Their execution makes the aforementioned AMD, which at least managed to roll out "Dozy" successors each and every year, look like a semiconductor superstar.
Disagree. In the same time AMD went from 32nm Bulldozer to 28nm Excavator, which still looks like the same useless core to me, Intel went from 32nm Clover Trail/Medfield to 14-22nm Cherry View/Moorefield which were serious jumps in capability.
As for the foundry 14/16FF competition they just can't go where Intel can go in pricing and the Bay Trail experience proved that Intel will pick up major mobile business if priced ultra-competitively. The trick now is to do it without subsidies which is where Intel's dense 14nm will come in.
I think you and others are worrying about the wrong dangers. Intel at this moment has record PC/Server market-share so where does it go from there except potentially down ? The trick then will be to keep the overall market growing even if m/s falls back. Worst case Zen danger is if it beats the 'Lakes in throughput and especially throughput/power in which case AMD will have a major Server/high-end PC renaissance and Intel's GMs will fall. The threat of ARM mobile chips making PC/Server chips obsolete was always a paper tiger threat and the only one with an ARM core to compete, Apple, prices its products higher than the competing generic windows/android x86 products. Customers will always want the best processor the more they pay for a computing device, that will never change and as long as Intel keeps pushing the performance envelope it will exist as a rich profitable company.
