Intel Will Replace Celeron, Pentium Chips In Laptops Next Year

‘Intel Processor’ is the new product name for its low-tier CPUs.

Say goodbye to Pentium and Celeron and hello to “Intel Processor”-branded chips in notebooks in 2023, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based chip giant said Friday.

The company will retire the popular products for its laptops in the first quarter of next year. They will be replaced with “Intel Processor” next year for notebooks.

As a result of the switch, Intel said it will sharpen its focus on flagship brands such as Core, Evo and vPro.

Intel Processor will be the brand name for multiple processor families, helping to simplify the product purchase experience for consumers, the company said. Intel noted it will continue to deliver the same products and benefits within segments and not alter Intel’s current product offerings or roadmap.

[RELATED STORY: Intel Sees PC Vendors Reducing Inventory, Slashes PC Market Outlook]

Intel first debuted the Pentium processor in 1993 and the Celeron processor in 1998.

Josh Newman, Intel’s vice president and interim general manager of mobile client platforms, said the importance of the PC has only become more apparent as the pace of technological development continues to shape the world.

“Intel is committed to driving innovation to benefit users, and our entry-level processor families have been crucial for raising the PC standard across all price points,” he said in a statement posted to Intel’s website. “The new Intel Processor branding will simplify our offerings so users can focus on choosing the right processor for their needs.”

CRN has reached out to Intel for further comment.

Robert O’Donnell, president and chief analyst at Foster City, Calif.-based TECHnalysis Research, told CRN the Intel announcement is no big deal.

“It’s literally just branding,” he said. “That’s all it is…will it have later versions of the architectures? Yes.”

These microprocessors, he said, represent a very small portion of the market including Chromebooks and some embedded devices.

This past summer, Intel Corp. told customers the company would begin hiking prices on its peripheral chip products in the fourth quarter as chipmakers deal with increasing costs.

“On its Q1 earnings call, Intel indicated it would increase pricing in certain segments of its business due to inflationary pressures,” Intel told CRN in a statement at the time. “The company has begun to inform customers of these changes.”