More bad news for Intel as it reveals its first 7nm chips won't be ready till 2022

Intel can’t take a trick at the moment with Chipzilla facing more chip fabrication woes. Now, right on the back of Apple revealing its wholesale transition away from Intel silicon to its own ARM-based silicon, Intel has revealed that it is having ongoing issues with its 7nm node. This will push back production another six months from what was previously forecast delaying Intel’s first 7nm chips until 2022, some 12 months behind its original production schedule.

From Intel's notes to investors:

The company's 7nm-based CPU product timing is shifting approximately six months relative to prior expectations. The primary driver is the yield of Intel's 7nm process, which based on recent data, is now trending approximately twelve months behind the company's internal target.

Intel is even putting in place contingencies that could see its chips fabricated by third parties if it can’t get its own foundries online -- AMD, Intel’s principal competitor, is already producing CPUs, APUs and GPUs using the 7nm process. In the only real bright spot in its announcements, Intel has revealed that its 10nm node is finally gaining momentum and that its Tiger Lake CPUs are still on track for launch later this year while its first 10nm Alder Lake-based desktop and Ice Lake-based server CPUs will be ready for the second half of 2021.