Intel Struggles with 18A Process Technology: Panther Lake CPU Launch Delayed

Intel representatives have repeatedly noted that the company will begin production of Panther Lake processors using 18A technology this year, but well-known industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently stated that their mass production will be postponed from the end of September to the middle of the fourth quarter of 2025.

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This means that with a typical two to three week gap between the start of shipments of mature revision samples and production units, Panther Lake-based notebooks will not start shipping to the market until 2026. Accordingly, with the release of the new family, Intel may miss the Christmas sales season, which will negatively affect the company’s revenue and profit in the second half of this year.

Nominally, there will be no delay as such, since Intel has so far designated the second half of the year as the period for the start of mass deliveries of Panther Lake. In fact, such a shift in the timing may negatively affect the trust of partners and customers in the company. The density of defects and the level of good products at a particular point in time will have a noticeable impact on Intel’s readiness to start deliveries of new processors.

Intel’s planned Q3 2025 shipments, Kuo said, imply no increase that would hint at a timely start of Panther Lake shipments. In the second half of the year, Intel will have to rely primarily on Arrow Lake processors to compete with AMD and Qualcomm in the notebook segment. These processors demonstrate AI performance below 40 teraflops, and the Lunar Lake family is not particularly popular with notebook makers, so Intel’s position will be weakened in this period in terms of promoting PCs with AI acceleration features.

Only select Intel partners, according to the source, will be able to receive samples of Panther Lake processors for testing by the end of September. The shortage of these processors will not allow market participants to earn significantly on the new family in the second half of the year. Failure to launch production of its own processors using Intel 18A technology on time, among other things, could undermine the trust of third-party customers in the company, who are also looking at this process technology.