Intel’s Apollo Lake chips for entry-level PCs coming in second half of 2016

Intel announced during its Chinese IDF edition that the chip generation codenamed Apollo Lake will be released in the second half of this year. The chips are intended for entry-level desktops and laptops and are said to outperform the current Braswell chips.

The Apollo Lake chips are based on a new architecture and therefore perform better, claims Intel in the presentation. That applies not only to the cpu, but also to the gpu, since Apollo Lake will receive a ninth generation GPU, just like the Skylake chips already have. The entire platform would have become more economical and those words seem to have been carefully chosen because earlier, leaked slides show that the Apollo Lake-socs themselves have TDPs of 6W to 10W, where Braswell has a TDP of 6.5W. Like Braswell, Apollo Lake socs are likely to be available as Celerons and Pentiums.

For manufacturers, Intel also mentions the advantage that they can save on costs with Apollo Lake, for example by using smaller batteries, omitting a USB hub and using a single USB-C port and soldering memory and storage on the motherboard. In part, this could also lead to thinner systems. According to Intel, the entry-level market for mini-desktops, all-in-ones and laptops-cum-convertibles is growing and manufacturers can make a profit here, despite the low prices.

Intel does not provide details about the Apollo Lake chips, although it is clear from the presentation that they support both lpddr3 and lpddr4. Leaked information previously indicated that the chips will contain two or four Goldmont cores produced at 14nm.