Another laptop OEM roadmap has leaked out which confirms Intel's Nova Lake as "Core Ultra 400" series while also pointing to Panther Lake & Medusa Point CPUs in 2026.
Leaked Roadmap Confirms Intel Core Ultra 400 "Nova Lake" CPUs, Core Ultra 300 "Panther Lake" & Zen 6-Based AMD Medusa Point APUs
Well, it looks like an undisclosed laptop OEM has just spilled the beans on what Intel will be calling its next-gen Nova Lake CPUs. There was a lot of confusion as to what family designation these next-gen chips would use, considering that they are a full top-to-bottom lineup, and as expected, it will be Core Ultra 400 series.
The same family series will be used by laptop and desktop CPUs, so while Nova Lake is going to be replaced by the Core Ultra 300 "Panther Lake" CPUs on laptops, the desktop chips will be replacing the Core Ultra 200 "Arrow Lake" series. So desktop is essentially going to skip a generation.
As for the roadmap, the Intel Panther Lake "Core Ultra 300" CPUs are positioned for a 2026 launch, while the Nova Lake "Core Ultra 400" CPUs are positioned for a 2027 launch. Do note that these timings are only specific to the products released by the specific OEM. Intel's Panther Lake CPUs will be available in Q4 2025 (this year) in limited quantities, and we can also expect to see Nova Lake mobile action by CES.
On the AMD front, the roadmap lists Medusa (Medusa Point & Medusa BB), the next-generation APU lineup that replaces Strix Point. AMD's Medusa Point will leverage the latest Zen 6 core architecture, & we've already covered a few specifications that leaked a while ago.
In terms of positioning, the Panther Lake and Medusa Point lineups will be the main SKUs for next year's laptops. Both CPUs are bringing in new core architectures and graphics architectures, along with utilizing the latest process technologies. Intel is going to leverage its 18A process node for Panther Lake, making it the first client product to do so. Just a few hours ago, we reported that AMD is already testing its Medusa Point APUs on the FP10-based "PLUM" REVB in 45W configurations. Intel is also finalizing Panther Lake for launch, and we can expect more details in the coming months.
Intel & AMD Laptop CPU Families (Expected):
| Segment | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enthusiast | Alder Lake-HX (Intel) | Raptor Lake-HX (Intel) Dragon Range (AMD) | Raptor Lake Refresh-HX (Intel) | Arrow Lake-HX (Intel) Fire Range (AMD) Strix Point Halo (AMD) | Arrow Lake-HX Refresh (Intel) Medusa Halo? (AMD) | Nova Lake-AX (Intel) Nova Lake-HX (Intel) Gator Range (AMD) |
| High-End | Alder Lake-H (Intel) Rembrandt (AMD) | Raptor Lake-H (Intel) Meteor Lake-H (Intel) Phoenix (AMD) Rembrandt-R (AMD) | Meteor Lake-H (Intel) Raptor Lake Refresh-H (Intel) Arrow Lake-H (Intel) Hawk Point (AMD) Strix Point (AMD) | Arrow Lake-H (Intel) Krakan Point (AMD) Gorgon Point (AMD) Panther Lake-H (Intel) | Arrow Lake-H Refresh (Intel) Panther Lake-H (Intel) Medusa Point (AMD) | Nova Lake-H (Intel) |
| Mainstream | Alder Lake-U (Intel) Rembrandt (AMD) Barcelo (AMD) | Raptor Lake-U (Intel) Phoenix (AMD) Rembrandt-R (AMD) | Meteor Lake-U (Intel) Raptor Lake Refresh-U (Intel) Hawk Point (AMD) Strix Point (AMD) | Arrow Lake-U Panther Lake-U (Intel) | Panther Lake-U (Intel) Medusa BB (AMD) | Nova Lake-U (Intel) |
| Low-Power | Alder Lake-U (Intel) Mendocino (AMD) | Raptor Lake-U (Intel) | Meteor Lake-U (Intel) Lunar Lake-M (Intel) | Lunar Lake-M (Intel) | Lunar Lake-M (Intel) | TBD |
News Source: Momomo_US
About the author: A Software Engineer by training and a PC enthusiast by passion, Hassan Mujtaba serves as Wccftech's Senior Editor for hardware section. With years of experience in the industry, he specializes in deep-dive technical analysis of next-generation CPU and GPU architectures, motherboards, and cooling solutions. His work involves not only breaking news on upcoming technologies but also extensive hands-on reviews and benchmarking.
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