Intel kills Celeron and Pentium brands, renamed ‘Intel Processor’

Intel is ditching the branding for its low-end CPUs. Whether this means streamlining the two processors, has yet to be seen.

Intel will be dropping the Pentium and Celeron names that have been a long staple of the company for nearly 30 years. Pentium first came to the market in 1993, providing the backbone for a lot of early gaming PCs, while Celeron launched in 1998, accompanying the Pentium IV and more.

The company appears to be combining the Pentium and Celeron lines into one group of multiple chips, rather than splitting the product base further. How this will play out in terms of the actual product is an unknown factor right now.

Intel also mentions that this is to help with “simplifying the purchasing experience for customers”.

It could be expected that the Pentium and Celeron lines are dubbed similarly to the Core and Evo lineups on offer right now, with Intel Processor 3, 7, and 9 replacing the various naming conventions being used right now.

Intel has stated that these are intended for the “notebook product stack”, but we’d also assume this would reflect on mini-PCs and such that still house these chips.

New name, same product

Further in the press release, the company stated that the change will not affect the “current product offerings and Intel’s product roadmap”. Simply put, it appears to be a naming convention change to bring these older brands in line with other offerings.

In a quote given by Josh Newman, vice president, and interim general manager of Mobile Client Platforms, he said:

“Whether for work or play, the importance of the PC has only become more apparent as the torrid pace of technological development continues to shape the world.

“Intel is committed to driving innovation to benefit users, and our entry-level processor families have been crucial for raising the PC standard across all price points.

“The new Intel Processor branding will simplify our offerings so users can focus on choosing the right processor for their needs.”