Qualcomm is invading PCs, and it’s ‘not going anywhere’
Qualcomm’s Computex 2024 keynote was comparatively uneventful. The firm simply went on a tear with Microsoft introducing Copilot+ PCs, so the hour-long presentation was a victory lap with executives from each main laptop computer model. One word stood out, although — Qualcomm’s CEO Cristiano Amon made a dedication to PCs as a platform.
“We’re in this neighborhood to stay,” Amon stated. “We’re not going anywhere.” The context right here is that Amon introduced that Snapdragon X chips will ultimately are available in all PC kind components. In the presentation, we noticed 2-in-1s, laptops, mini PCs, and even desktops. One day we’d even see a handheld gaming PC powered by a Snapdragon CPU.
It feels a bit unusual, particularly as we’re standing on the cusp of when the first Copilot+ PCs — and subsequently the primary true Snapdragon PCs — hit the market. Qualcomm doesn’t simply have its foot within the door of Windows PCs. It’s blown the door off fully. I suppose that’s the form of energy you get with the backing of Microsoft.
Although you may virtually style the hype because it’s been brewing over the previous a number of months, it’s essential to take a step again. We don’t have any Snapdragon X Elite merchandise but. Qualcomm has shared loads of benchmarks and went by half a dozen rounds of hands-on time with media, however we’ll solely know the way signficant the Snapdragon push is when precise prospects have gadgets of their palms.
At the very least, the push for Qualcomm has kicked the PC trade into excessive gear. We simply realized about AMD’s Ryzen AI processors, which go excessive of the Snapdragon X Elite with AI efficiency (so AMD claims). And Intel will discuss its Lunar Lake chips throughout its Computex keynote, which guarantees a “radical low-power architecture” to compete with Qualcomm. Even with none gadgets transport, it’s clear that the established computing trade sees Qualcomm as a risk.
I’m positive we’ll see Snapdragon chips in all kind components quickly sufficient, and no matter what you concentrate on this new period of AI PCs, that’s good for everybody. AMD, Intel, and even Nvidia aren’t content material to go down and not using a battle, and meaning pushing the envelope with {hardware} moderately than resting on laurels. Ultimately, prospects win in consequence — that’s one thing to get enthusiastic about.
