Qualcomm says the Snapdragon X Elite is going beyond laptops, which makes total sense
It looks as though all-in-ones and mini PCs are on deck for Qualcomm’s new SoC.
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The tech world never slows down and following the big Surface andCopilot+ PClaunch recently, Computex is now going down in Taipei. Qualcomm is out there, too, and naturally, has been talking up its new platform.
Obviously, we’re all eagerly anticipating getting our hands on the first laptops with the new chips inside, but there has been one glaring gap as yet unfilled. Everything powered bySnapdragon X PlusorX Elitehas, so far, been a laptop. But at its Computex event, Qualcomm has confirmed that won’t be the way forever.
So @Qualcomm just said it’s going beyond laptops with Snapdragon X. I think all in ones (AiO) make sense for the 2nd wave of devices later this year. #computex #Windows11 pic.twitter.com/VSLwycGhikJune 3, 2024
Without getting into specifics on what’s coming and which of the hardware manufacturers will be making it, Qualcomm’s slide clearly shows both an all-in-one and a mini PC. These are just more likely just generic shapes rather than teases of actual hardware, but it’s a telling sign.
And it’s unlikely thatQualcomm would be talking about its own dev kitin this context.
I’ve already written how the hardware I want to see most powered by Qualcomm isa Windows-alike of the Apple Mac Mini, and it looks like, eventually, I’ll be satisfied. Laptops are an important, and obvious, target for new chips like these. But there are stilla lotof us out there that use a desktop machine for our day-to-day.
Apple is the obvious comparison, keeping its own desktop lineup trucking with its ARM-based M-series chips. Over there those folks have the Mac Mini, the iMac, the Mac Studio, and the Mac Pro, all now powered by Apple Silicon.
It would have been foolish for Windows OEMs not to consider the desktop in some way, even if we’re going to have to wait a while longer to see what they come up with. This is very much just the beginning ofWindows on ARM, even though it’s not really the beginning. But it has been reborn, and this time it’s going to matter.
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Richard Devine is a Managing Editor at Windows Central with over a decade of experience. A former Project Manager and long-term tech addict, he joined Mobile Nations in 2011 and has been found on Android Central and iMore as well as Windows Central. Currently, you’ll find him steering the site’s coverage of all manner of PC hardware and reviews. Find him on Mastodon atmstdn.social/@richdevine
