Intel will not develop new Compute Cards, the company has confirmed to Tom's Hardware. Compute Cards were Intel's vision of modular computing that would allow customers to continually update point of sale systems, all-in-one desktops, laptops and other devices. Pull out one card, replace it with another, and you have a new CPU, plus RAM and storage.
"We continue to believe modular computing is a market where there are many opportunities for innovation," an Intel spokesperson told Tom's Hardware. "However, as we look at the best way to address this opportunity, we’ve made the decision that we will not develop new Compute Card products moving forward. We will continue to sell and support the current Compute Card products through 2019 to ensure our customers receive the support they need with their current solutions, and we are thankful for their partnership on this change."
The first hint that this was coming was through Intel Compute Card partner NexDock. It noted in both an email and a blog post this week that "the future of Compute Card is uncertain." It suggested that "Intel might not come up with a new generation Compute Card and their 7th generation CPU might be the last one to be manufactured." Now, Intel has confirmed that will be the case. Meanwhile, NexDock has put its Compute Card-based product, NexPad, on ice.
Intel first teased the Compute Cards at CES 2017 and then showed products featuring them at Computex that same year. They included 7th Gen Y-series, Pentium and Celeron processors.
But with no more cards in development, the dream of upgrading the small, interchangeable computers instead of entire devices, like all-in-ones or laptops, seems to have stalled.
