Intel is introducing Panther Lake this year, which, like Lunar Lake, will concentrate on mobile platforms. Anticipated to take over from Arrow Lake in future desktop platforms is Nova Lake. This revolutionary microarchitecture is specifically crafted for desktops, drawing parallels to AMD's first-generation Ryzen processors. Nova Lake's release is targeted for the latter half of 2026.

Reports from Wccftech indicate that recently updated shipping lists affirm the existence of Nova Lake test chips. Intel is actively dispatching these chips to partners for testing, suggesting that the Nova Lake project is proceeding as per the planned schedule. In contrast to Lunar Lake's unified memory package design, Nova Lake opts for a more conventional architectural style. The P-Core and E-Core are set to be upgraded to the advanced Coyote Cove and Arctic Wolf architectures, respectively, with continued support for DDR5. Additionally, Nova Lake may introduce the PCIe 6.0 standard.

Intel's former CEO, Pat Gelsinger, revealed late last year that Nova Lake might partially rely on external foundries for chip production. However, akin to Panther Lake, a substantial portion of manufacturing will revert to in-house facilities. This shift is expected to encompass the majority of the chip area in Nova Lake packages, surpassing the 70 percent mark achieved by Panther Lake.

As of now, the specific manufacturing process for Nova Lake remains uncertain. It could utilize Intel 18A, Intel 14A, or potentially TSMC's 2nm technology. Despite Intel's strategic goals, successful implementation remains in question. Initially, Intel had planned to employ the Intel 20A process for Arrow Lake's computing modules, but eventually shifted to TSMC's N3B process at the eleventh hour.