Today, Intel unveiled the 5th Generation Intel Core processor family. Built on Intel's 14nm manufacturing process, the new processors deliver performance, visuals and enables improved battery life. After launching Core-M back in September, Intel is formally releasing their next element of the 14 nanometer story - the Broadwell-U. The new chips are purpose-built for the next generation of compute devices such as notebooks, 2 in 1s, Ultrabook devices, Chromebooks, All-In-One desktop PCs and mini PCs.

Broadwell-U will focus on dual-core 15W and 28W units from Celeron to Core i7 using 12 to 48 - execution units for the integrated graphics. A Broadwell-U processor should drop into any existing Haswell-U equivalent design due to pin and architecture compatibility, although a firmware update will be needed.

The release of the 5th Generation Intel Core technology includes 14 new processors including 10 new 15W processors with Intel HD Graphics and four new 28W products with Intel Iris Graphics. The family includes the Intel Core i3, Intel Core i5, Intel Core i5 vPro, Intel Core i7, and Intel Core i7 vPro processors.

New Intel Pentium and Intel Celeron processors, also based on the 14nm process, are now available.

The 5th Generation Intel Core (U series) processors utilize Intel?s new 14nm process technology to improve upon the previous generation Intel Core processor's success with 35 percent more transistors on a 37 percent smaller die.

The new process, combined with architectural enhancements, enables the 5th Generation Intel Core processors to deliver up to 24 percent better graphics performance, up to 50 percent faster video conversion and battery life that is up to 1.5 hours longer.

Graphics performance is also up to 12 times better, video conversion speed is up to 8 times faster, productivity performance is up to 2.5 times faster, wake times times are faster, all with up to 2 times longer battery life.

The chips also support:

• 60 GHz Wireless Gigabit
• 4K/ultra-high definition video
• An updated audio DSP core to support voice control, wake on voice, and decode of MP3/AAC

Graphics options including Intel HD Graphics 5500, HD Graphics 6000 and Intel Iris Graphics 6100. All of these enable 4K Ultra HD display, including over Intel WiDi 5.1. Additional platform features include enhanced new codec decode support for VP8, VP9 and HEVC, as well as support for the latest graphics APIs (DX 11.2, DX 12 Ready) and graphics programmability features, including OpenCL 2.0 and OpenGL 4.3.

Intel Iris Graphics includes these features plus significantly better 3D performance compared to Intel HD Graphics 5500 processors.

Broadwell-U will be derived from two main dies. The larger design contains the full 48 EU (two common slices with 6x8 EU sub-slices all in) configuration for 1.9 billion transistors in 133 mm2, while the 24 EU design (one common slice, 3x8 sub-slices) will measure 1.3 billion transistors in 82 mm2.

When paired with Intel RealSense 3D technology, no wires and no passwords capabilities, and voice assistants, the 5th Generation Intel Core processors enable more natural and interactive user experiences. Intel RealSense 3D technology brings features like gesture control, 3D capture and edit, and new photo and video capabilities to devices.

With a vision for a "no wires" experience, Intel Wireless Display (WiDi) v.5.1 and WiGig wireless docking provide users more control over their experience by allowing them to compute and share from virtually anywhere without the clutter of wires and cords.

Wireless Display is an implementation of Miracast, which projects what the user sees on his or her laptop onto a compatible TV display.

Later this year Intel will debut WiDi Pro, a protected offshoot of the technology that allows business PCs to project information wirelessly to a display without leaking corporate secrets via the wireless connection.

Intel hopes that more TV makers will begin building Miracast technology directly into their televisions. Google is also expected to do the same with its Chromecast technology.

Intel's voice assistant technology allows the user to control your PC within the browser and enabled apps using voice commands, and now includes Wake on Voice technology to awake your PC with just the sound of your voice.

Broadwell-U Platform Controller Hub (PCH)

Intel bundled both the processor and the PCH on the same package, allowing manufacturers to save space in their design but it also allows Intel to control power consumption tighter to give better performance or longer battery life as a whole.

The 'Dynamic Power and Thermal Framework' entry for the 5th Gen PCH should allow the performance to either respond as a function of battery life or skin temperature. This means throttling where necessary to reduce temperature or increase battery life. Wake on Voice also allows devices to maintain a super-low power state but still respond without direct touch.

When it comes to direct connectivity, the PCH offers four SATA 6 Gbps, four USB 3.0, eight USB 2.0 ports, TPM, a PCIe 2.0 x4 and another 12 PCIe 2.0 lanes split into 6 ports, allowing six devices maximum. With additional hardware support (remapping logic), Broadwell-U can support one PCIe 2.0 x2 PCIe storage device.

On the DRAM front, Broadwell-U will support a maximum of 16GB of DDR3L/DDR3L-RS or LPDDR3 memory. Regarding video connectivity, Broadwell-U was too early for HDMI 2.0 and thus has HDMI 1.4b.

Intel?s 5th Generation Intel Core processors are also available to power the growing Internet of Things (IoT), particularly in such vertical segments as retail, manufacturing and medical.

Intel also started shipping its next generation 14nm processor for tablets, codenamed "Cherry Trail". The new system on a chip will offer new user experiences such as Intel RealSense technology, no wires, no password and Intel Context Aware technology capabilities. New products based on "Cherry Trail" will be introduced starting in the first half of 2015.

Intel RealSense Snapshot provides depth-sensing photo capabilities, giving people the power to change focus, take measurements, and add dynamic effects and motion to pictures with a touch of a finger. With its no wires capabilities, Cherry Trail enables tablets to wirelessly display content to a big screen or projector. Cherry Trail will also enable users to login with their face, fingerprint or a trusted device they assigned. Using an accelerometer, sound and light sensors, and information from the cloud, Intel Context Aware technology can determine the context or environment someone is in and provide information based on those surroundings.

But remember that Intel's next-generation chip architecture, Skylake, is due to launch in the second half of 2015, according to Kirk Skaugen, senior vice president and general manager of the PC Client Group.

That pinches PC makers, who will have to decide which chip architecture to focus their resources on. And where higher-end desktop and gaming PCs are concerned, hardware makers appear to be placing their bets on Skylake instaed of Boradwell.