Intel has showcased a 22nm-based phone prototype that is set to ship next year. It is a white label design, but it supports LTE, including Voice LTE.

Intel expects to ship these phones in 2014 with samples a bit earlier, but yet again it wasn’t specific when. The first 22nm Atom mobile chips are shipping this year, but probably in low volume. Volume shipments come next year.

Krzanich said that lack of LTE was holding Intel back, but now the problem is solved. We just don’t know if all the LTE IP comes from earlier acquisitions and how much of it was developed in-house.

Qualcomm is the big treat as it has most of the LTE designs in USA and work wide, making it tough for Intel, Nvidia and others to come to this market.

Intel claims 50 percent performance gains versus the 32nm generation and it promises better battery life. We can see these chips in some phones next year 2014, making the field a bit more interesting. However, Intel’s first 22nm LTE parts will be too late for the first batch of flagship Android phones set to appear in the first half of 2014.

How Intel plans to deal with micro profits and tight margins that are also a trademark of this market remains to be seen. It’s not a game Intel is accustomed to.