‘Intel’s Broadwell chips won’t be widely available until early 2015’

Intel is reportedly releasing its first processors based on the Broadwell architecture in the fourth quarter of this year, but only in limited numbers. Taiwanese companies do not expect broad availability until the first quarter of 2015.

Initially, Intel would have planned that the 14nm production of the Broadwell chips, which should follow the current Haswell processors, will start in the first half of this year. Broad availability should follow in the third quarter. However, there is talk of a postponement, claims Digitimes based on its sources at Taiwanese technology companies.

The first chips are now reportedly coming in the fourth quarter and that concerns models in the economical U and Y series for ultrabooks, tablets and hybrids. However, the quantities would be limited. Broad availability will not follow until the first quarter of 2015, and then the Pentiums and Celerons based on Broadwell should also follow. The delay should help Intel get rid of its stockpiles of Haswell chips. There may still be significant stocks due to the decline in PC sales.

It’s not the first report of Broadwell’s delay, and Intel itself has already admitted production yields are disappointing. For the desktop, the first Broadwell models would be the K models with unlocked multiplier. According to previous roadmaps, these will also come at the end of 2014. It is not clear whether these models will now also be postponed to the beginning of 2015.