Intel Bay Trail Atom SoC confirmed for tablets: quad-core 22nm chips due by Christmas

1 of 2

Gallery

Posted on 8 Jan 2013 at 07:01, by Tom Morgan

Intel’s latest system-on-chip Atom processor, designed specifically for tablets, has been revealed at CES today. Code-named Bay Trail, Intel plans to launch the quad-core chip by the end of the year, promising performance up to twice that of previous Atom SoC models.

Built on a 22nm fabrication process, Bay Trail will provide significant power consumption improvements over the previous generation, for better battery life in compatible tablets. Intel didn’t confirm any UK partners that would be using Bay Trail in their devices, but promised it would be releasing chips in volume to partners in time for a Christmas launch.

a sign of what to expect from Bay Trail this time next year

More importantly, Bay Trail supports both Windows and Android, meaning Intel has potentially doubled its audience. We saw Bay Trail tablets running both Windows 8 and Android 4.1 at the Intel press conference, and both looked smooth and responsive – we’ll be able to take a closer look once Intel opens its booth on the CES show floor tomorrow.

For all the latest news from the CES show, read CES 2013: In-depth, hands-on coverage from our team in Las Vegas