The ARM partnership between Microsoft and Qualcomm is notable as it expands Windows 10's existing support of x86 chips from Intel and AMD. It also looks set to overcome the constraints of Microsoft's previous ARM effort with Windows RT.
The Snapdragon 835 PCs will run full Windows 10 desktop, which has been compiled natively for Qualcomm's SoCs. They'll also run Win32 apps via an emulator, as well as universal Windows apps. Microsoft billed the forthcoming devices as a "truly mobile, power-efficient, always-connected cellular PC".
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Microsoft Windows is back on ARM:
Just shy of a year after announcing that Windows was once again going to be available on ARM systems, the first two systems were announced today: the Asus NovaGo 2-in-1 laptop, and the HP Envy x2 tablet.
[...] The Asus laptop boasts 22 hours of battery life or 30 days of standby, along with LTE that can run at gigabit speeds. HP's tablet offers a 12.3 inch, 1920×1280 screen, 20 hours battery life or 29 days of standby, and a removable keyboard-cover and stylus. Both systems use the Snapdragon 835 processor and X16 LTE modem, with HP offering up to 8GB RAM and 256GB storage to go with it.
Lenovo is expected to announce a similar system in the coming weeks.
Also at The Verge, Engadget, and TechCrunch.
Previously: Big Changes Planned by Microsoft - Windows 10 on ARM, Laptops to Behave More Like Phones
Windows 10 PCs Running on Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 to Arrive this Year
New Windows 10 S Only Runs Software From Windows Store
Microsoft Knows Windows is Obsolete. Here's a Sneak Peek at Its Replacement.
New App Allows Win32 Software to Run on Windows 10 S
Intel Hints at Patent Fight With Microsoft and Qualcomm Over x86 Emulation
New laptops are drawing upon features/attributes associated with smartphones, such as LTE connectivity, ARM processors, (relatively) high battery life, and walled gardens:
This year's crop of CES laptops -- which we'll define broadly to include Windows-based two-in-one hybrids and slates -- even show signs of a sudden evolutionary leap. The long-predicted PC-phone convergence is happening, but rather than phones becoming more like computers, computers are becoming more like phones.
The most obvious way this is happening is the new breed of laptops that ditch the traditional Intel (and sometimes AMD) processors for new Snapdragon processors from Qualcomm. So far, we've seen three of these Snapdragon systems announced: the HP Envy x2, the Asus NoveGo and the Lenovo Miix 630.
Laptops with lower-end processors have been tried before, with limited success. Why is now potentially the right time? Because these systems aren't being pitched as bargain basement throwaways -- and in fact, they'll cost $600 and up, the same as many mainstream laptops in the US. Instead, they promise some very high-end features, including always-on LTE connectivity (like a phone) and 20-plus hours of battery life with weeks of standby time, which also sounds more like a phone than a PC. The tradeoff is that these Snapdragon laptops run Windows 10 S, a limited version of Windows 10, which only allows apps from the official Microsoft app store. That's also similar to the walled garden of mobile OS apps many phones embrace.
[...] There's another take on phone-laptop convergence happening here at CES. Razer, the PC and accessory maker, always brings one or two inventive prototypes to CES, such as last year's triple-screen Project Valerie laptop. The concept piece for CES 2018 is Project Linda, a 13-inch laptop shell, with a large cutout where the touchpad would normally be. You drop a Razer Phone in that slot, press a button, and the two pieces connect, with the laptop body acting as a high-end dock for the phone. The phone acts as a touchpad and also a second screen, and it works with the growing number of Android apps that have been specially formatted for larger laptop screens or computer monitors.
Related: Symetium Launches Crowdfunding Campaign for a "Smartphone PC"
Maru OS: an Android ROM that Turns into Debian when it Senses Connected PC Peripherals
What Are Must-Have Specs for a Laptop in 2017?
ARM Based Laptop DIY Kit Ready to Hit the Shops
Windows 10 PCs Running on Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 to Arrive this Year
Microsoft Knows Windows is Obsolete. Here's a Sneak Peek at Its Replacement.
Samsung to Give Linux Desktop Experience to Smartphone Users
Samsung Shows Off Linux Desktops on Galaxy 8 Smartphone
First ARM Snapdragon-Based Windows 10 S Systems Announced
Snapdragon 845 Announced
Qualcomm Joins Others in Confirming its CPUs Suffer From Spectre, and Other Meltdown News
'Snapdragon 1000' chip may be designed for PCs from the ground up
Qualcomm's Snapdragon 850 processor may be intended for PCs, but it's still a half step -- it's really a higher-clocked version of the same processor you'd find in your phone. The company may be more adventurous the next time, though. WinFuture says it has obtained details surrounding SDM1000 (possibly Snapdragon 1000), a previously hinted-at CPU that would be designed from the start for PCs. It would have a relatively huge design compared to most ARM designs (20mm x 15mm) and would consume a laptop-like 12W of power across the entire system-on-a-chip. It would compete directly with Intel's low-power Core processors where the existing 835 isn't really in the ballpark.
By comparison, the Snapdragon 850 has a maximum TDP of just 6.5 Watts.
A reference design for the chip includes 16 GB of LPDDR4X memory, 2 × 128 GB of UFS 2.1 internal storage, and Gigabit WLAN.
See also: Snapdragon-based Chromebook could rival always-connected PCs
Related: Windows 10 PCs Running on Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 to Arrive this Year
First ARM Snapdragon-Based Windows 10 S Systems Announced
Snapdragon 845 Announced
Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 850 processor will arrive in Windows PCs this year
(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Sunday April 23 2017, @01:56AM
Qualcomm makes some kick ass chips. Microsoft more and more make "Um, WTF" software. So you can buy a tablet that let's Microsoft suck all your personal information into it's black hole.
Not seeing a market segment winner here. IMHO, Qualcomm fucked up with this deal.
Bad decisions, great stories
(Score: 2) by KilroySmith on Sunday April 23 2017, @02:02AM (6 children)
It'll be interesting to benchmark the "best of ARM" against the "Best of Intel". Just how close is a quad-core 2 GHz ARM compared with a Skylake Pentium? With native Windows 10, it'll make it a lot easier to compare.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Sunday April 23 2017, @02:19AM (5 children)
And Intel will start with the advantage due to the emulator overhead.
Quad core ARM? How about 8 cores (Snapdragon 835)?
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Sunday April 23 2017, @06:41AM (4 children)
They'll also run Win32 apps via an emulator, as well as universal Windows apps.
Ie, for native software there's no emulation gain to be had.
Anyone has a suggestion for software that is useful to make a comparison with? MS-Word with some CPU sucking macro seems not very representative of real tasks.
Btw translation for the forthcoming devices: "truly stalking, power-efficient, always-spying with nearby phone-home"
(Score: 3, Insightful) by migz on Sunday April 23 2017, @09:09AM (1 child)
> MS-Word with some CPU sucking macro seems not very representative of real tasks.
Pft...Kid you ain't never been anywhere near corporate.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Sunday April 23 2017, @09:17AM
Yes Word is used. But it may not be the best software to compare processor performance other than for word processing specific use.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Sunday April 23 2017, @12:44PM (1 child)
Starting on http://www.anandtech.com/show/11244/the-amd-ryzen-5-1600x-vs-core-i5-review-twelve-threads-vs-four/5 [anandtech.com]
Adobe Reader DC
FCAT Processing
3D Particle Movement v2.1
DigiCortex 1.20
Agisoft Photoscan 1.0
Corona 1.3
Blender 2.78
POV-Ray 3.7.1
Cinebench R15
SunSpider 1.0.2
Mozilla Kraken 1.1
Google Octane 2.0
WebXPRT 2013 and 2015
7-Zip
WinRAR 5.40
TrueCrypt (will this be dropped by them for VeraCrypt?)
HandBrake
PCMark8
Chromium Compile
SYSmark 2014 SE
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Sunday April 23 2017, @07:34PM
These will run on both Snapdragon 835 PC and x86?
(Score: 3, Funny) by c0lo on Sunday April 23 2017, @02:03AM (2 children)
On top of AMD competition, Intel will be sooo happy with this.
I can feel its former tick-tock (now in 3 steps incarnation) will register some remarkable tachycardia which, if not properly controlled, may degenerate into fibrillation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by butthurt on Sunday April 23 2017, @02:28AM (1 child)
Intel will be tasked with producing ARM's 64-bit cores and other hardware that companies like Apple, Qualcomm, Nvidia, and others base their chip designs off of. [...]
-- https://www.theverge.com/2016/8/16/12507568/intel-arm-mobile-chips-licensing-deal-idf-2016 [theverge.com]
(Score: 2) by TheRaven on Sunday April 23 2017, @12:20PM
sudo mod me up
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 23 2017, @03:01AM (1 child)
ALL NEW MALARIA!!! Now it infects even the left-handed homo sapiens!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 23 2017, @04:18AM
No, it is more like "pull the other one!" Or as the late President George W. Busch said, you cain't get fooled agin!
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Sunday April 23 2017, @04:55PM
Holy Kaopectate, I *don't* think so. When are they going to give up on this idea of just copying Android and iOS? What happened to innovation?
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Geezer on Sunday April 23 2017, @05:45PM
It's not a PC. It's a datamining/ad delivery appliance that can run a few useful programs.