Camouflage and deceive? Intel’s Core Ultra designations get even more confusing than thought

Intel recently introduced the ultra-low-power processors of the Meteor Lake series, which leads to a much more complex naming compared to the previously known 1st Gen Core Ultra. For example, the Intel Meteor Lake Core Ultra 7 164U and Core Ultra 5 134U models feature a design with a power consumption of 9W, but stand out with a different name choice. As a reminder, Intel Meteor Lake CPUs will be available in various market segments, including the “ultra low-power” U-series designs. These designs will be divided into the Meteor Lake U15 and Meteor Lake U9 series. The well-known hardware leaker Golden Pig Upgrade by Bilbili has now revealed four new SKUs that will be part of the 1st Gen Core Ultra “Meteor Lake U” series.

Intel is planning to introduce energy-efficient Meteor Lake models in four different “Core Ultra” tiers, according to the leaker. In order to also represent the respective performance tiers, Intel will once again change the naming of the models. For example, this affects the xx5U and xx4U models, with the latter being the U9 design. The leaked SKUs include these new models:

Yes, it’s definitely smart of Intel to include energy efficient variants in their Meteor Lake portfolio. This will allow them to target a much broader audience as markets have evolved. However, this decision will complicate the interpretation of certain SKUs and cause problems for the average consumer. It is important to note that both Intel and AMD have changed the naming conventions of their chips, with Intel taking a more radical approach.

• Core Ultra 7 155U (15W)
• Core Ultra 7 134U (9W)
• Core Ultra 5 134U (9W)
• Core Ultra 5 125U (15W)

Although Intel has not officially confirmed the appearance of energy-efficient Meteor Lake SKUs, there is strong evidence based on Golden Pig Upgrade records that Intel will still release them at some point. It is expected that Meteor Lake CPUs will hit the market by mid-December, so we will have certainty by then at the latest.

Source: @Olrak29_