Intel’s new Core CPU branding is official: “i” is out, Ultra is in

Last month we heard that Intel was planning on shaking up the branding for its long-running series of Core i3, i5, i7, and i9 CPUs. Not a huge shake-up — in fact about as innocuous as things can be, simply dropping a single letter from each one. Today it’s official: Starting with Meteor Lake releases later this year, Intel processors will be named either Core 3, 5, 7, 9, (note the lack of the “i”) or Core Ultra variants thereof.

That’s according to a sprawling press release from Intel itself, which also notes that some sub-brand labels like Intel Evo Edition laptops and vPro Enterprise and vPro Essentials devices will retain their current labels. Why change things up now, after more than 15 years of the Core iNumber setup? Aside from general principles like “a change is as good as a rest,” Intel seems to think that the new AI craze is enough to deserve the distinction.

“Meteor Lake…will be the first client processor manufactured on the new Intel 4 process node. It’s the first client chiplet design enabled by Foveros advanced 3D packaging technology, and it will deliver improved power efficiency and graphics performance. It’s also the first Intel client processor to feature a dedicated AI engine: Intel AI Boost,” says the press release.

The new chips will also get a slightly updated visual identity, with some gradient dots added to Intel’s typical blue color scheme. “Ultra” chips, the best and most powerful of their generations, will show that label off front and center bottom and slightly to the left. Intel is also dropping “generational branding,” labels like “13th-generation Core i5.” But you can bet that tech press (like PCWorld) and general nerds (also like PCWorld) will probably stick to that moniker, if only for an easy way to differentiate newer designs from older ones.