Intel rebrands its processor chips for the first time in 15 years

Intel, on Thursday, June 15 announced a major rebranding effort for its consumer processors after almost 15 years. Instead of the familiar ‘Core i’ branding, Intel will adopt a new numbered naming system. Additionally, the company will introduce a new range of high-end PC chips called ‘Core Ultra.’ This move is seen as Intel’s attempt to refresh its image and compete with chipmakers like advanced micro devices (AMD) and Nvidia, who are capitalising on the growing demand for AI-driven applications.

The news, reported by Mint, stated that the new branding will be introduced with Intel’s upcoming generation of processors, code-named ‘Meteor Lake.’

Furthermore, this will be the 14th generation of Intel processors and was recently showcased at the Computex 2023 PC show in Taiwan.

During the show, the processors, reportedly, demonstrated a co-processing unit called the ‘Versatile Processing Unit’ (VPU), which will enable local processing of AI and machine learning workloads.

Intel’s departure from the ‘Core i’ branding comes after almost 15 years, since when it launched the Core i7-920 desktop processor in 2008.

This rebranding comes after Apple’s release of its latest PC processor, the M2 Ultra.

Akshara Bassi, an analyst at Counterpoint India told Mint that Intel’s rebranding effort may be aimed at offering specific product categories to its clients, such as PC brands. Bassi suggested that this exercise could be crucial for Intel, given its underwhelming business performance in recent quarters.

In the same report, Sharath Srinivasamurthy, associate vice-president at IDC India, shared that the rebranding aligned Intel with the growing trend of AI in the market.