IBM Power 12
What is known now ...
and what should you do?
IBM has not announced Power 12, a release date, or product specifications. Use the dated evidence here to separate confirmed IBM direction from projections, decide whether Power 11 solves today's need, and define what would justify changing your plan.
Start with the decision you need to make
Each guide has one job, so timing evidence, roadmap evidence, and purchase planning do not compete with one another.
When might Power 12 arrive?
Review the release history, compiler work, and IBM i timing without turning a projection into an announced date.
What has IBM actually signaled?
See the public evidence ranked by confidence, including AI continuity, chiplet direction, and the specifications IBM has not published.
Should you buy Power 11 or wait?
Use your support state, workload need, commitment length, and evidence threshold to choose a practical next move.
Confirmed AI Technology Foundations
Real, shipping IBM AI silicon and interconnect technology that Power 12 is expected to build on ... never invented specifications.
IBM Telum II Processor
IBM's mainframe-class processor with a native, on-chip AI accelerator delivering 24 trillion operations per second -- four times the AI throughput of the original Telum chip.
PCIe AI Accelerator CardIBM Spyre Accelerator
IBM's PCIe-based AI accelerator card, built for on-premises generative and traditional AI inference, with confirmed Power11 compatibility arriving December 2025.
AI Research SiliconIBM AIU Chip Family
IBM Research's family of purpose-built AI accelerator chips, the research lineage feeding IBM's production AI silicon strategy across mainframe, Power, and cloud.
Proprietary Memory InterconnectOpen Memory Interface (OMI)
IBM's proprietary memory interconnect, replacing direct DDR signaling with a high-speed serial protocol that already powers Power10 and Power11's DDR5 DDIMM memory.
Open Hardware Standards BodyOpenPOWER Foundation
The IBM-founded, now community-governed foundation that opened the Power ISA to royalty-free licensing, and the institutional structure that any Power12 architecture change has to work within.
Power 12 Roadmap Signals
Every sourced signal about IBM's next Power generation, rated by confidence ... never presented as a confirmed specification.
Chiplet Hub-and-Spoke Architecture
IBM's post-Power11 generation is expected to move to a chiplet design -- but with a hub-and-spoke I/O layout instead of the centralized-I/O approach used by AMD.
Samsung Process Node & 2.5D Interposer Speculation
IBM is expected to use a mature Samsung process (5nm or 3nm class) for its post-Power11 chips rather than chasing the industry's bleeding-edge nodes -- a deliberate, stated strategy, not a limitation.
IBM Power Generation Release Pattern
IBM's recent Power generation gaps have ranged from three to four years. That supports a 2028 to 2029 planning window after Power 11, not an announced date.
IBM i 8.1 Lifecycle Alignment
IBM i 7.6 shipped in April 2025, and independent roadmap tracking projects the next major IBM i release for 2028. That timing supports a planning checkpoint, not a confirmed Power 12 launch.
AI Inference Continuity Signal
IBM has stated on the record that its Spyre-based AI acceleration strategy extends beyond Power11 -- the strongest single data point that Power12 inherits, and likely expands, on-chip and on-node AI inference.
Power S1112 Edge and AI Signal
IBM's July 2026 Power S1112 announcement does not reveal Power 12, but it shows IBM expanding Power 11 into smaller, AI-ready, branch and edge deployments while the next generation remains private.
From the Library
IBM's Copper Replacement Research Is a Power 12 Roadmap Signal
IBM is proving new chip conductors and optical links as copper reaches physical limits. None is a confirmed Power 12 feature, but together they reveal the constraints IBM is preparing to solve.
Power 12 Buying Questions That Have Answers Today
Release timing, specifications, manuals, Power 11 costs, operating systems, and iSeries naming do not all have the same answer. Here is what can be answered today.
Chiplets Are Coming to Power: The Hub-and-Spoke Bet Explained
IBM's own chief architect has confirmed the generation after Power 11 moves to chiplets ... and described a design that deliberately does not copy AMD's approach.
Common Questions
Has IBM announced Power 12?
No. "Power 12" is an unofficial, industry-standard placeholder name for the Power generation expected after Power 11. IBM has not confirmed the name, a release date, or any specifications. Early evidence of its existence includes GCC compiler patches targeting a post-Power 11 processor family, first reported around mid-2025.
When will IBM Power 12 be released?
No date has been announced. Power generation gaps have recently ranged from three to four years, so Power 11's 2025 launch supports a planning range centered on 2028 with 2029 still plausible. The projected 2028 IBM i window is supporting context, not an IBM Power 12 commitment.
Where can I find IBM Power 12 specs or a manual?
You cannot, because IBM has not published a Power 12 manual, Redbook, sales manual entry, model list, core count, CPW figure, rPerf figure, or price. Power 11 documentation exists for current hardware. Power 12 documentation does not exist yet, so any page claiming fixed Power 12 specs today is guessing.
What are the key differences between IBM Power 9 and Power 11?
Power 11 is two generations newer than Power 9. The practical differences are current IBM support, newer firmware and HMC requirements, DDR5 DDIMM memory over Open Memory Interface, on-chip Matrix Math Acceleration for AI inference, current IBM i/AIX/Linux support levels, and better entry-system efficiency. IBM's July 2026 Power S1112 announcement gives one useful entry-class anchor: IBM says the S1112 delivers 2x better core performance and up to 69% better energy efficiency versus the Power S914. For a Power 9 shop, Power 11 is the real quoting target today. Power 12 is still future planning.
What OS can run on IBM Power?
IBM Power systems can run IBM i, AIX, and Linux, usually separated into logical partitions through PowerVM, with VIOS handling shared I/O in many designs. The exact supported versions depend on the server generation and firmware level. Power 11 has published support guidance for current IBM i, AIX, and Linux levels. Power 12 has no published operating system matrix because IBM has not announced the hardware.
How much does IBM Power 11 cost?
IBM does not publish a simple fixed price list for Power 11 servers. The quote depends on the model, processor feature code, memory, internal storage, adapters, HMC or vHMC requirements, IBM i/AIX/Linux software tier, support, and services. Use Power 11 pricing as the practical budget anchor for now, because Power 12 has no price and no announced model list.
Glossary
- AIU (Artificial Intelligence Unit) ... IBM Research's family of experimental AI accelerator chips, the upstream research lineage feeding IBM's production AI silicon designs.
- Chiplet Architecture ... A processor design approach that splits what was once a single monolithic chip into multiple smaller, interconnected silicon dies (chiplets), often on different manufacturing processes.
- CPW (Commercial Processing Workload) ... The IBM i capacity measure buyers will need before any claimed Power 12 performance comparison can be treated as real.
- Hub-and-Spoke I/O ... IBM's expected chiplet I/O topology for the post-Power 11 generation: a single central I/O hub chiplet surrounded by compute chiplets, rather than centralizing I/O separately from compute.
- IBM i 8.1 (IBM i Next) ... The projected next major IBM i operating system release after 7.6, independently projected for 2028 ... the same window analysts expect for Power 12.
- IBM Power ... The server family Power 12 would join if IBM announces it, distinct from the IBM i, AIX, and Linux operating systems that run on current models.
- iSeries ... An older IBM server name that should not be mistaken for a current model or a future Power 12 product name.
- Linux on Power ... Linux workloads on IBM Power that need an official next-generation support matrix before Power 12 becomes a real migration choice.