Bad news for fans of Intel's mini PC line: The company is ending “direct investment” in building hardware for its Next Unit of Computing (NUC) business.
The chip maker has been notifying its partners about the news, according to ServeTheHome. It has since issued a statement that indicates it’s going to stop producing Intel-branded NUC units, which have often received strong reviews for their small size and powerful capabilities.
“We have decided to stop direct investment in the Next Unit of Compute (NUC) Business and pivot our strategy to enable our ecosystem partners to continue NUC innovation and growth,” the company told PCMag.
“This decision will not impact the remainder of Intel’s Client Computing Group (CCG) or Network and Edge Computing (NEX) businesses. Furthermore, we are working with our partners and customers to ensure a smooth transition and fulfillment of all our current commitments —including ongoing support for NUC products currently in market,” the company added.
The statement isn’t exactly encouraging. But Intel may have been forced to halt the investments when the company has been struggling financially, amid a decline in PC sales and employee layoffs. The company first introduced the NUC line a decade ago to drive consumer and commercial interest in PCs far smaller than an average desktop.
Intel has produced numerous NUC units in a range of sizes. But they're relatively niche. It now looks like the company is hoping a third-party vendor—such as Lenovo, HP, ASRock, or Zotac— will step up to fill the void. Still, Intel has been the major producer and cheerleader for NUC hardware, so the news may not bode well for the mini PC line.
For more, see Good Night, and Good NUC: Why Intel's Mini-PC Legacy Will Live On.