Intel on Tuesday said its upcoming PC chip, dubbed Broadwell, will be delayed by a quarter. CEO Brian Krzanich, speaking during a call discussing the company's third-quarter earnings, said Intel will begin production on Broadwell in the first quarter of 2014 rather than later this year. The chip is the first manufactured at 14 nanometers, or billionths of a meter, which puts Intel at least a year ahead of rivals.
The delay has been caused by a "defect density issue" that impacts the yields, or number of usable chips, Krzanich said. He noted that once defects are discovered, Intel inserts a set of fixes. In the case of Broadwell, the fixes didn't deliver all the improvements Intel had anticipated. However, Intel now believes it has all the required fixes in place, Krzanich said.