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Lenovo datasheet confirms existence of new Intel 9000 series mobile CPUs

The Lenovo IdeaPad S530-13IWL pictured here could be the first laptop to support new 9th gen mobile CPUs. (Source: Lenovo)
The Lenovo IdeaPad S530-13IWL pictured here could be the first laptop to support new 9th gen mobile CPUs. (Source: Lenovo)
A Twitter user going by the handle @momomo_us, who has some credit as a prolific leaker, has found a Lenovo datasheet of a laptop that features new Intel 9000 series mobile CPUs. While the document does not specify core count, clock speed, or other specifications, it does confirm that these CPUs are based on the Whiskey Lake architecture that launched in early October and implies that these new CPUs are refreshes of previous 8000 series Whiskey Lake CPUs.

Twitter user @momomo_us spotted a datasheet for a new laptop on Lenovo's website (although how the user obtained the URL is curious), and the contents of this document appear to confirm a new line of 9000 series (but specifically not 9th generation) Intel products for the mobile segment based on the Whiskey Lake architecture. Intel launched its 9th generation of CPUs and with it the 9000 series for the desktop last October, but Intel has not said anything about the mobile segment and what 9th generation parts would look like for laptops. While this Lenovo document doesn't have much information, one thing is certain: there's no new architecture here.

The laptop in question is the Lenovo IdeaPad S530-13IWL, and according to the datasheet the "IWL" at the end of the product name means "Whiskey Lake," which launched last October as the i7 8565U, i5 8265U, and i3 8145U. The laptop can come configured with these "8th Generation" parts: the i7 9550U or i7 8565U, i5 9250U or i5 8265U, and i3 9130U or i3 8145U. Interestingly, Lenovo specifically referred to both the 9000 and 8000 series CPUs as "8th Generation" and not "9th and 8th generation," which is curious since 9000 and 8000 are basically synonymous with 9th and 8th generation respectively; whether this is a typo or intentional is unknown. Clock speeds and core counts are not specified, but since Lenovo equates the 9000 series CPUs to the 8000 series CPUs, it can be assumed core counts are identical and clock speeds are similar.

What this information likely means is that these new 9000 series chips are actually just rebadged Whiskey Lake CPUs. The product name of the laptop, the interchangeability of the previous 8000 series Whiskey Lake based CPUs, and the label of "8th generation" on what should be 9th generation CPUs are strong pieces of evidence. According to the information available right now, it seems that Intel will not be using a new architecture for the upcoming 9000 series mobile CPUs, although Intel could launch differently based 9000 series processors alongside these Whiskey Lake based CPUs. Hopefully the 9000 series will receive a true 9th generation series of products in the near future and not just a rebadge of Whiskey Lake.

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2018 11 > Lenovo datasheet confirms existence of new Intel 9000 series mobile CPUs
Matthew Connatser, 2018-11-26 (Update: 2018-11-25)