Intel's Core M, the company's brand new processor which has awaited an announcement for the better part of 2014, will finally be seen in Intel M-based convertible notebooks expected to ship this holiday season. The Core M processor line, announced at the IFA tradeshow this week, was born from Intel's “tick-tock” model, a concept former CEO Paul Otellini came up with back in 2007 for bringing PC performance to thin tablets and hybrid PCs. “Tick” represents the ability to “shrink a current chip's microarchitecture (down to 14-nanometers) while also improving performance, efficiency, and capabilities”. “Tock” represents the new, smaller, thinner, product that is the Core M.

Here's the outcome: we will be seeing a handful of PC makers launching fanless hybrid computers (2-in-1s), devices that function as both laptop and tablet, running on Intel's new Core M processor. They will be thin, light, large-screened devices with long battery lives; and according to Intel executives, “crank up performance to run full PC applications”. Their energy efficiency will mean they can run cool enough without the need of a fan. Core M processors may provide a 50 percent increase in CPU performance, and a 40 percent jump in graphics. Increased battery life will mean up to 1.7 hours of more juice (compared to that of a previous generation Intel processor), or an average of 8 hours of continuous video play.

Consumers are starting to really like tablets and hybrids, so the more PCs start taking on these characteristics, the more popular they will become. Intel's new generation of Core M processors designates a movement between what we used to know, and what is possible now. Mobile platform marketing manager Karen Regis says, “With Core M, we're trying to introduce that seam between premium tablets and the laptop market”. We're used to scaled-down laptops and tablets with relatively poor performance and graphics, but that will change if consumers see thinner and lighter 2-in-1s providing full PC execution.

Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst for Moor Insights & Strategy claims, “If consumers do start turning more to 2-in-1s in lieu of standalone, premium tablets, Intel may just turn 2015 into 'the year of the PC'”. According to Computer World, we should see tablets with Core M starting at about $699. Examples of soon-to-be available hybrids announced at IFA include Lenovo's 11.6-inch ThinkPad Helix 2 for $999, and Dell's 13.3-inch Latitude 13 7000 starting at $1,199. The Core M processor will appear in about 20 different hybrids this holiday season.