Intel CEO Dismisses Threat of Arm-Based CPUs From Nvidia, AMD

pcmag.com:

Will Intel ever produce company-branded Arm chips for Windows PCs? 

Intel’s CEO threw cold water on the idea Thursday amid reports that both Nvidia and AMD are preparing to release their own Arm-based CPUs for Windows, possibly by 2025. 

“Arm and Windows client alternatives, you know, generally they've been relegated to pretty insignificant roles in the PC business,” Pat Gelsinger told investors during an earnings call. 

Gelsinger made the comment when Intel had long been producing processors using the x86 architecture for both Windows PCs and Macs. But in 2020, Apple famously dumped the x86 architecture to produce its own Arm-based chips for the company’s Mac line. 

Since then, Arm-based Macs have received rave reviews for their strong performance and long battery life when Intel has struggled to maintain chip manufacturing leadership. Now it looks like both Nvidia and AMD see an opportunity to use their own Arm chips to eat into Intel’s control of the Windows PC market, suggesting the days of x86 dominance may be over. 

However, Intel’s CEO is pushing back on the idea that Arm on Windows will actually take off. Indeed, the first Arm-based Windows PCs debuted back in 2012, but they remain a niche player in the PC market. 

Although Intel takes all competition seriously, Gelsinger said that using “history as our guide here: you know, we don't see these as potentially being all that significant overall.”

Instead, Gelsinger is betting that x86 will remain top dog. In December, the company plans on releasing a new class of x86 chips, the Meteor Lake family, that promises to unleash cutting-edge AI-powered laptops to rival Macs from Apple.

“We expect in the next two years over 100 million, x86 AI-enhanced PCs in the