Although it isn't marketed as a 12th Gen Intel Core processor, the Core i3-N305 released in 2023 is based on the Alder Lake architecture from 2022. The i3-N305 is an "N" variant of Alder Lake, meaning lower specs than the original Alder Lake chips like the 12th Gen Intel Core i3-1215U. For comparison, the i3-N305 versus i3-1215U has a lower max clock speed of 3.8GHz vs 4.4GHz, smaller cache of 6MB vs10MB, weaker Intel UHD graphics with 32 execution units vs 64 EUs, and support for up to 16GB of RAM vs 64GB. All of that results in weaker performance.

The Intel Core i3-N305 does not belong to the traditional 11th, 12th, or 13th generation lineup. Instead, it is part of Intel's N-series, which is designed for energy-efficient, entry-level laptops.

Released in early 2023, the i3-N305 is based on the Alder Lake-N architecture and features only efficiency cores (E-cores) without performance cores (P-cores). It is best suited for lightweight tasks like web browsing, office work, and media consumption rather than demanding workloads. If you're looking for a laptop with this processor, tools like Suggesters can help compare different models and find the best fit for your needs.

So, while it was launched around the same time as 13th-gen Intel Core processors, it does not follow the usual Core i3/i5/i7 generational naming system. 🚀