Does Intel manufacture older generations of Intel Core processors?

Question

I recently did a little research on several different industrial embedded computers for a project that I am working on. It turns out that a lot of these industrial fan less PCs can be purchased with the Intel 4th Generation Intel® Core™ i5 Processors, which had a launch date in 2013.

Since these are new industrial PCs, does this mean that even though Intel is marketing 8th, 9th, 10th and so on processor, they are still manufacturing and supporting the older generation of processors?

Or does this mean that at some point in time, that specific company (Advantech) bought an over abundance of these processor and now they are continuing to sell these industrial PCs until they run out?

Does this mean that they are selling Intel processor that are past the life cycle and a different hardware industrial PC should be selected?

Answer 1

Intel does announces the end-of-life for their CPUs, you can check the status of a specific CPU model on their website.

[are they] still manufacturing and supporting the older generation of processors?

It is possible that a few specific CPU models are still being manufactured at the request of a significant customer or for providing long-term support.

does this mean that at some point in time, that specific company (Advantech) bought an over abundance of these processor and now they are continuing to sell these industrial PCs until they run out?

That is a valid explanation if you see that it is "Discontinued" on the website; Most socketed CPUs from the 4th generation are, and the ones that still say "Launched" are almost entirely CPUs that would never have been sold in a retail box or stand-alone. (They are mobile CPUs to be installed by an OEM.)

Does this mean that they are selling Intel processor that are past the life cycle and a different hardware industrial PC should be selected?

I would look for newer hardware anyways, especially for a fanless system since the newer generation chips use less power to provide the same (or better) performance.