Intel CEO Brian Krzanich promises 10nm Cannon Lake PCs before the end of 2017

Delayed 10-nm PC microprocessor will see the light of day this year, promises Intel

Just a day after Qualcomm unveiled a 'world first' 10-nanometre (nm) server microprocessor, Intel has moved to reassure customers and users that it's delayed 10nm 'Cannon Lake' architecture will be coming out in PCs before the end of this year.

Intel had originally planned to introduce the first family of 10nm processors sometime in late 2016. However, technical challenges encountered in shrinking transistors to ever smaller scales led to the launch being delayed until 2017.

At CES in Las Vegas, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich confirmed that the successor to Kaby Lake, which itself was delayed and has only just emerged, was still on track for a release this year and showed off the first 2-in-1 PC based on the 10nm architecture.

No further information about Cannon Lake was revealed, however, but better battery life, lower power consumption, less heat dissipation, and better performance ought to be benefits from microprocessors built to 10nm process manufacturing.

Krzanich was keen to point out that Moore's Law is continuing and that, despite marking the company's first change in process size since 2014's Broadwell chips, Cannon Lake is proof of this.

"So for those who are wondering if Moore"s Law is alive, is 10 nanometers going to be here, the answer is absolutely yes," he said, according to a report at Digital Trends. "And I believe Moore"s Law will be well beyond my career — alive and well and kicking."

The company previously confirmed that it is actively working on 7nm and 5nm process technologies, too - although 5nm is probably about the limit, as far as the laws of physics are concerned, for copper on silicon.

"We can see about ten years ahead, so our research group has identified some promising options [for 7nm and 5nm] not yet fully developed, but we think we can continue Moore's Law for at least another 10 years," said Intel senior fellow Mark Bohr last year.

Intel's confirmation that its 10nm chips are coming this year arrived just hours after Qualcomm detailed its first 10nm processor, the Snapdragon 835.

The chip, which will arrive in the first half of 2017, is said to consume 25 percent less power than last year's offering despite being 35 per cent smaller, is supported by Qualcomm's octa-core Kryo 280 CPU and Hexagon 682 DSP and uses a new a Qualcomm Adreno 540 GPU to power 3D graphics and much more intensive VR features.