Intel is currently poised to launch the first iteration of their new Kaby Lake processors by the end of October, if rumors from WCCF Tech are to be believed, but the more powerful, unlocked Kaby Lake-U, Kaby Lake-Y, Kaby Lake-H and Kaby-Lake S chips and their variations won't be launching until next year.
According to the report, several leaks have shown that the first iteration will be launching between week 33 to week 45 of this year. Converting the dates, this places the launch of the Kaby Lake between August and November. Despite this, consumers and fans alike speculate that an August release would be too early.
This is primarily due to the fact that the Skylake processor launched in October 2015 and if Intel follows their own release pattern than the Kaby Lake processor will debut in October this year, with more stock rolling into retail stores by November.
However, this is solely for the first variant. As aforementioned there will be more powerful varieties of the Kaby Lake processor and according to the report they are all expected to launch between January and March of 2017. No specific date has been listed.
According to a report from Ecumenical News, the launch of the other Kaby Lake processors by March will coincide with the release of the Redstone 2 update for Windows 10 and the inevitable launch of the new Microsoft Surface Pro 5, Microsoft's flagship tablet series. No word has yet been released if Microsoft will implement these chips on its next version of the Microsoft Surface Book laptop.
This will allow the newer devices from Microsoft to take full advantage of the Kaby Lake chips from early 2017 onwards, giving them more power than the current Skylake processors. It is notable that Intel is also planning on launching the Cannonlake processors, 10nm chips that will be even more advanced than the 14nm Kaby Lake chips.
