Intel Processors Lifecycle: End Of Life And Support Status
Last updated on January 19, 2024
Intel is one of the leading manufacturers of Central Processing Units (CPUs) alongside AMD, Qualcomm, and then a few. It releases new processors that do have models and a proper naming convention, but are codenamed after lakes.
Intel’s processors are compatible with Windows, Linux, and macOS. However, only certain versions of Intel’s CPUs may be supported on specific Windows versions.
Support status guide
End of life (EOL) is the end of a product’s useful life. When a product reaches the end of its life cycle, the manufacturer no longer supports it. The following table explains the different phases of a product’s lifecycle. Testing status is when the product is initially released and EOL is when product support is no longer offered. The time between these two points is the support timeframe.
Testing
The software is not yet publicly available. It is in testing phase i.e., alpha, beta, release preview etc.
Active
The software is actively supported by the vendor.
Phasing Out
The software will soon reach its end of life. You need to look for upgrade or migration options. The software will automatically go into phasing out status 2 months before end of life.
End Of Life
The software is no longer supported by the vendor. You need to make sure your system and environment are safe.
Version
Released
Active Support
Discontinued
Before discontinuing a processor line, Intel issues a Product Discontinuance Notification (PDN) well in advance – at least 12 months before actually discontinuing a CPU series. After the Last Ship Date (LSD), which is the last time a CPU family is shipped from the factory, the processor is considered “Discontinued.”
Intel processors receive the most support during the Baseline Servicing period, better known as “Active Support.” During this tenure, the processors receive s functional and security updates through Intel Platform Update and Intel Coordinated Vulnerability Disclosure process.
When a CPU family’s Baseline Servicing is about to end, Intel sends out an End of Service Update Notification (ESUN) around a year in advance. At the End of Servicing Updates (ESU) milestone, Intel concludes servicing the broad market.
The End of Interactive Support (EOIS) milestone will normally be released at the same time as ESU to mark the end of interactive support. After ESU, some CPU families can still get shipped from Intel.
You can find more information about the Intel Processor support lifecycle here.
For additional information about Intel Processors, like its naming convention and meaning, refer to our guide post: Intel Processor Generations.
EOLs