Competition in the processor market has heated up in recent years, especially between chip giant Intel and competitors like AMD and Apple Silicon.

Since 2021, Intel has been introducing new chips in its Lake line, with "Meteor Lake" set for release sometime in 2023. So what is Intel’s new Meteor Lake chip, and what can it do?

What Is Intel’s Meteor Lake?

Meteor Lake is the codename for Intel’s latest line of processors set to be released sometime in the second half of 2023. This release will be the 14th generation of Intel processing chips. These chips will be 7nm, meaning built with transistors that measure seven nanometers.

Meteor Lake is reportedly Intel’s first processor to use a “chiplet” design that allows components to be combined sort of like LEGO bricks depending on what capabilities are needed. It’s also the company’s first chip to use extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) in the manufacturing process.

The details beyond that are being kept close to the vest, but there are a few things we do know.

Meteor Lake will be Intel’s first client processor on its Intel 4 architecture, and the company is insisting despite rumors of delays that devices with Meteor Lake chips will be available to purchase by the end of 2023, according to a report by Anandtech.

Meteor Lake specs are still largely speculative, though some figures for the mobile variants of the chip were recently released. If Meteor Lake does in fact get released before the end of 2023, the first devices to have the chip will probably be performance gaming laptops.

YouTuber Moore’s Law Is Dead recently released some information on projected performance for these chips, claiming they would likely be on the same level as AMD’s Phoenix chip and that he received that information from someone working at Intel.

Intel is also moving to a new naming system with the 14th generation. Going forward there will be three tiers of Intel chips: Intel, Intel Core, and Intel Ultra.

What AI-Oriented Features Will Meteor Lake Support?

When you hear AI, you probably think of generative programs like Midjourney, but there are a ton of other ways AI is being used by our devices every day. When you used background blur on your last Zoom call, that was AI. So what does AI have to do with Meteor Lake?

Intel’s new chips are built to enable a range of AI-centric programs. Adobe Photoshop’s generative AI fill function, for example, will benefit not just from Meteor Lake but the entire generation of ultra-fast processors hitting the market now.

Intel claims its new processor line will handle demanding graphics-heavy functions like AI photo editing, video editing, or high-res gaming more efficiently than current offerings while also using less power. That means more efficient machines with longer battery life.

The chips already have graphics support built in and will be able to work with DirectX 12 Ultimate, Ray Tracing, and Intel's Xe Super Sampling (XeSS). It’s also made to handle Direct Machine Learning (DirectML).

Will There Be New Hardware Advancements With Meteor Lake?

Intel will manufacture these new chips so they can be mixed and matched. Each component will have a tile-like structure that allows different parts to be combined in different ways depending on what type of device they’re being used in.

Meteor Lake will use a system-on-chip (SoC) design, meaning every chip will have its own integrated Intel Arc Graphics SoC. Each chip will also reportedly have a dedicated AI processor, which Intel is calling a VPU.

The chip’s CPU will likely be manufactured by Intel, with graphics and other components being manufactured by Intel’s Taiwanese partners. While that makes manufacturing more complicated, it increases manufacturing efficiency and therefore speed.

Details about the mobile versions of Meteor Lake, named U, P, and H, have been leaked on the blog Igor’s lab. The leak details a spec list, including a 14-core mobile processor, and possible design.

There have also been leaks of possible Metor Lake S desktop chip designs, but as of now, they are purely speculation. According to the leak, these processors could reach a max clock speed as high as 5.5GHz, but again, it's best to take that with a grain of salt until more concrete details come out.

When Will Meteor Lake Be Released?

The rumors for when Meteor Lake will actually hit the market are all over the place. Multiple rumors of delays and cancelations have muddied the waters, but as of now Intel still says the chip is on track to be released in the latter half of 2023. The first devices with the chip to be available to consumers will likely be laptops.

As for the price, no official numbers have been released. Intel won’t be selling Meteor Lake chips by themselves anyway, so what you’re paying for will be the device the chip is inside, e.g. a laptop or desktop computer. Intel’s 13th-generation Raptor Lake chips, by comparison, sold for anywhere from $300-$700.

For more details on the nitty-gritty of these chips and their projected capabilities, you can check out the replay of Microsoft’s Build Event.