The current state of Intel shows us a Skylake architecture that has slowly started to gain traction in the market, and the confirmation that its successor Kaby Lake will remain on 14 nanometers, effectively breaking the "tick-tock" mechanism for its processor development. Beyond Kaby Lake, Cannonlake appears, previously known as Airmont. The latest round of leaks indicates that Cannonlake will finally bring its 10 nanometers in the second half of 2017, and it will be the first of three generations under that fabrication.
This is the rumor control, here are the facts: The bomb was thrown by CEO Brian Krzanich in July of last year. Intel's Kaby Lake architecture will repeat Skylake's manufacturing method, thus breaking with the historical tick-tock and delaying the arrival of 10 nanometers until the year 2017 at least. Although the performance improvements brought by Skylake were not extraordinary, its solid efficiency made it an irresistible option for all kinds of integrated and/or compact systems. Add to this Microsoft's statements about limiting support for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 on these chips, thus favoring the development of Windows 10. In fact, the Redmond giant anticipated that Kaby Lake processors and equivalents of that same generation could only be used (officially, at least) with Windows 10, which will surely generate all kinds of feelings among users.
Beyond Kaby Lake
Meanwhile, we must look beyond Kaby Lake. Cannonlake appears on the horizon, and if the CEO's words are true, it will definitely reach our desktops with transistors of 10 nanometers in the second half of 2017. However, the novelty emerging through new leaks is that Cannonlake will not see a restored tick-tock, but will assume the same role as Broadwell as the first generation of a fabrication that will be repeated three times. Cannonlake will have Ice Lake as its direct replacement in 2018, and Tiger Lake in 2019. Cannonlake will have a lot of Kaby Lake inside it, so we are likely to see the true potential of 10 nanometers starting with Ice Lake. The big question is what will happen after that. 7 nanometers, or maybe less? We are talking about a territory where Moore's Law should fall to pieces....
AMD and the Duel
Looking back a bit, it would be crazy to forget AMD, which has promised to get back in the game with its 14-nanometer Zen architecture. If all goes well, the first Zen chips will see the light before the end of the year, so we could enjoy a head-to-head duel for dominance of 14 nanometers, until the Santa Clara giant launches Cannonlake. The best is yet to come.
