Qualcomm confirms Windows notebooks powered by Snapdragon 835
The partnership between Microsoft and Qualcomm will culminate later this year with the launch of a full-fledged Windows laptop powered by a Snapdragon ARM processor. Rumors about an ARM-based Windows notebook or CloudBook began swirling earlier this week from sources close to the matter.
The Windows ARM laptop should help Qualcomm push its flagship Snapdragon SoCs into the crowded mobile PC space while providing Microsoft a direct answer to the inexpensive Chromebook running Chrome OS. Longer battery life, simplified fan-less designs, and low weight are all expected from the low-power system.
How will Windows ARM run any differently from the existing under-developed Windows RT platform? For one, Microsoft has developed new software that will allow any standard Win32 application to run on the system without any major issues. Developers are subsequently not required to alter code in order to be compatible with the new Windows 10 ARM notebook. The experience should be much more seamless to the end user even if the heart of the hardware is not the familiar x86 platform.
If successful, the ARM platform will put even more pressure on Intel this year who is already facing stiff competition from AMD Ryzen and a slowing PC market. The Santa Clara chipmaker recently axed its yearly Intel Developer Forum event in order to focus on markets outside of the consumer PC space.
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