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I think people are really missing on reading the last paragraph of the article.

If Arm is able to null and void the license because of the buyout, then Qcom would ether have to drop the goal, change it to fit into their own current ARM deal or expect to get hit again with another suit for royalties.

Even if Arm loses the first round they could hold up Qcom when their license runs out later.
More likely, they'll find some agreement. As succession lawyers say: where there's a will, there's a way.
 
Don’t care about Windows or use it (although it’s important for mass production) but it would be exciting to run Linux (my 90% OS) on this hardware, assuming it happens.
Consumer Linux is a quagmire of half-baked solutions. Qualcomm will realize, like BeOS (who was far better off btw back in '96) that you need to build an ecosystem for an OS running in x86 before porting to a different platform.
 
Hi, just wondering if you could retract your claim that “Art Is Right” didn’t test the Razer laptop plugged in. He confirmed he did, so it would be great if you could just correct that now.

Hahaha - good luck with that. He exists for the reactions, nothing more.

But I'm happy about increased competition on the PC side - I love efficient hardware, and it'll be a welcome day when I can ditch my x86 stuff.
 
This is cool and all, but the biggest problem isn't ARM-based chips, it's that Windows on ARM sucks and can't run Win32 x68 apps, which tons of legacy apps are still built on. Microsoft just doesn't put in the effort to bring Windows on ARM up to par, and it also refuses to just cut off Win32 development.

Microsoft is the roadblock here, not chip manufactures. ARM chips for PC's already exist.
Maybe you don't know, but Windows on ARM runs x86 apps,
 
Not gonna work out, simply because there is no Windows Software for it, no games, no x686 support for all kind of software. Also no NVIDIA or AMD Graphics, etc.
There is x86 support in Windows on ARM,
 
I for one am excited to see the world move to ARM.

I think the lawsuit will need to be settled before Dell or HP get on board but this is good news for all but Intel and AMD.

The end of the inefficient x86 is fast approaching.
 
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The world does not move to ARM until something dramatically changes in Windows land. Given the majority of money in PC sales are enterprise, I don’t see how that happens.

I would wager that Windows Enterprise is going be its own entity specifically for business sales, and consumer Windows will be the only way to gravitate to ARM over the next decade.

There’s no easy way to pull this bandaid off in PC land.
I work in IT, I just can't see it happening - there is so much risk/work to make this change, so many legacy systems, so many gigantic infrastructures that rely on x86, but I guess anything is possible.
 
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There is x86 support in Windows on ARM,
Yeah, but it doesn’t work well.
You won’t never be able to run Applications like CATIA, Nuke, Houdini, 3DSMax or Solidworks, nor AAA Games with full details and shading features.
 
Intel will fight this tooth and nail. Wonder if it will have onboard GPU like Apple silicon.
There's a handful of Snapdragon-based enterprise laptops already out there (like the Lenovo ThinkPad X13s), and since Microsoft is supporting them with an ARM version of Windows 11, that market will continue to grow.
 
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"take on" Apple - no, they're taking on Intel and AMD ... competition is a good thing
It's hardly competing with Apple. Like Apple may abandon Apple and switch to them? Nope. Is Apple trying to sell their stuff to PC makers? Nope. Totally unrelated to Apple all together, you're right.
 
Consumer Linux is a quagmire of half-baked solutions. Qualcomm will realize, like BeOS (who was far better off btw back in '96) that you need to build an ecosystem for an OS running in x86 before porting to a different platform.
Windows 11 version of Windows on ARM has a really good x86 emulation layer for those that will need backward compatibility during the transition. Not to mention that MS' first-party apps / services are already optimized for ARM, as are some of Adobe's apps. All that's really missing is a well-performing ARM SoC.
 
Yeah, but it doesn’t work well.
You won’t never be able to run Applications like CATIA, Nuke, Houdini, 3DSMax or Solidworks, nor AAA Games with full details and shading features.
True, maybe it won't work well with the apps you listed. But there are others that have no issues at all.

Also, you have to consider that current Windows ARM devices are based in the Qualcomm 8cx Gen2, and its performance is very limited. We'll have to wait what happens with this new processor.
 
Call me skeptical. The advantage Apple has is they own the whole stack. The M platform and MacOS are designed to work with each other. MS is not going issue a specific version of Windows for these Qualcomm chips.

Not to mention that Apple with have the M4 in production by the time these are scheduled to be released. I have to think the first gen Snapdragon X will still be generations behind the M platform.
Microsoft already has Windows on ARM. I’m running Windows 11 on my M2 MacBook Air. Perhaps with Qualcomm investing in desktop-class chips, more developers will start paying attention and develop native Windows ARM apps rather than rely on the x64 translation layer.
 
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It's hardly competing with Apple. Like Apple may abandon Apple and switch to them? Nope. Is Apple trying to sell their stuff to PC makers? Nope. Totally unrelated to Apple all together, you're right.
the reality check will come when we learn IF Microsoft licenses Windows ARM to other OEMs, as of today to the best of my knowledge it's only licensed on those Surface devices that us the current Qualcomm chip. And yes, I know that folks here have it running on other machines but not licensed copies - correct me if I'm wrong
 
I *really* want this to happen not because I am anti-Apple, etc, but actually because as a consumer, some real competitive pressure would help.

But, really, beating M1/M2 level performance with a "Coming Soon*" (* = Pending a huge licensing lawsuit that could be years in motions, etc, etc), while Apple has already bought out all TSMC capacity for the next decade on any process node worth using for these kinds of SoCs....oy, not a good story.

Only thing I think could be "competitive" is the ability to put the 5G radio on-die, but, as we saw in the Huawaei designs that have that, the thermals are *really* problematic, so there's actually wisdom in keeping it hung off a bus/bridge/whatever and using that space/TDP for fatter caches, etc....5G doesn't actually need to be on die for anything but end product form factor space saving because even the fastest wireless tech won't inundate an on-board bus/bridge, not even close...memory/cache OTOH....

IF they can get all this right, well, it still runs Windows....which is getting better and has some great window management stuff macos doesn't, and macos continues to get worse (in terms of quality), but, really, this is not the competitor I hoped for it seems.
 
the reality check will come when we learn IF Microsoft licenses Windows ARM to other OEMs, as of today to the best of my knowledge it's only licensed on those Surface devices that us the current Qualcomm chip. And yes, I know that folks here have it running on other machines but not licensed copies - correct me if I'm wrong
Nope. Plenty of Windows on ARM OEMs.

Lenovo Thinkpad
Acer Spin
Samsung Galaxy Book Go
Asus ExpertBook
Dell Inspiron

Probably many more. I got bored looking them up.
 
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the reality check will come when we learn IF Microsoft licenses Windows ARM to other OEMs, as of today to the best of my knowledge it's only licensed on those Surface devices that us the current Qualcomm chip. And yes, I know that folks here have it running on other machines but not licensed copies - correct me if I'm wrong
Microsoft allows use of Windows ARM on Apple Silicon Macs through a virtual machine. Any valid Windows 11 license key will activate it. But Microsoft also allows other OEMs to produce Windows ARM machines using the Qualcomm chips. They just haven’t been popular because of the performance issues.
 
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Microsoft allows use of Windows ARM on Apple Silicon Macs through a virtual machine. Any valid Windows 11 license key will activate it. But Microsoft also allows other OEMs to produce Windows ARM machines using the Qualcomm chips. They just haven’t been popular because of the performance issues.
So, are you saying that if I have a legit copy of Win 11 it covers WinARM? That’s interesting…
 
The marketing in this case shows how nothing has changed at QC – still a me-too company chasing Apple.
Remember the days when everything was iThis and iThat – copying Apple.
Now we're at This X and That X – still copying Apple.

Which raises the interesting question. Both i and X (and e) are played out marketing letters. What's next?
I'm a an advocate for Q. I think Q deserves its five years or so in the sun.
As in: Apple Modem (for the mainstream) and Apple Modem Q (for the high end machines)!
 
Seems to me that this will take active support from Microsoft for it to take off in the Windows world. Similar to what Apple did in their transition to their M series ARM processors. Running in X86 emulation mode isn't a long term solution.
 
Low cost enterprise computing with an eye on cloud native apps and 5G built in? Maybe this what the Chromebook could have been with less in-your-face google bloat and more devotion to an open remote digital workforce and what that requires. OS support will be linchpin. Look at what Apple has done to break this barrier with AS. No, it is not 100% perfect, but it is definitely usable and they have freed themselves from Intel's terrible thermals, extended MacBook battery life and overall performance.

I think this will certainly be interesting to watch.
 
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