During the Q&A session of its Q2 2016 financial report, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich said that Intel is now shipping its 7th Gen Core processor codenamed Kaby Lake to OEMs. Also this is the first processor release after Intel moved to the new “Process – Architecture – Optimization” cycle replacing the renowned “tick-tock” cycle.
“Kaby Lake is built off a Skylake core, and as a result, the die size doesn’t significantly grow. So you don’t see – there’s no driver in the silicon itself to shift the margin structure of this product. We’re able to get the performance and feature enhancements with relatively small silicon increases but good improvement on the raw silicon technology itself,” said Brian Krzanich. It comes in on a process technology that’s mature with healthy yields and a healthy cost structure. So from that perspective, you get a nice performance boost at a good cost structure.
Kaby Lake processors which are built using 14-nanometer architecture will offer improved graphics, native USB 3.1 support, improved 4k video support, and more.