As at the beginning of next year, Intel will retire the Pentium and Celeron trademarks, streamlining the branding of its lower-end laptop CPUs.
But what can we expect to see in the marketplace instead of these tried-and-true names that have been around since the nineties (or 1993, in the case of Pentium)? Intel Processor will be the new name for Intel’s base-level CPU lineup.
In other words, the Processor brand will be reserved for more affordable chips, Intel Core will continue to serve as the industry standard, and vPro will continue to serve as the company’s professional-oriented central processing unit. Additionally, the Evo logo will continue to serve as a symbol of quality in the laptop industry.
Even though Intel plans to phase out the Pentium and Celeron names in the first quarter of 2023, the two brands will remain in use for at least another year.
Intel says this is part of an effort to simplify its PC brand offerings so that consumers can more easily understand the benefits of its processors.
Analysis
When we first heard the new brand name, we immediately formed a negative opinion. Pentium and Celeron are supposed to simplify things, but what do they mean and what’s the difference to individuals who aren’t as tech-savvy as us? The consolidation of various products into a single category is understandable, but why exclude Intel from the processor category? To put it plainly, that’s an issue for us.
Namely (ahem) that it brings some confusion of its own.
“I’m going to buy a Window 11 laptop.”
“Cool. What processor has it got?”
“An Intel Processor.”
“Which one?”
“An Intel Processor, I just said.”
“Yeah, not AMD, got it – but which Intel processor?”
“An, umm, Intel Processor processor. That one. You know the cheap ones that used to be called Celeron.”
In addition, Intel appears to be making an effort to appropriate the name “processor” by including it in an official brand family. Possibly we are overreacting, but these are our initial reactions. We don’t like the term since, while it may be easier to remember, it may also generate more confusion than it solves. It’s also a bit strange to experience. Nvidia’s low-cost GPU card series is presumably next next.
Conclusion
To be honest, we don’t know what Intel Processor will sell. Of course, these will still be Intel’s entry-level offerings, despite the company’s assurances that it has no plans to alter its existing product lineup or its silicon roadmap for the foreseeable future.
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Keep in mind that this rebranding only applies to laptop chips. Only two desktop Celerons and no desktop Pentiums were released in recent years, making them rare even outside of mobile.