Before buying a shiny new Intel Kaby Lake i7 processor, you should know that not all i7 processors are built equally.
Intel introduced the Core m CPUs in 2014 as a family of processors that offer reasonable performance with low power consumption. The Core m family targeted users who only need laptops for basic tasks such browsing the internet and using office software. The underpowered chipsets don't need to be cooled by a fan, allowing manufacturers to offer sleeker and thinner laptops to users who didn't need the full power of a Core i CPU.
For the last 2 years there was no confusion: if you wanted power, you got an i7, i5 or i3; and if you wanted mobility, you got an m7. M5 or m3. For some reason, Intel now believes that this was too confusing to customers and that this should be fixed by muddling the lines between the two families.
With Kaby Lake, Intel decided to market both the traditional 15 watt i7 chips and the 4.5 watt m7 chips as Intel Core i7 and to market both the i5 and m5 as Intel Core i5. When asked, an Intel spokesperson argued that consumers didn't understand the Core m branding and this move would somehow alleviate the confusion.
In order to actually know what chipset you are getting, you have to pay attention to the SKU number. Real i-series chipsets will have processor SKU number ending with the letter U (example: i3-7100U, i5-7200U and i7-7500U) while processors powered by low power m-series chipsets will have the letter Y somewhere in their SKU numbers (example: i5-7Y54, i7-7Y75 and m3-7Y30).
Intel's move can only be seen as a marketing tactic to confuse less-informed consumers into buying Core m CPUs. It is no secret that most retailers don't list processor SKU numbers and opt only to show the CPU name and its clock speed. Only tech-savvy consumers such as our readers would dig into the detailed specifications to find the SKU number.
Interestingly enough, Intel is keeping the Core i3 and Core m3 branding separate.
