Technical expectations for Intel’s Arrow Lake S Refresh processor series, which it plans to launch towards the end of the year, have significantly decreased. It has been confirmed that the company will not make any changes to the AI hardware or architecture in this series. The update will be limited to a clock speed increase.

Bad news about the Arrow Lake S Refresh series

Information shared by South Korea-based ZDNet and Jaykihn confirmed that the Arrow Lake Refresh models will not come with NPU4 hardware. This discredits previous claims of an NPU4 upgrade. The absence of any changes to the NPU component also means these processors will not meet the hardware standards required for Windows Copilot+ PC certification.

Arrow Lake Refresh, which is reportedly developed exclusively for the K and KF series, offers a limited interim update for existing users of Intel’s LGA-1851 socket. The processors will continue to be sold under the Core Ultra 200 branding.

This approach is similar to the strategy followed during last year’s Raptor Lake Refresh. This update, which doesn’t involve any architectural transitions or core component changes to the series, offers a minor performance improvement rather than a new generation.

Furthermore, rumors of an 8P+32E configuration, previously mentioned as a core increase with Arrow Lake Refresh, have been dispelled by recent information. Current leaks suggest that Intel will not make any changes to its core structure.

The Arrow Lake Refresh series is reportedly Intel’s last processor series for the desktop market before transitioning to the new architecture. According to the company’s plans, the Nova Lake architecture and LGA-1954 socket platform will be released in early 2026. This new platform is expected to feature both major architectural changes and advanced improvements in AI hardware.