Haswell is the architectural minimization tock of Intel’s processor tick-tock cycle.
The new chips, due in the second half of 2013, will be rated initially at 10 watts — that will slash power consumption by about 41 percent. Later chips will be even more power efficient.
Obviously, this chip is presented in the context of a mobile platform age. The MacBook Air alone is mobile, but wider device line includes phones and tablets. Intel hasn’t won there yet and has just barely scratched that surface. Haswell has that opportunity, but they actually have to work — you know out of the box.
(And the second of half of 2013 is just in time for an August refresh of the MacBook Air.)