Intel’s Lunar Lake CPUs may be coming out sooner than you think — and that’s great news

The introduction of the Intel Lunar Lake SoC at a Taiwan Intel event
(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

A new report may have revealed the launch date of the Intel Lunar Lake chips for both desktops and laptops, which is expected to be between September 17 and 24, 2024. If this report is to be believed, it puts the launch just before the Intel Innovation event, which lands on September 24 and 25.

The report, which comes from Benchlife (reported on by Kitguru), also asserts that the Core Ultra 200K ‘Arrow Lake-S’ will be available about a month later, along with the release of the first Z890 motherboards. However, the Core Ultra 200 non-K chips should launch in early 2025 with the B860 and H810 motherboards, most likely to be revealed during CES 2025.

This report coincides with the official news from Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger’s Computex 2024 keynote that the Lunar Lake series would be released sometime in late 2024. This means we’ll get AI PCs outfitted with the new chips right around the holiday season.

The competition is heating up 

What makes these Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake launches especially interesting is that they nearly match the launches of AMD's Strix Point and Ryzen 9000 CPUs and Nvidia's next-gen GeForce graphics cards. We’ll be seeing some truly high-profile releases this year, which perfectly meshes with the advent of AI PCs.

Of course, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite chips have already started launching with AI PCs, adding another competitor to the mix. Now that we have so many players coming in, I look forward to seeing them compete for market share. It’s honestly about time there was a major shakeup, and the results should mean that these tech giants continue to innovate and deliver the best products they can to us.

It already seems that Intel is confident in its imminent victory in the CPU market over Qualcomm, as it’s stated several times that the Lunar Lake will surpass Snapdragon. It claims it’ll deliver 1.4x faster AI performance than the Snapdragon X Elite while using 20% less power. It also points out that the NPU – Neural Processing Unit for AI acceleration – will hit 45 TOPS (trillions of operations per second), and the GPU will provide 60 TOPS.

While my money is on Qualcomm, as so many manufacturers have pivoted to outfitting their AI PCs with Snapdragon chips, and it’s the most promising in balancing performance with battery life, I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled to witness which one comes out on top in the end.

You might also like

Allisa James
Computing Staff Writer

Named by the CTA as a CES 2023 Media Trailblazer, Allisa is a Computing Staff Writer who covers breaking news and rumors in the computing industry, as well as reviews, hands-on previews, featured articles, and the latest deals and trends. In her spare time you can find her chatting it up on her two podcasts, Megaten Marathon and Combo Chain, as well as playing any JRPGs she can get her hands on.

Read more
Intel Lunar Lake concept
Intel's Panther Lake processors won't arrive until Q1 2026 - corroborates previous delay rumors despite former Intel CEO's promise of 2025 launch
A mockup of the Intel Core Ultra 200HX die against a blue swoosh background
Intel announces new Core Ultra 200 series mobile CPUs at CES 2025, targeting enthusiasts and edge users
Intel Core Ultra 200s
Hoping for new desktop CPUs from Intel this year? I hate to break it to you, but it still very much sounds like they won’t arrive until 2026 with Nova Lake
The socket interface of the Intel Core Ultra processor
Intel unveils its most powerful AI PCs yet - new Intel Core Ultra Series 2 processors pack in vPro for lightweight laptops and high-performance workstations alike
Intel Logo
Intel's rumored 'Celestial' GPUs could finally give Nvidia and AMD cause for concern
An Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Super on a desk
What to expect from Nvidia in 2025
Latest in CPU
AMD Ryzen AI
New leak suggests AMD's working on an Arm-based processor to rival Qualcomm's Snapdragon X series
AMD Ryzen 9950X3D chip next to its packaging on a pink table
Asus' AI Cache Boost promises to "pump up" your AMD Ryzen 9000 processor's AI performance
An AMD Ryzen processor slotted into a motherboard
Future AMD-powered gaming handhelds and notebooks could miss out on a key feature – and it might be a deal breaker for gamers
John Loeffler holding the Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Great news! The best gaming CPU ever made is finally available for its original launch price again
The Ryzen AI Max+ 395 could power the latest generation of powerful mini PCs
The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 dominates as the "most powerful" APU on the market, but its competition is questionable
Intel Lunar Lake concept
Intel's Panther Lake processors won't arrive until Q1 2026 - corroborates previous delay rumors despite former Intel CEO's promise of 2025 launch
Latest in News
L-mount alliance
Sirui joins L-Mount Alliance to deliver its superb budget lenses for Leica, DJI, Sigma and Panasonic cameras
Security padlock and circuit board to protect data
Trust in digital services around the world sees a massive drop as security worries continue
Samuel and Romy standing very close together in A24's Babygirl movie
Everything new on Max in April 2025, including A24's Babygirl and The Last of Us season 2
An AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT made by Sapphire on a table with its retail packaging
AMD’s secret weapon against Nvidia seems to be stock – way more RX 9070 GPUs are rumored to be hitting shelves than RTX 5000 models
Hacker silhouette working on a laptop with North Korean flag on the background
North Korea unveils new military unit targeting AI attacks
Seth Milchick and Kier Eagan's animatronic speaking in Severance season 2 episode 10
Apple TV+ announces Severance has been renewed for season 3 after that devastating finale