Following the earlier releases of Panther Lake and Wildcat Lake this year, Intel has remained relatively quiet regarding upcoming consumer CPUs until now. Known leaker Jaykihn has disclosed the base specifications for a new chip codenamed Moon Lake, which is expected to serve as a replacement for the current N-series SoCs found in ultra-budget laptops and mini-PCs.
The leaked data indicates that Moon Lake will feature an all-efficiency layout consisting of four low-power-efficiency (LP-E) cores and zero performance cores. It is widely speculated that these cores will utilize Darkmont LP-E silicon, mirroring the architecture seen in recent Intel designs. The chip's physical layout is likely to match Wildcat Lake, with efficiency cores situated on their own island.
Power consumption for Moon Lake is projected to range between 6W and 15W TDP, placing it in a similar bracket to SoCs used in smartphones and tablets. This specification profile suggests the processor will target devices in the $300 to $500 price range, although final costs may fluctuate based on RAM and storage configurations. The new silicon is not expected to arrive until 2028, a timeline that could be influenced by future shifts in NAND and DDR supply chains.
While specific clock speeds have not been disclosed, the N150 previously offered a 3.6 GHz turbo frequency as a reference point. Recent Intel chips on the 18A process have generally matched or exceeded the clock speeds of their predecessors while improving power efficiency. Although Moon Lake maintains the same four-core count and 6W TDP as comparable N-series designs, the new architecture is expected to deliver higher instructions per clock (IPC). Consequently, devices equipped with Moon Lake should offer significantly improved battery life compared to their predecessors.
Sources: Tom's Hardware.