Intel Arrow Lake has only just arrived though many of us are eagerly awaiting to see what Intel has next up its sleeve to remain competitive against AMD. We could very well see an Arrow Lake Refresh arrive sometime this year, but all eyes are firmly locked on the next generation of Core Ultra chips codenamed Nova Lake. Slated to arrive in 2026, here are some rumors you should be excited about. If everything holds out, we could see some healthier competition in the CPU space.

3 More cores (is usually a good thing)

The more the merrier!

Intel isn't going to throw as many cores as it can onto its next-gen CPU package. The company already saw what runaway heat problems can result in with the 14th-gen launch and I don't believe we'll see a repeat of that anytime soon. That said, this hasn't stopped the rumor mill from churning out some juicy content around cores. We all love some beefy cores in formation and according to certain individuals, we could see an Intel Nova Lake CPU with 52 of them.

Before you get too excited about this rumor, note that this configuration would include P cores, E cores, and LPE cores. So this won't be a 52-core 6.0 GHz across-the-board type of beast. It would still be mightily powerful in specific applications. Whether we see such a SKU see the light of day depends on how Intel plans to work in caching, whether core types will be separated by chiplet, and other factors. Let alone demand with only specific applications being able to take advantage of such headroom.

2 2026 gives Intel plenty of time

Get it right this time

Although the Core Ultra 200 desktop series of processors didn't make quite the splash Intel had hoped for, it did show what the company was capable of with a more efficient platform. The company has until 2026 to prep Nova Lake to take on Zen 5 and ultimately Zen 6 with AMD pushing forward with X3D and other modern technological advancements. How Intel plans to handle its main competitor is yet to be seen, but I expect the company will be closely looking at its B-series GPU success to see if it can be replicated.

The full year before Nova Lake inevitably hits the market also provides consumers with ample time to continue using older hardware and prepare for future upgrades. AMD already has Ryzen 9000 CPUs available, but if you're planning to be in the market for a PC upgrade in the coming months, it may be a good idea to hold off just a little longer to see what Intel comes out with. AMD won't likely sit by and let Intel steal all the headlines, so newer Ryzen chips will be on the cards too.

1 Intel to bring the desktop chip back in-house... sort of

TSMC is still helping out for now

Intel utilized TSMC's own manufacturing process for the Core Ultra 200 series on desktop. This isn't a bad thing since AMD also uses TSMC and Ryzen processors are among the best in the business, but Intel has its own foundry and not making full use of this asset is a waste of company resources. Things could and should hopefully change with Nova Lake and while TSMC is rumored to be making tiles both in and outside of its foundry. It's believed Nova Lake will be a combination of 18A and TSMC's N2.

We all should be rooting for Intel

Competition is great for everyone. With Intel down and out these past few generations, it has provided breathing space for AMD to coast slightly. It's vital Intel makes a comeback and remains a healthy competitor else we'll see a repeat of what occurred during Intel's reign at the top with AMD struggling to make ... well, something work with the FX "Driver" series. If Intel can pull it all off and make everything come together, we should see some brilliant CPUs made available from both parties in 2026.