Intel's Core Ultra 200 (codenamed Arrow Lake) series was previously rumored to launch on October 17. However, Hong Kong publication HKEPC claims that Intel has reportedly pushed the launch date to October 24.
The reasons for the supposed delay remain unknown, and HKEPC hasn't provided any explanations. Multiple retailers have already started listing Arrow Lake CPUs on their websites, signaling that the official announcement should be around the corner. We've already seen the Arrow Lake chips listed in Europe and Canada. While I don't know if the pricing is accurate, it doesn't look out of line either.
According to various retailer listings, Arrow Lake should be priced similarly to or slightly more expensive than Intel's Raptor Lake Refresh lineup. Arrow Lake requires a new platform, so many consumers will need to purchase a new motherboard. On a positive note, the previous generation of Intel chips will likely see price reductions, which could be a valid option if you don't want to hop on Intel's Arrow Lake platform.
Overall, it's unlikely that a slight delay in CPUs that don't even have an official street date yet will cause Intel a significant blow. However, it does show that its throne as market leader may not be as stable as some think, and that makes even tiny delays to Intel's flagship products more notable than they would be otherwise.
Arrow Lake will need to prove competitive with Ryzen 9000 CPUs as the year ends and wishlists get filled out— although leaked Arrow Lake benchmark results don't reflect a giant Intel win around the corner. Some lost faith in Intel due to the current 13th and 14th Generation instability issues. Although Intel has already confirmed that Arrow Lake isn't affected by the same problem thanks to a new architecture, you can't help but think that Team Blue has probably lost some followers to Team Red.
AMD also has the advantage as the Ryzen 9000 chips have been launched for a few months and are readily available. Intel, on the other hand, will unleash the Core Ultra 200K SKUs, saving the budget options for later. Consumers who have their eyes on an Arrow Lake part that isn't included in the initial trio (Core Ultra 9 285K, Core Ultra 7 265K, Core Ultra 5 245K) must wait a few more months.
