Intel's new Arrow Lake-S desktop CPUs now rumored for December launch, 5 months after Zen 5

Intel's next-generation Core Ultra 200 series "Arrow Lake-S" desktop CPUs have reportedly been delayed, with a December release window now rumored... giving AMD an entire 5 months with its next-gen Zen 5-based Ryzen 9000 series CPUs to dominate.

In a new post from "HXL" on X, the leaker said this is just a rumor for now... but if true, AMD would have a gigantic 5-month lead on having its next-gen Zen 5-based Ryzen 9000 series "Granite Ridge" processors on the market. Intel will be hosting its "ON" event in September; where we previously expected the Arrow Lake-S processors to launch in the weeks after the event, but it looks like this could change.

The December period is a hot sales period for the holidays and Christmas PC upgrades, but if Intel is only just barely launching its chips in December, AMD will have thousands of its new Ryzen 9000 series CPUs on the market, hundreds of reviews, breakdowns, comparisons, and more. Intel won't have anything on desktop between now and December, which isn't a good position to be in, period.

• Read more: Intel denies RMA requests for its faulty 13th Gen, 14th Gen CPUs with instability issues

According to our friends at Wccftech, Intel's new Arrow Lake-S QS (qualifying samples) are aimed at a late-September, early-October release, meaning that it would indeed by another couple of months (so, December) before the final retail Core Ultra 200 series "Arrow Lake-S" processors are launched.

• Read more: Intel's next-gen flagship Core Ultra 9 285K 'Arrow Lake' CPU confirmed by CPU-Z devs
• Read more: Intel won't release Core Ultra 3 versions of Arrow Lake, rumored to be Raptor Lake Refresh
• Read more: Intel will debut 'Per Core Thermal Throttle' with Core Ultra 200 series 'Arrow Lake' CPUs
• Read more: Intel could use upgraded NPU inside of Arrow Lake Refresh CPUs, larger die size required
• Read more: Intel Core Ultra 200V 'Lunar Lake' drops in September, Core Ultra 200 'Arrow Lake' in October
• Read more: Intel's new 800-series platform for Core Ultra 200 'Arrow Lake' CPUs detailed in new leaks
• Read more: Intel Innovation 2024 on September 24: Arrow Lake, Lunar Lake, Granite Rapids-AP CPUs
• Read more: Intel confirms next-gen Arrow Lake CPUs for desktop and laptops launch for Q4 2024
• Read more: Intel's next-gen flagship Core Ultra 9 285K 'Arrow Lake' CPU rumored to hit 5.5GHz

Given that Intel's 13th- and 14th-generation Core CPUs have some major issues, causing massive instability for gamers and data center operators, the delay could be a good thing.