By all accounts Intel's Skylake processors are almost here. Reports indicate an August launch for the enthusiast desktop Skylake desktop processors; the Intel Core i7-6700K and Core i5-6600K. The event where these new processors will be launched is said to be Gamescom Cologne which runs from 6th to 9th August. Then there will be a staggered rollout of the rest of the family. However, after that, Intel isn't marching straight to 10nm parts, it isn't getting ready to launch 10nm Cannonlake processors the following year, say reports. Rather it will produce a stopgap 14nm product family called Kaby Lake in 2016.
We saw an Intel 'leaked roadmap' back in May that suggested that in about a year's time Skylake on traditional desktops will be succeeded by a 'Skylake refresh' product. Looking at the new report, it seems that Kaby Lake will be the name under which Skylake refresh processors are marketed.
So it looks like the Intel clock will fail to resonate with the expected Cannonlake tick (die shrink) following the Skylake tock (microarchitecture advancement) – it's like an Intel branded 'leap second' will occur (again). According to DigiTimes the reason behind the clock spasm is the postponement of Cannonlake. The postponement probably means that Intel is simply finding it rather tricky to achieve the 14nm to 10nm die shrink required for the 'tick'. As silicon chip design nears its miniaturisation limits the 'tick' advancement is getting more difficult to achieve.
There's not much information about Kaby Lake out there at this time. It is expected to be, as previously described, a 'refreshed' Skylake with tweaks to improve the microarchitecture – providing incrementally greater levels of efficiency and speed. Kaby Lake should be LGA1151 socket drop-in compatible with motherboards using Intel's 100-series chipset.
