Intel is quietly retiring its 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake-S" desktop CPUs and 4th Gen Xeon "Sapphire Rapids" server processors. The company issued product change notifications, marking an end-of-life status for retail and OEM tray models ranging from Core i9 to Pentium Gold. Last orders for Alder Lake-S will be accepted through July 24.

This move follows Intel's previous retirement of Alder Lake-H mobile chips last year, though high-performance HX variants remain available. For the enterprise side, seventeen Sapphire Rapids server SKUs are being sunset, with final shipments scheduled for March 2028. Notably, one Xeon Gold 6414U model and all 4th Gen workstation families are spared from the cut.

The phase-out frees up production capacity for upcoming products like an Alder Lake refresh and newer Xeon lines. Sapphire Rapids, delayed until 2023, was quickly followed by 5th Gen Emerald Rapids and last year's Xeon 6 Granite Rapids. Consumers and businesses now have a clear timeline to source remaining inventory.