Despite previous rumors, Intel has announced that variants of its future Meteor Lake chips are also planned for the desktop. For almost nine months, that didn’t seem to be the case.

Intel confirms through its general manager of the computer company Michelle Johnston Holthaus that Meteor Lake is also coming to the desktop. This is not a self-evident statement: at the end of 2022, rumors emerged that problems with the Intel 4 process would prevent the launch of Meteor Lake for the desktop. For nine months, Intel didn’t clarify these rumors, which only made them more credible. Now it seems that the chips are still planned for 2024.

Which desktops?

Of course, 2024 is a wide window and it’s not clear what exactly Intel is aiming for. Additionally, Intel will be updating its desktop offerings in the near future Raptor Lake Update. These chips will be part of the fourteenth generation of Intel Core. It’s unlikely that Intel plans to quickly follow up with competing Meteor Lake chips on the desktop. In addition, the term “desktop” is broad. It’s entirely possible that Intel is planning some Meteor Lake CPUs exclusively for use by manufacturers in certain desktop models, but the chips won’t end up on shelves en masse.

Intel hopes to make Meteor Lake available for laptops this year, but the manufacturer isn’t taking too much leeway. The launch of the first Intel 4 chips (TSMC 5nm equivalent) is scheduled for December 14th. The chips will feature a more modular architecture and provide space for additional components beyond the CPU and GPU. Consider built-in accelerators. Because the new chips represent an architectural leap, they get a slightly new name, with the “i” disappearing from the core’s “i” and replaced by “ultra” in some cases.