Oops: Intel Meteor Lake CPUs Will Not Be Available For Desktops, After All

Oops: Intel Meteor Lake CPUs Will Not Be Available For Desktops, After All

Last week, Intel’s EVP & GM of Client Computing Group (CCG), Michelle Johnston Holthaus, had apparently confirmed Meteor Lake’s existence in desktop form factors in 2024. Turns out she wasn’t quite correct on that statement – per ComputerBase, Intel spokesperson has clarified that Meteor Lake won’t be available in socketed (LGA) form factors.

Now, for the PC enthusiasts out there, when they hear “desktops” it mostly refers to the typical tower PCs used for gaming, workstation and sometimes even office purposes. However, what Holthaus meant by ‘desktop’ was, in fact, All-in-Ones (AIOs): essentially a single-body desktop that houses all the circuitry behind a display (monitor), like iMacs. These types of PCs usually get low-power laptop-oriented chips as cooling is also a limiting factor in such form factors.

That meant that for desktops, Arrow Lake will be the upcoming direct successor to the Raptor Lake architecture (and the Raptor Lake Refresh lineup, which is expected to launch soon). Arrow Lake is set for 2H 2024, and in a scenario where Meteor Lake would launch in the same year for socketed desktop form factors – that would make very little sense.

So, in short: Meteor Lake will be a low-power architecture that succeeds current-gen Raptor Lake CPUs, and it’ll mostly be available in laptops. That being said, per Holthaus’ statement – you may still see the chip’s presence in AIOs, mini PCs such as NUCs (which Intel recently sold off to ASUS), or even some low-power desktop models in rare cases.

Source: Videocardz

Pokdepinion: A tad bit awkward, that one.