Intel appeared at this year's CES show and provided a preview of its next basic version of The Chips, the 12th generation of Alder Lake.
The company did not go into much detail about the upcoming chips, but gave us a glimpse of what to expect.
Like its predecessor Lakefield, 12th-generation Alderr Lake chips use an arm-like approach called BIG.little, a combination of high-performance and high-efficiency cores to enhance energy and efficiency.
Lakefield chips were heavily focused on mobile devices, and Intel said the new CPU is for laptops and desktops and consumers should expect to get them in the second half of this year.
Arguably, the most prominent aspect of this announcement is its timing with regard to Apple's new M1 CPU, which was announced last year.
This is probably not a coincidence, but Intel is trying to compete directly with the M1, especially given the similarity of the two in the design.
Alderr Lake chips use the improved version of the 10 nm SuperFin manufacturing process found in Intel's 11th generation Tiger Lake chips, with a combination of new high-energy cores called Golden Lake and new Gracemont cores for efficiency.
Tiger Lake's CPU cores were known as Willow Cove, and the improved version of the 10 nm SuperFin manufacturing process is compatible with Apple's ARM instruction kit used in The M1.
This, combined with BIG.little engineering, confirms Intel's desire to compete with the Apple chip.
Intel's announcement also indicates the intention of companies to begin expanding their hybrid chips within their current configuration, and it should be revealed in due course whether this shift in strategy is paying off for Intel.
It is also worth noting that we do not expect Apple to use these new Alderr Lake chips in any of its products.
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