Intel officially announces "Core Ultra" rebrand

[gjsman]

Summary

Intel announced today their rebrand of the Intel Core series processors. Most processors will have the "i" in their name dropped, making them Core 3, Core 5, and Core 7. More powerful versions of these chips will have "Ultra" added to the title, for Core Ultra 5, Core Ultra 7, and Core Ultra 9.

 

Quotes

Quote

- Intel's Core Ultra processor brand will be used for their most advanced client processors. This Intel Core Ultra brand better distinguishes from the rest of the Intel Core line-up.

- Intel Core 3/5/7/9 branding, basically dropping the "i" prefix from the model number.

 

 

My thoughts

I thought we were complaining that Apple's naming scheme was too confusing. That said, using "Ultra" to describe a Core i5 is a questionable choice almost designed to steal somebody's thunder...

 

Sources

https://www.phoronix.com/news/Intel-Core-Ultra-Brand

 

UPDATE

According to AnandTech at (https://www.anandtech.com/show/18911/intel-new-core-branding-for-meteor-lake-no-i-new-ultra-tier), Intel will also be removing and de-emphasizing the Generation descriptor from the branding (no more "10th gen," "11th gen," on the label). They may also be considering (though not confirmed) a generation count reset as Intel did once accidentally mention a "1003H" chip. 

[bezza...]

this is kinda cringe

[ToboRobot]

Another classic Intel Marketing move.

 

[Mr. Rabbit]

Oh we have probably one of the most recognizable and simple brands in tech, to the point even tech illiterate people know that their laptop has our tech (because we spent nearly 15 years marketing it and being the dominant company in that sector), let's rename it for no reason.

 

Can't see a good reason to replace the instantly recognizable i3/i5/i7 for this "Core" and "Core Ultra" which honestly just sounds cringe as hell

[jaslion]

Core ultra "number" sounds bad. I mean look at almost everyone for the last 2 decades with adding additions to a name to say its better and just put the ultra at the end.

 

core 3 ultra sounds way better than core ultra 3

 

I wonder what theyll do then if the ultra is just the replacement for k and h(q) or something. Still just four numbers like

 

core ultra 3 1010

[RejZoR]

Sooooo, what's "Ultra" about it? I understand Apple calling two of their faster chips merged into one super chip and calling it ULTRA, but what has Core Ultra 5 to do with any of it? They are just slapping a buzzword on it with no logic behind it.

[gjsman]

8 minutes ago, jaslion said:

core 3 ultra sounds way better than core ultra 3

Well, actually, that's another stupid part.

 

There is no Core Ultra 3. There is also no Core 9, just Core Ultra 9.

 

So the progression goes like this:

 

Core 3

Core 5

Core Ultra 5

Core 7

Core Ultra 7

Core Ultra 9

 

6 minutes ago, RejZoR said:

They are just slapping a buzzword on it with no logic behind it.

 

Apple's naming scheme, once you remember the order (and the fact that "Max" isn't the greatest one), is pretty much as follows:

 

M(generation number) + (no name / Pro / Max / Ultra)

 

But calling a Core i5 Ultra right after the launch of the M2 Ultra... it has a way of making "M2 Ultra" sound less good to a normal person. Which would you assume is better? A "M2 Ultra" or a "Core Ultra 5"? Probably "Core Ultra 5." But that's still pretty petty...

 

Also, they are probably looking at it and thinking that by the time Apple finally gets to "M9 Ultra," it will have been 7-10 years from now, and then they can rebrand again to be ahead.

[Agall]

23 minutes ago, gjsman said:

Summary

Intel announced today their rebrand of the Intel Core series processors. Most processors will have the "i" in their name dropped, making them Core 3, Core 5, and Core 7. More powerful versions of these chips will have "Ultra" added to the title, for Core Ultra 5, Core Ultra 7, and Core Ultra 9.

 

Quotes

 

 

My thoughts

I thought we were complaining that Apple's naming scheme was too confusing. That said, using "Ultra" to describe a Core i5 is a questionable choice almost designed to steal somebody's thunder...

 

Sources

https://www.phoronix.com/news/Intel-Core-Ultra-Brand

 

UPDATE

According to AnandTech at (https://www.anandtech.com/show/18911/intel-new-core-branding-for-meteor-lake-no-i-new-ultra-tier), Intel will also be removing and de-emphasizing the Generation descriptor from the branding (no more "10th gen," "11th gen," on the label). They may also be considering (though not confirmed) a generation count reset as Intel did once accidentally mention a "1003H" chip. 

Should've renamed it to 'hard-core' instead, models 42 for mid tier and 69 for flagship. The budget models being 'soft-core' with measly numbers like 21.

[porina]

I don't see this as a big change. Does the "i" add value still? It has had its time and I don't think the average person on the street (as oppose to people here) would even notice. The number is still there denoting the relative marketing positioning.

 

The "Ultra" part I'm going to hold judgement until we see how it is applied to actual products. Is it just a "k" substitute or something more?

[gjsman]

Just now, porina said:

The "Ultra" part I'm going to hold judgement until we see how it is applied to actual products. Is it just a "k" substitute or something more?

AnandTech asked Intel for comment on what "Ultra" actually means, and Intel has stated they have no objective criteria to share right now. So, maybe it will get some, otherwise... right now at least, it can be whatever they feel like.

 

Personally, I wish Intel would separate desktop-class chips from mobile-class branding-wise. The mobile chips never are as fast as the desktop ones and it would really make sense there. 

[Holmes108]

I'll agree that "ultra" is a little corny, especially on lower end SKU's, but otherwise just removing the "i" seems like no big deal to me.

[GuiltySpark_]

Basically a non-issue. Its new and different so people are knee-jerk reacting but give it a generation then its business as usual. 

[Spotty]

Deja vu. I thought this was already announced a few months ago? 

 

 

[gjsman]

Just now, Spotty said:

Deja vu. I thought this was already announced a few months ago? 

Went from leak to confirmation. Also, the leak implied that all models would have "Ultra" in the title, whereas that is not true from this announcement.

[da na]

Why not just bring back Extreme Edition? Wjy create an entire new name - seems more confusing to have a Core Ultra 7 than a Core i7 Extreme Edition. Makes it sound like a totally different chip while in reality the Ultras (and EEs) are just overclocked and unlocked existing processors.

[LAwLz]

12 minutes ago, Spotty said:

Deja vu. I thought this was already announced a few months ago? 

 

 

It was just a rumor at that point, based on a leaked benchmark with a new processor.

It's now confirmed and we have a few more details. 

 

 

 

I don't see this as a big change and it still seems kind of up in the air about what it actually means. Dropping the i isn't really a big deal and people will get used to saying "Intel 5" instead of "Intel i5". The "Ultra" branding on some chips might be a bit corny (especially on the i5) but that's about it. I've had people on this forum tell me with a straight face that they think 5-digit-long SKU numbers are too hard so I don't think there is a way to actually please everyone. Maybe dropping the i will free up some brain capacity for those people so they can hold 5 digits in their head at once? Who knows...

 

 

I don't think the deemphasizing of generational branding is a big deal either since the first digits will still mark the generation. It's just that instead of an OEM writing "Intel 12th generation Core i3-12300" they might just write "Intel Core 3 processor 14300", or whatever it ends up being called.

 

 

It will be interesting to see what the lineup will look like when we got some SKUs announced.

As Anandtech wrote, it wouldn't be a surprise if they took this opportunity to reset their generation number as well, and starting with Meteor Lake it might not have been a good idea to stick with the whole "generation XX" idea anyway, since some parts of the processor might stay the same between generations while others might not. That's the issue AMD has right now, where they had to give out decoding wheels to the press to explain how to read their product names, and products within the same family could be completely different (different CPU cores, different GPU cores, and so on).

[Spotty]

7 minutes ago, gjsman said:

Went from leak to confirmation. Also, the leak implied that all models would have "Ultra" in the title, whereas that is not true from this announcement.

Ah, gotcha. I thought it had already been confirmed and we were really just waiting for the next product launch to see the change materialise. 

[gjsman]

2 minutes ago, LAwLz said:

That's the issue AMD has right now, where they had to give out decoding wheels to the press to explain how to read their product names, and products within the same family could be completely different (different CPU cores, different GPU cores, and so on).

Still better than Apple in that respect. Because they've got M2, M2 Pro, M2 Max, and M2 Ultra... but there's quite a few variants in those categories that don't have model numbers. You can get an M2 with 8 or 10 GPU cores; an M2 Pro with either 10 or 12 CPU cores and 16 or 19 GPU cores; an M2 Max with either 30 or 38 GPU cores; and an M2 Ultra with either 60 or 76 GPU cores. A bit messy when the variants don't have names other than "M2 Ultra 60 GPU cores version" or some other descriptor like that.

[jos]

I don't think this is stupid, i have few friends who think if it is core i5 it should work what he wants irrespective of generation he thinks

Prntium1 ,2, 3, 4, dual core, core duo, then core i series. 

According to him generation does not matter and he makes fun of windows since his i5 not running anything he is using 4th gen.

[Avocado Diaboli]

It's not really going to make the naming any more intuitive for normies anyway. I can't count the number of times I've heard "It's got an i7 in it" as some kind of justification that it must still be a top performer half a decade later. The model I personally like best is what a lot of software companies have been doing and just naming their versions after the year it gets released. That way it's completely unambiguous which is the newer version, and if you want, you can tack on max, turbo, ultra or whatever superlative you want to differentiale products within a generation.

[leadeater]

Does this mean the K at the end of the product SKUs will be dropped and Ultra now represents that instead?

[johnno23]

Apple is no threat to intel but they think apple M2 Ultra sounds cool maybe ? cant take M2 but Ultra is totally awesome is what marketing people with degrees thought was something they should also adopt is my guess......they should stop wasting more money that i will ever see in 10 lifetimes on cringe marketing. How many billions were spent revamping the intel logo only a few years ago..........We all know what intel are just stop throwing money in the crapper and gives better deals on them CPUs is the way to get more market share. I just think it is ULTRA stupid.

[pas008]

lol at people thinking its cringe

i'm old i dont like change mentality

doesnt affect a thing at all

 

seriously how many gens of i3 i5 i7 are there?

they need to renew brand and separate their naming from the past chips these are fucking cars

plus they are on verge of going emib foveros chiplet etc

 

[Blademaster91]

44 minutes ago, pas008 said:

lol at people thinking its cringe

i'm old i dont like change mentality

doesnt affect a thing at all

It isn't people not liking change, its a matter of unnecessary change , but I'm not surprised as people like to defend massive corporations for dumb things.

Why change something which has become easily recognizable branding for the average user?

44 minutes ago, pas008 said:

seriously how many gens of i3 i5 i7 are there?

they need to renew brand and separate their naming from the past chips these are fucking cars

plus they are on verge of going emib foveros chiplet etc

I don't see how that matters, Intel can still change their SKU numbering without changing the branding, and IMO what Intel needs to do is make their numbering less confusing especially with laptop cpu's, not waste money on a new naming scheme worse than the previous i3/i5/i7.

[Tan3l6]

If anyone knows what the "ultra" actually means, feel free to inform...