Intel has already started to make plans for the next 5 years and the Royal Core project has come to light for the first time.

Moore’s Law is Dead , which has provided many leaks on Intel processors in the past , drew attention to Intel’s plans starting with Lunar Lake and extending to Nova Lake and the ‘Royal Core’ revolution.

With past leaks, some code names that Intel will use in new generation processors have been revealed. In the coming years, we will see names such as Arrow Lake, Lunar Lake, Nova Lake and Meteor Lake.

According to the information received, Intel will adopt a very different vision after Meteor Lake, and chip designer Jim Keller has an important role in this. According to the source, there will be changes in the “Core” architecture that the blue team has adopted for more than a decade, and we will start to hear the new “Royal Core” name.

Royal Core cores are expected to debut with the 15th Gen Arrow Lake family. It is also said that Lion Cove cores, which are described as “excellent”, will be used together with the 16th Generation Lunar Lake. Lion Cove will provide an IPC gain of at least 30% compared to Golden Cove. After that, Panther Cove cores will come for Nova Lake.

The main reason Apple abandoned Intel products was the lack of efficiency compared to the ARM architecture. The new Core architecture is generally referred to as the Royal Core Project and it has been reported that preparations continue to increase efficiency in the X86 architecture. In summary, we can say that the X86 architecture will be developed in order to better compete with Apple products.

DDR5 Memory Speed, SMT4 and Machine Learning

Although it is not clearly stated which generation it is, it is also among the information that Intel will offer memory support up to DDR5-7400 Mbps in its processors until 2026. In addition, cores integrated into the processor will be used for machine learning and SMT4 (4-way hyper-threading) technology will be adopted.

Intel 15th Gen Arrow Lake ‘Intel 4’ Processors

Starting with Arrow Lake, Intel will apparently use Intel 4 manufacturing technology in these chips. The Arrow Lake family can offer up to 40 cores (8 large + 32 small cores). In addition, these advanced cores will be named Lion Cove and Skymont.

It is stated that the new series will continue to compete with AMD and Apple processors and double-digit IPC gains will be achieved.

Intel 16th Gen Lunar Lake ‘Intel 3’ Processors

16th Gen Lunar Lake CPUs may be the first product line to be based on Intel 3 generation. It’s too early to talk yet, but leaks say that the new chips will bring performance that can surpass rival AMD and Apple processors.

It has been revealed that Lunar Lake will come right after Meteor Lake in past leaks. However, it looks like Arrow Lake will be released earlier. We can give an estimated date of late 2024 or early 2025.

Intel 17th Gen Nova Lake ‘Intel 3’ Processors

Finally, there are Nova Lake chips with cores with a brand new architecture known as Panther Cove and Darkmont. It is stated that Intel will make the biggest improvements in its history with these processors, and will even take the stage with even bigger breakthroughs than the Core architecture introduced in 2006.

In addition, CPU performance improvements can be more than 50% compared to Luna Lake models. If all goes as it is, we can expect these intriguing CPUs in early 2026.

Architecture and Compatibility

The blue team seems to attach importance to hybrid technology similar to ARM architecture and make plans for the future. As you know, large and small kernels will be used for the first time on the x86 side. We’re curious how this technique will perform on the desktop platform. So much so that these processors also need to work in harmony with the operating system.

Intel has developed a solution for this issue called Thread Director . Thread Director consists of a chip physically located inside the processors. Its main task is to assist the operating system in routing its own timer. The upcoming Windows 11 operating system will work in full harmony with 12th generation Alder Lake processors and full efficiency will be taken from its hybrid architecture. Therefore, this process will be supported by Intel, Microsoft and different operating system developers in the coming years.

Finally, according to our hearings, the AMD front has been working and researching on hybrid architecture for a while. In other words, we will see many processors used together with powerful and efficient cores in the coming years.

Comparisons of Intel Processors by Years