It was towards the end of 2024, in October, that Intel released its new generation Arrow Lakes processors. It was a big change, with a new name for its desktop CPUs and a new socket, but it didn’t quite pan out. The reviews of the Core Ultra 200S weren’t favorable, as the big changes were a step back compared to the previous generation. We also reviewed three SKUs from the generation, including the flagship Core Ultra 9 285K.

But now they might be getting a bit more performance with a new release. ZDNet Korea reports (translated via Google Translate) that sources have informed them that the Arrow Lake Refresh is scheduled for release in the second half of 2025. That could be in line with the anniversary of the original versions of the processors.

This is seemingly the next step from the 200S boost the company released earlier this year, which looked to improve the performance for those who already bought one of these processors. Additionally, a new Lunar Lake range will aim to improve the hardware specifications, including the upgrade to NPU 4 AI processing on board and improving the overclocking as well.

Intel’s fight to climb back up

Even with these improvements, it doesn’t look easy for Intel to gain back market share. Especially looking at sales across the board; last week, AMD tops the charts in Germany, as Intel only made up 6.69% of the CPUs sold. Or on Amazon US, where Intel only claims as high as the 13th spot, with the most popular Core Ultra CPU only coming in 23rd.

It’s no surprise, really, as AMD’s X3D processors are a runaway success, alongside budget CPUs for those more conscious of their spending. The 9800X3D reviews show those gains in performance in both gaming and other workloads do make it a more obvious choice over what Intel has to offer, and what once made it better for non-gaming isn’t as prominent.

Also, following Intel’s stability problems a year ago, its name and processors haven’t exactly been a go-to choice for a while now. The company will have a hard time getting back to the top, and we don’t expect these new CPUs to do it, but it might be a step in the right direction. As long as it continues to support the latest LGA 1851 platform and work on the next generation, and fight AMD just like with its graphics cards, Intel can still recover.

About the Author

Sebastian Kozlowski

With a fascination for technology and games, Seb is a tech writer with a focus on hardware, news, and deals. He is also a tester and reviewer for the site. Contact him @ [email protected]