Intel's next-gen Panther Lake SoC delayed: concerns over its in-house Intel 18A process node

Intel recently said its next-gen Panther Lake CPUs made on its new in-house Intel 18A process node were releasing later this year, but according to an insider the new chips have been delayed into 2026 and the 18A process could be the issue.

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In a new report from insider Ming-Chi Kuo, we're hearing that Intel's new mobile-focused Panther Lake SoCs have been delayed, citing concerns over the performance of Intel's new 18A process node. Kuo writes: "Given the typical 2-4 week gap between chip and finished product (PC/NB) shipments, PTL notebooks may not become widely available until 2026, implying that Intel will miss the crucial year-end holiday sales season in 2025 and 2H25 revenue and profit will face downside risks".

Intel has reportedly not been able to get the 18A yield rates right, with an internal survey pointing to levels in Q3 2025 that won't be an improvement over where they are now, meaning mass production in the desired timeline is virtually impossible. We recently heard that Intel Foundry Services (IFS) and its new 18A process node was only hitting 20-30% yield rates, even after the company's new co-CEO said otherwise.

• Read more: Intel confirms next-gen Panther Lake CPUs launch later this year, Nova Lake CPUs arrive in 2026

Intel not having a next-generation CPU architecture is going to really hurt the company later this year and into 2026, as its competitor -- AMD -- has been launching CPU after CPU. Its new Zen 5 desktop processors have come in like yet another wrecking ball for Intel, with its new X3D processors kicking ass... and its new mobile-focused Strix Point and Strix Halo APU designs packing serious performance, without needing lots of power.

AMD has its next-gen Zen 6 processors on the way, with new desktop CPUs and more importantly: new laptop offerings with Medusa Point and Medusa Halo, which Medusa Halo will offer 24 cores and 48 threads of Zen 6 CPU power, with an upgraded GPU that is said to have GeForce RTX 5070 Ti levels of gaming performance... all on an APU. Intel... Intel will have nothing to compete with this, especially if Panther Lake has been delayed.

In full, Ming-Chi Kuo's post explained:

1. Given the typical 2-4 week gap between chip and finished product (PC/NB) shipments, PTL notebooks may not become widely available until 2026, implying that Intel will miss the crucial year-end holiday sales season in 2025 and 2H25 revenue and profit will face downside risks.
2. While Intel has only publicly stated that PTL is scheduled for mass production in 2H25 (keeping this delay within their communicated timeline), such a decision would not be made without significant production issues. This delay will impact Intel's 2H25 revenue, profits, and, most importantly, organizational morale and supply chain trust.
3. Defect density is just one-factor affecting chip yield and mass production capability. The shipment schedules of PC/NB brands, ODMs, and EMS providers serve as critical indicators for assessing the production status of Intel's 18A process.
4. Based on my survey of Intel's advanced-node consumable shipments, 3Q25 figures show no major changes from current levels, which could support the delay of Intel PTL.
5. In 2H25, Intel will primarily rely on Arrow Lake (ARL) to compete against AMD and Qualcomm. With ARL offering less than 40 TOPs and brands showing limited enthusiasm for Lunar Lake (LNL), Intel appears disadvantaged in the 2H25 AI PC competition.
6. More aggressive brands have planned to adopt the limited Qualification Sample (QS) PTL chips expected in late September for specific high-end models to gain a time-to-market advantage. However, given the limited QS shipments, Intel will benefit minimally.
7. Until Intel successfully ships its own chips manufactured on the 18A, it will struggle to gain the trust of external IC design customers and secure their substantial resource investments for 18A chip development collaboration.