Intel is planning to raise prices for personal computer processors by 10% in October and gradually end lower-margin Small Core product lines, according to a DIGITIMES report cited by ABMedia. The report says the chipmaker is trying to repair its financial structure while reshaping its mix toward higher-margin products.
That shift comes as global PC shipments are expected to ease from about 260 million units in 2026 to 250 million in 2027, while costs for components such as memory and printed circuit boards continue to climb. Against that backdrop, the report says the traditional x86 camp is trimming low-power product lines, potentially opening room for Arm-based suppliers. MediaTek is described as one of the companies trying to capture that demand through low-power chips and edge computing products aimed at industrial Internet of Things and edge AI use cases.
Intel shifts its focus to higher-margin products
The report says Intel has moved away from a market-share-first pricing approach and is now prioritizing a higher ASP, or average selling price. Supply chain sources cited in the article said the company plans to increase PC CPU prices by 10% in October despite a PC market that is no longer expanding.
Part of that pressure stems from internal capacity allocation. According to the report, Intel’s advanced in-house foundry capacity is being directed toward server chips, where self-manufacturing offers better economics than outsourcing. That leaves fewer internal resources for PC processors. Sending more production to external foundries could ease supply pressure, but the article says it would also risk hurting overall profitability, making process yields and ramp schedules central to Intel’s longer-term cost structure.
Small Core wind-down could create space for MediaTek
The article says Intel may discontinue Small Core products such as lower-end N-series processors. If that happens, the x86 ecosystem would be yielding part of the low-power and niche computing market. For MediaTek, which has spent years building low-power chip capabilities, the report frames this as an opening to extend beyond smartphones and into edge computing.
Industrial PC and IoT demand
In areas such as automation control, retail POS systems, medical terminals and digital signage, Intel Small Core products have held meaningful share through the x86 ecosystem, the report says. At the same time, industrial deployments increasingly require fanless designs, tighter thermal control and lower power consumption.
ABMedia said MediaTek’s Genio processors, built for IoT applications, combine multi-core CPUs, GPUs and edge AI processing units, or NPUs, and come with industrial-grade supply commitments of up to 10 years. The report also says MediaTek has been working with supply chain partners including industrial computer maker Advantech to speed up Arm industrial certification. If Intel starts the EOL process, the article says order transfers from industrial customers could directly support MediaTek’s edge IoT product line.
Arm ecosystem and NVIDIA cooperation
In consumer and commercial PCs, Qualcomm has already entered the Windows on Arm market through its Snapdragon X series. The report says MediaTek’s strategy has broader room to expand. It has joined the Arm Total Design ecosystem and is working with NVIDIA on chip architecture in areas including automotive and AI PCs.
At a time when OEM manufacturers are seeing margins squeezed by repeated Intel price increases, the article says MediaTek’s SoC design capabilities, combining 5G connectivity, Wi-Fi 7 and low-power computing, offer PC makers an alternative with strong energy efficiency.
Edge AI as another growth path
The report also links MediaTek’s positioning to the rise of local inference for small language models and machine vision on end devices. As computing shifts from heavier reliance on cloud servers toward processing at the edge, Intel is described as stretched by the need to balance server and PC capacity, leaving less room to serve lower-end edge nodes at scale.
MediaTek, by contrast, is said to have already built up NPU architecture and software tools such as NeuroPilot on its flagship Dimensity platform. Those capabilities can be migrated to edge computing chips, giving the company what the report describes as real competitive strength in the edge inference market.
MediaTek shares approach a record high
Beyond products and ecosystem moves, the article points to strong performance in MediaTek’s stock. Shares of MediaTek (2454) closed at TWD 4,760 on Sept. 7, a record closing high, and were close to the previous peak of TWD 4,970.
The report says foreign buying has started to return. The three major institutional investor groups have posted net buying for three straight sessions, while foreign ownership remained at 55.83% and local investment trust holdings stayed around 6%. ABMedia said that positioning reflects a long-term view among domestic and foreign institutions on MediaTek’s ability to penetrate the AI PC and edge computing markets.