How much of Intel’s demise is due to their layoffs from 4 years ago? Did they cut too deep and mess up the secret sauce?
And I suspect the real answer is they set their targets too ambitiously with their new node. Their 10nm was simply too big a jump with too many unproven technologies, with too many unexpected obstacles.
But I wouldn't count them out of the game just yet. They are an aggressively competitive company. They'll be back.
AMD is expected to double their penetration by the end of the coming year in the server space, which is huge. I think they'll also make inroads into the laptop space as well. Given that they're the preferred APU for next gen consoles won't hurt their sales to developer channels either.
I would be surprised if they haven't captured about 1/3 of the overall x86 market by the end of 2021, which is where Intel will probably be where they want to be technology wise, until then it's AMDs game.
Improving the price (not the quality) of their high-end product range from vastly inferior to slightly inferior is, at best, an attempt to remain relevant; new and better products are needed to recover actual market share, and their timeline remains doubtful.