Just weeks after Intel officially discontinued its inexpensive NUC 11 'Panther Canyon' small form-factor PCs aimed at consumers, FanlessTech reports that the company have allegedly also cancelled plans for its reasonably-priced NUC 12 Performance systems based on Alder Lake processors. It looks like Intel intends to focus on business users and gamers with its NUCs while leaving mainstream consumers to its partners. Take the news with a grain of salt for now.
Instead of mainstream NUC 12 Performance, Intel will offer NUC 12 Pro codenamed "Wall Street Canyon" as well as a socketed Alder Lake-based NUC for gamers. In total, there will be five NUC 12 Pro models: vPro (i5/i7) and three non-vPro (i3/i5/i7) models with slim (M.2 SSD) and tall (SATA drive) options. As the name suggests, Intel’s NUC 12 Pro is aimed at professionals, which is why they will be available with an expansion module providing an SDXC/SD Express card reader. Meanwhile, the system will feature two HDMI ports: one HDMI 2.1 (8K@60Hz) and one HDMI 2.0b (4K@60Hz).
Cancelling some models (NUC 12 Performance in this case) allows Intel to focus on other SKUs and ensure their steady supply. Many of Intel’s customers who might have planned to get a NUC 12 Performance will be happy with a slightly more expensive NUC 12 Pro. Others will get an Alder Lake-based Asus PN or Gigabyte Brix small form-factor PC.
So far Intel has not officially disclosed plans for its NUC 12 series, so take the information about any changes of such plans with a grain of salt. Meanwhile, now that Intel has discontinued its inexpensive NUC 11 Panther Canyon without launching any replacement, it looks like the company’s SFF PC tactic does not include cheap consumer-oriented NUCs, at least for now.
