Ivy Bridge tablets could be very similar in specifications to ultrabooks, just without the keyboard, said Dean McCarron, principal analyst at Mercury Research. Intel could be pushing the high-performance tablets to test new use cases of x86 devices.

"You are looking at an evolutionary step," McCarron said. "Particularly in the x86 space, the evolution is more the convertible-type design where the keyboard is an optional piece," McCarron said.

The tablet may appeal to customers who need the performance of a Core processor, but also need a more highly portable platform than is currently offered by laptops, McCarron said. Tablet use is on the rise in enterprises, and customers may want a high-performing device resembling a tablet with a separate keyboard.

The Core processors have specific on-chip features that provide the processors a performance and security edge over power-optimized Atom tablet chips. In addition to Windows 8, tablets with Core processors will improve graphics with DirectX 11, which is supported on the Ivy Bridge chipset.

McCarron didn't know the specific tablet implementations Intel was targeting, but said the 7-series chipset accompanying Ivy Bridge processors could be tweaked for tablets. Enterprises are a better fit for Ivy Bridge tablets than gamers, who usually need high-resolution displays, refresh rates and graphics performance, McCarron said.