about Meteor Lake, so we will not have to wait long.
Core “i” naming scheme will be discontinued beginning with the Meteor Lake processors.
In a recent earnings call, Intel promised to increase production of Meteor Lake processors this year, and the current expectation is that these chips will begin shipping by year’s end. Meteor Lake will be constructed on Intel’s ‘Intel 4’ process node and will feature a new tiled architecture, hybrid cores, lower power consumption, a next-generation graphics engine, and integrated AI acceleration, according to Intel.
Meteor Lake desktop PC chips are rumored to be limited to the Core i3, Core i5 range of processors rated for approximately 35W and 65W power envelopes, but Intel has not yet confirmed this and made an official announcement. Nevertheless, Core i3 and Core i5 are not necessarily the names of these processors.