Intel bets on AI: Arrow Lake Refresh will get a powerful neural processor
By ForGeeks Intel, according to insiders, is preparing a refresh of its Arrow Lake line of desktop processors to be released in the second half of 2025. The main innovation will be an enhanced neural processing unit (NPU) designed for artificial intelligence tasks, while the graphics unit and CPU cores will remain unchanged.
According to information from ZDNet Korea, the new NPU will be similar to the one used in the Lunar Lake mobile processors already featured in Copilot+ laptops. This will allow desktops with Arrow Lake Refresh to get full support for Copilot+ features, including AI-based search, screenshots, and other capabilities.
The current versions of Arrow Lake also have an NPU, but its performance is not enough to fully work with Copilot+. The update should address this shortcoming. In addition to the new neural processor, a slight increase in clock speed is expected, but it won’t provide a significant performance boost for gaming.
Market Reaction and Outlook
The previous generation of Intel processors, Raptor Lake Refresh, reportedly sold three times better than Arrow Lake in South Korea. A possible reason could be gamer frustration, as Arrow Lake did not bring a significant improvement in gaming performance even after BIOS upgrades.
If Intel does focus on developing AI features in the Arrow Lake Refresh, it could be a strategic move to attract users interested in the new Windows 11 features. For the gaming segment, however, the refresh may not be of much use.
At this point, information about Arrow Lake Refresh remains unconfirmed. Earlier there were rumors about the possible cancellation of this refresh, but now sources say that the project is still in development. The processors are expected to arrive closer to the end of 2025.
The Intel bets on AI: Arrow Lake Refresh will get a powerful neural processor was first published on ITZine.ru.
