When Apple was launching their first iPhone, Intel was launching a new system for releasing processors called the "Tick-Tock" model. Every "tick" year represented a shrinking of the processor while every "tock" year designated a new microarchitecture. Earlier this month it was revealed in a Form 10-K filing that Intel was phasing out their Tick-Tock model in favor of a three-step "process-architecture-optimization" model, under which three generations of processors will be produced with a single manufacturing process, adding an extra phase for each with a focus on optimization. Intel had already broken the cycle by delaying the 10 nanometer Cannonlake to 2017, and planning a third generation of processors using 14 nanometer transistors called Kaby Lake. The Motley Fool broke the news on Tuesday morning.

Intel also noted in their filing that it believes that it has a "competitive advantage" as a result of manufacturing chips "in [its] own facilities." This advantage, the chip giant claims, "enables [Intel] to optimize performance, shorten time-to-market, and scale new products more rapidly."

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