Intel fans are currently looking forward to the launch of Arrow Lake-S processors. A few weeks ago, these processors were listed on a UK retailer’s website, giving insight into their pricing. Following that, they were reportedly delayed from October 17th to October 24th.
However, while Intel is all set to launch its new CPUs next month, a new rumor suggests that next year’s Arrow Lake-S Refresh has been canceled. The refresh models would assumedly offer a similar upgrade to what we saw in Intel 13th Gen to 14th Gen (Raptor Lake-S to Raptor Lake-S Refresh).
Intel Arrow Lake-S Refresh reportedly canceled
Arrow Lake-S Refresh was expected to launch before Nova Lake; according to HardwareTimes, “A late 2026 launch is planned for Nova Lake”. The refreshed versions were rumored to offer more core counts and cache while using the same architecture, with the top variant offering up to 40 cores (16 Performance Cores and 32 Efficient Cores).
However, according to a new rumor, Intel has decided to pull the plug on this refresh. The rumor about the cancellation comes directly from Panzerlied, a Chiphell Forum member who previously shared details about the RTX 5090’s 2.9 GHz base clock.
The Arrow Lake-S Refresh desktop CPUs were initially expected to feature more cores and threads to compete with other processors on the market. However, according to Panzerlied, Intel plans to compete with AMD over the next two years using its existing lineup instead.
The reason behind this decision could be to speed up the development and release of Nova Lake, Intel’s next-generation CPU architecture. Arrow Lake-S Refresh may not have been delivering the level of performance Intel wanted for its desktop platform. Therefore, it makes sense for Intel to scrap the series and focus entirely on Nova Lake, which is expected to bring significant improvements in performance.
In any case, it’s important to remember that the cancellation of Intel Arrow Lake-S Refresh CPUs is still just a rumor, so take it with a grain of salt for the time being.
