Intel once promised it would bring 10nm CPUs to desktop in 2015, but due to issues with yield and supply, it wasn't able to do so, so it pushed the launch back to 2016. Then 2017, then 2018, and we finally got a glimpse of one 10nm CPU, but on mobile. It then pushed further launches back to 2019, where we were gifted a handful of 10nm CPUs. Also on mobile, only. Now Intel is reportedly ditching the idea of 10nm CPUs on desktop entirely, believing it would never be able to keep up with demand or hit required clock speeds. Instead, it's skipping over that process node for desktop, and will aim to replace its increasingly aged, 14nm process with a 7nm one in 2022.
In comparison, AMD introduced 12nm chips in 2018 with the launch of its Ryzen 2000 CPUs, and in turn dropped down to 7nm with Ryzen 3000 in 2019. AMD is expected to move to a 7nm+ EUV node in 2020, followed by a drop down to 5nm in 2022. That keeps AMD ahead of Intel's schedule, even with a multi-year leap frog from the blue team.
In the meantime, Intel will release two additional desktop architectures, reportedly named Comet Lake-S and Rocket Lake S. They will both be based on refinements of its 14nm process, but will be based on new architectures like Sunny Cove, which were originally designed to be crafted on 10nm dies. That will help it build up performance a little more, but considering AMD's chips are already offering parity to Intel's best in almost all instances at a competitive price, that's a real problem for Intel.
In 2020, AMD's Zen 3-powered Ryzen 4000 chips are expected to add another eight percent to the CPUs IPC over Ryzen 3000 processors, and will also raise clock speeds by around 200MHz. It's not yet known what performance improvements we can expect from Intel's new-gen chips, but we'd be surprised if it was much more than a slight clock speed bump.
