Intel's 15W Skylake processors may feature Iris graphics

Intel's 6th gen Skylake processors will arrive later this year.

According to unconfirmed reports, Intel may have been able to cram its Iris graphics into the 15W ULV SKUs of Skylake, Intel's next generation processor. Iris graphics is currently only available on 28W Broadwell chips.

Danny Wu, Published 04/13/2015

The next generation Skylake-U processors may feature Intel Iris Graphics, according to unconfirmed reports that coincided with the Intel Developer Forum in Shenzeng, China. Intel Iris graphics is the name for Intel's premium integrated graphics chips, with the current-gen (Broadwell) Iris 6100 graphics featuring roughly double the performance of the HD Graphics 5500.

Traditionally, Iris graphics have only been available on chips with a 28W TDP, however if the reports are to be believed Intel may have been able to fit Iris graphics into the upcoming 15W ULV (ultra-low-voltage) Skylake processors. Skylake represents a 'tock' in Intel's tick-tock development cycle, which means it is built on a new architecture on the 14nm process. Both Intel's CPU and GPU designs are expected to be modified on an architectural level and deliver substantial performance improvements.

Intel's own roadmap puts Skylake processors arriving in the latter half of this year. Broadwell had multiple manufacturing delays and early yield issues, however Intel is not delaying Skylake and will instead reduce the lifespan of Broadwell.

In an interview at Mobile World Congress, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich said “When I look at the range of what Skylake’s able to deliver from the Core M level all up to the i7 and Xeon, it’s just going to be a fantastic product," which confirmed that Skylake will not be a mobile-only chip.