History of Qualcomm PC
2024 may be a turning point
In 2017, the president of Qualcomm said: Entering the PC market is not to compete, but to add more opportunities. Yes, it turns out that Qualcomm did not give up and invested huge resources. Even though it was very difficult, it still continued to do this.
For many years, Qualcomm has dreamed of challenging the monopoly of Intel, AMD and Apple in personal computer processors. Qualcomm may have initial gains in 2024, which may be a turning point──because of artificial intelligence personal computers ( AI PC) trend.
Server
In 2017, Qualcomm also launched the Centriq server processor based on the Arm instruction set with great fanfare, but in the end it failed to gain traction.
In 2024, Ampere Computing announced a cooperation with Qualcomm. The two parties will use their respective Ampre Altra CPU and Cloud AI 100 Ultra AI inference chip advantages to create a new data center processor, thereby helping more industries reduce their reliance on GPU-accelerated computing models.
Tablet computer
In 2016, Qualcomm cooperated with Microsoft to launch a tablet equipped with Windows operating system, but it turned out that the market response was poor and it ended in failure.
Networked computer
ASUS, HP, and Lenovo join hands with Qualcomm to create a constantly connected PC, which will be launched in the spring of 2018.
WOA PC
In the past ten years or so, Qualcomm has continued to cooperate with a number of software and hardware manufacturers to continuously launch personal computers that support different operating systems. However, in fact, they have received little attention and ended in failure. It mainly produces personal computers that can run the Microsoft Windows operating system and are based on the ARM instruction set CPU. This type of personal computer is called the ARM Windows Computer WOA (Windows on ARM).
For WOA, please see my post of “How much potential does ARM’s WOA (Windows on ARM) has?“
In 2017, Chromebook equipped with Snapdragon 845 processor came out. Media reports in 2024 indicate that not only Windows, but also Qualcomm will enable Snapdragon X Elite to support the Linux operating system.
Gain market attention first time ever
Why Microsoft choose Qualcomm for AI PC?
On May 21, 2024, Microsoft, which owns the generative AI star startup OpenAI, unveiled 22 stunning AI PCs in one breath, each of which uses Snapdragon chips built by Qualcomm. There is no other choice.
There are currently two models in the Qualcomm series, Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus, both of which use Qualcomm’s self-developed Oryon core and Hexagon NPU architecture. Among them, the Snapdragon Under the heterogeneous computing of CPU, GPU, NPU, sensor hub and memory subsystem, it can even reach 75TOPS.
What’s even more surprising is that the maximum power consumption of a mobile PC equipped with Snapdragon People are surprised.
If you do not need the highest computing power support, then using only the NPU, you can ensure that the Snapdragon 5.4 times that of Ultra7. Even if only the AI computing power of the NPU is calculated, the overall computing power of Snapdragon X Elite is still higher than the minimum 40 TOPS computing power requirement given by Microsoft Windows 11 AI PC.
Looking at it this way, it is not difficult to understand why Microsoft will use the Snapdragon In terms of thinness and lightness, only Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus can satisfy the requirements.
What about Intel or AMD?
Considering Microsoft’s strict definition of AI PC, the Qualcomm PC platform of the Snapdragon X series may be the only processor currently that meets Microsoft’s Windows 11 AI PC requirements. So what about the opponents of the Snapdragon X series?
Judging from the information currently released, even Intel, which has the fastest progress, will have to wait until the third quarter of 2024 to release a Lunar Lake processor that meets the requirements of Windows 11 AI PC. The actual launch time will not be until the fourth quarter.
Note: The AI PC defined by Microsoft is called Copilot+ PC
It might change the PC ecosystem
There is no doubt that in the field of AI PC, Snapdragon processors have temporarily taken the lead. Qualcomm, which has been deeply involved in the field of AI, has finally reaped rewards from the Snapdragon X series.
The cooperation between Qualcomm and Microsoft is announcing the arrival of a new era. Just as the Wintel alliance formed by Intel and Microsoft promoted the rapid development of the entire PC industry, Snapdragon + Microsoft may become the strongest driving force for AI PCs.
Rare support from all PC OEMs
In addition to Microsoft’s own Surface series (Snapdragon version), major computer manufacturers such as Asus, Acer, Dell, Lenovo, HP and Samsung have also released their own Windows 11 AI PCs, but without exception they are all equipped with Snapdragon X Elite/X Plus chip series PC platform, this is the first time that Qualcomm personal computer platform has received such extensive support from PC ecological partners.
As the only one among the current Windows 11 AI PCs, the Snapdragon X series has undoubtedly received a lot of attention. Many media believe that this is a historic moment for Qualcomm to join traditional PC processor manufacturers such as Intel and AMD.
Important acquisitions
Since Qualcomm acquired Nuvia, the performance of its processors has been greatly improved. The latest architecture is also used in the already released Snapdragon X Elite. According to a Bank of America report, the performance of Snapdragon X Elite is in a leading position among AI PC processor manufacturers.
Why doesn’t any WOA PC succeed?
Lack of native software support
Because without software, a computer without software is just a brick taking up space, not even a toy. What WOA PCs have always had to solve is the lack of native software support, which results in poor software performance and affects users’ willingness to purchase.
Strategy change
Qualcomm has spent many years, invested huge resources, and accumulated a lot of failure experience. Of course, it knows that, but this time, Qualcomm changed its strategy and not only cooperated with Microsoft to launch Copilot+ PC. More importantly, the two companies are working together to accelerate software development for Copilot+ PCs. Qualcomm has launched a Snapdragon development kit, hoping it will be successful this time.
Share price performance
It has risen 100% in the past year and 60% since this year, which has exceeded everyone’s expectations.
Potential risks
Start to have competitors on WOA PC
The exclusive Windows agreement between Qualcomm and Microsoft expires in 2024. This is also the main reason why all the non-x86 Windows PCs you saw on the market in the past used Qualcomm platforms, including Microsoft’s own Surface Windows PCs, such as Microsoft’s new generation Surface Laptop and All Pro tablets use Qualcomm chips.
The exclusive Windows agreement between Qualcomm and Microsoft will expire in 2024, which will certainly open the market to other chip suppliers. These potential competitors include:
MediaTek
MediaTek has been producing Chromebook personal laptops for Alphabet’s Google for many years, and it will definitely join the fray to seize the ARM-based Windows PC market.
On June 11, 2024, heavyweight financial media reported extensively that MediaTek is developing a personal computer chip based on the Arm architecture and will be used in Microsoft’s Windows operating system. Obviously, the rumors over the years are not groundless. Qualcomm’s main competitors have decided to join this new market that everyone is optimistic about in the future.
Nvidia
Nvidia also tried to produce non-x86 Windows PCs in the early years, but it failed miserably. But today’s Nvidia is no longer it was couple years ago.
At the end of May 2024, there were rumors in the industry that Nvidia was preparing to launch a chip that combines the next generation Arm core with the Blackwell GPU architecture, which may intensify competition in the Windows on Arm field.
Market feedback was not good as expected
The first batch of laptops equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chips were delivered to consumers in mid-June, allowing consumers to experience the so-called “AI PC” first-hand.
It is worth noting that after the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge equipped with the Snapdragon , Fortnite, League of Legends, EAFC Online and other popular but low-system-requirement games, as well as some Adobe design software and anti-virus software are also included in the incompatibility list, which may affect consumers’ willingness to purchase.
It’s feasible if expectaion is low
Although Windows software that does not have a native software version has poor execution efficiency, it can still be executed using an emulator. If the user’s requirements are not high, it is still feasible.
Conclusion
It is undeniable that it is a milestone in the field of Arm notebook computers, adding to market competition options.
But as I have repeatedly emphasized, the problem lies in the software! No matter how powerful the hardware is, it is useless; history has proven this time and time again.
I am the author of the original text, the essence of this article was originally published in Smart Magzine, issue of July 2024
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