Intel's NUC-series mini PCs and its gaming platforms continue to enjoy strong sales, and the company plans to showcase the new Baby Canyon NUC platform at CES 2017.

The new NUCs succeed Intel's existing Rock Canyon and Swift Canyon platforms, using Kaby Lake- or entry-level Apollo Lake-based processors.

Intel will initially release the Core i3 version of Baby Canyon platform in January, following by the Core i5 version in February and the Core i7 one in March, Digitimes reports citing sources in Tawan.

Intel will offer five CPUs for its new NUC systems including Core i7-7567U, Core i5-7200U and Core i3-7100U and the size of the product will be 115mm (W) by 111mm (D) by 51-35mm (H) with Core i7 and i5 versions to also support Thunderbolt 3 transmission.

The company's existing Skull Canyon platform with Core i7 processors for the gaming market will enter end of lifecycle (EOL) in the first half of 2018.

Currently, Gigabyte Technology, Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) and ASRock have all been pushing NUC-based products, while Asustek Computer, Zotac and Shuttle recently joined the competition.

Gigabyte is promoting the Brix brand and is a top-2 vendor in terms of product shipments. ASRock created the Beebox brand for its mini PC products and has recently released new Beebox-S devices featuring Core i3 or i5 processors and supporting Ultra HD, 10-bit wide color gamut and high dynamic range imaging (HDR) technologies.

ECS has recently released its new Liva Z mini PC with an ultra-thin form factor, targeting enterprise, industrial control and education demand.